Bob Hearts Abishola

Bob Hearts Abishola (stylized as BOB ❤️ ABISHOLA) is an American sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, Al Higgins, and Gina Yashere that premiered on September 23, 2019 on CBS. It stars Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku as the respective title characters, with Christine Ebersole, Matt Jones, Maribeth Monroe, Shola Adewusi, Barry Shabaka Henley, Travis Wolfe Jr., Vernee Watson, Bayo Akinfemi, Anthony Okungbowa, and Gina Yashere in supporting roles. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season; which premiered on November 16, 2020. In February 2021, the series was renewed for a third season.
Premise.
Bob Wheeler runs his family's successful, highly competitive sock company in Detroit with his mother Dottie and his younger twin siblings Christina and Douglas. When the stress of the job lands Bob in Woodward Memorial Hospital, due to a mild heart attack, he is immediately drawn to Abishola Adebambo, his kind, hardworking nurse. Despite their differences, Bob falls in love with Abishola and sets his sights on getting her to give him a chance.
Production.
Development.
On October 5, 2018, it was announced that CBS had given the production an early pilot order. The pilot was written by Chuck Lorre, who executive produced along with Eddie Gorodetsky, Al Higgins and Gina Yashere. Production companies involved with the pilot included Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television. On May 6, 2019, it was announced that the production had been given a series order. A day after that, it was announced that the series would premiere in the fall of 2019 and air on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. The series debuted on September 23, 2019. On October 22, 2019, it was announced that CBS had ordered an additional nine episodes of the series. On March 13, 2020, Warner Bros. Television announced that production was suspended due to the television impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown left the last two intended episodes of the season unfilmed. On May 6, 2020, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on November 16, 2020. On February 17, 2021, CBS renewed the series for a third season.
Casting.
On December 17, 2018, it was announced that five co-leads, opposite Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku as the title characters, had been cast, including Christine Ebersole, Maribeth Monroe, Matt Jones, Shola Adewusi and Barry Shabaka Henley.
This is Gardell's second starring role in a CBS sitcom, after "Mike & Molly", which ran from 2010 to 2016 and was also executive produced by Lorre; in addition, Gardell has a recurring role on "Young Sheldon" as Herschel Sparks, a neighbor of the title character. Matt Jones is an alum of fellow Lorre/CBS series "Mom". On January 30, 2020, it was reported that Anthony Okungbowa and Bayo Akinfemi had been promoted to series regulars.
Filming.
While taking place in Detroit, "Bob Hearts Abishola" is filmed at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios in Los Angeles. Several Detroit references are incorporated into the show's setting. For example, the fictional Woodward Memorial Hospital where Abishola works is a reference to Woodward Avenue (Michigan Highway M-1), which is a main route running from Detroit to Pontiac. The Dele character attends Jamerson Middle School, a likely reference to the legendary Motown bass player James Jamerson. Also, the Abishola and Kemi characters ride to work on the 16 Dexter bus, which is a real bus line for the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). Co-creator Lorre chose the location, in part, because of Detroit's rapidly growing immigrant population. While Detroit's U.S.-born inhabitants declined 5.3 percent between the 2010 census and 2014, the immigrant population rose by 12.7 percent.
Release.
Marketing.
On May 15, 2019, CBS released the first official trailer for the series.
Broadcasting.
"Bob Hearts Abishola" premiered in United States on CBS and Canada on CTV on September 26, 2019.
Reception.
Critical response.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 58% approval rating with an average rating of 6.75/10, based on 12 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Groundbreaking, but unfortunately grating, "Bob (Hearts) Abishola" undermines its own progressive premise with underwhelming humor that relies too heavily on outdated stereotypes." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 57 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".