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FOX’s new offbeat comedy, ‘Raising Hope,’ redefines the meaning of family by blending unique, unadulterated humor with a touch of awkward lightheartedness. The network ordered nine more episodes of the sitcom, giving it a full season for 2010-11.

‘Raising Hope’ follows a baby girl named Princess Beyonce, who falls into the lives of the Chance family, with a fate that should have landed her at the fire station safe drop for unwanted children. After winning the family members’ hearts and giving the 23-year-old Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) a life purpose, Hope is born.

The fresh comedy depicts the Chance family as it attempts to raise the newest addition to the family, Hope. With a family history of early pregnancies and random shenanigans, the family tree gets a little complicated, so here is a character breakdown to bring you up to speed.

Jimmy: A young adult searching for purpose. In the first episode, Jimmy sketches out his life goals on a sheet of paper. Among his numerous fantasies, one of his goals includes flying away on a giant bird with a busty woman. While visiting a former one-night stand in prison, he finds out she is pregnant with his child. Turns out the expectant mother is serving death row for killing her ex-boyfriends. After his baby mama gets the electric chair, he does the noble thing and decides to raise his daughter. Eloquently named Princess Beyonce by her mother, Jimmy and his parents rename the baby Hope, and thus the story unfolds.

Virginia (Martha Plimpton): Jimmy’s mother, who has no problem expressing her reluctance to take in her new granddaughter. After giving birth to Jimmy when she was 15 years old, Virginia knows the problems that go along with early parenting. She still struggles with some of these problems, such as lying to her child or smoking with a baby in the backseat. Her rock-solid, tough-mom interior weakens at times, but overall she’s a tough cookie.

Burt (Garret Dillahunt): Jimmy’s father, who acts more like a teenage misfit than a parent. Usually wearing band T-shirts or commenting on how attractive Hope’s mother used to be, he keeps the show light. Burt usually doesn’t know much about what’s going on around him, but his love toward his wife, son and granddaughter is obvious.

Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman): Jimmy’s great-grandmother, who raised Virginia after her own mother took off. Maw Maw is more than a little insane. She has a tendency to walk around in just a bra or even topless, while mistaking her great-grandson for her former husband at times. She can be a good person to find out family secrets from during the few times she’s lucid,but all the other times, she’s just an old lady wandering about aimlessly.

Mike (Skyler Stone): Jimmy’s cousin, who lives with the family. He tends to stay away from the baby business, but every now and then he pops in with a girl or two he met at a party. What else can you expect from a guy who lives in a tent in the laundry room?

kaoutram@syr.edu

Published on November 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm