Home Economics Premiere Recap: Grade ABC's Sitcom About Siblings With Wildly Different Incomes

The Hayworth siblings at the center of ABC’s new comedy Home Economics run the financial gamut. Sarah (played by Bluff City Law‘s Caitlin McGee) is a therapist for low-income, at-risk kids… or at least, she was before she lost her job. In a far different tax bracket, Connor (American Vandal‘s Jimmy Tatro) is so rich that when he recently relocated back to the San Francisco Bay Area, he moved into Matt Damon’s old estate. Meanwhile, Tom (That ’70s Show‘s Topher Grace), a novelist whose book sales are dwindling, is middle-class and struggling.

In a moment, we’ll want to hear what you thought about the series premiere. But first, a quick recap:

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Tom, who narrates the episode, is writing his next book about his family, but Connor and Sarah don’t know that yet. He’s married to Marina (How to Get Away With Murder‘s Karla Souza); they have three kids, two of whom are twin babies. He needs to ask Connor for a loan but feels weird about it.

When everyone gathers at Connor’s for a look at his new home, Tom isn’t the only one keeping secrets. None of the Hayworths know that Sarah is out of work, and she asks her wife Denise (Saturday Night Live alum Sasheer Zamata) and their two kids to keep it quiet.

Matt Damon’s Connor’s new place is huge and tricked out; the playroom for his young daughter, Gretchen, looks “like an American Girl store knocked up a Sephora,” Marina notes. Already uneasy, Sara erupts when she and Tom learn that Connor was planning on taking their parents to Turks and Caicos at Thanksgiving instead of holding the holiday at their childhood home like usual.

There’s some yelling, some storming out (by Sarah), some returning (also by Sarah) and eventually everything — except the topic of Tom’s book — is out in the open. Connor happily agrees to help his brother with a loan. And he eventually admits that his wife, Emily, did not make the move to California with him because they’re getting a divorce.

“What a relief. We’re all screwed up,” Connor says as the trio hug, a sweet moment made silly by virtue of them all being in children’s ride-in cars when they do so. Then they sing their favorite song, Hanson’s “MMMBop” naturally, and the rest of the family joins them for a joy ride.

By the end of the episode, the Turks and Caicos plan is off. And while everyone plays Monopoly, they ask what Tom’s book is about. He laughs nervously, then dodges the question.

Now it’s your turn. What did you think of the episode? Grade the premiere via the poll below, then sound off in the comments!

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