How could a sitcom start off with promise, settle into the moderately entertaining mode, then take such a steep demise in its fourth season?

When Molly took a dive out of her elementary school classroom window, it was a pratfall too far. It appears that the showrunner replacing creator Mark Roberts this season decided to capitalize on Melissa McCarthy’s success with physical comedy and gross (often unlikeable) characters in feature motion pictures to retool her character on the show.

What a mistake. She’s a rare talent, no doubt about that, but what was appealing about the series from the outset was the chemistry between McCarthy and Billy Gardell and the freshness of featuring two large actors (unusual on television, especially for women) in roles where they are ordinary people with quirks and weird friends and family members, but now Molly is a madcap character who seems nothing like her original incarnation.

The “old” Mike & Molly was comfortable if not cutting edge; the “new” Mike & Molly is terrible. Let Melissa McCarthy save her zany, gross, nimble, uninhibited, crass characters and broad comedic talents for the big screen where she is balanced by more likable co-stars.

Oh, and I hate the new series opening, too.