There’s a very good reason why the famed producer Chuck Lorre has earned his reputation as “the king of sitcoms.” Over the years, he’s been behind some of the most memorable, beloved, and globally successful sitcoms there’s ever been. Between 2010 and 2016, the hilarious sitcom Mike & Molly was no exception, as it racked up a large following through its dedicated fan base, scooped up a slew of major awards along the way, and laid the groundwork for its main actors to go on to have successful careers after it.
While the show’s male lead, Billy Gardell went on to find success in films and other shows, since 2019, he returned to the Lorre sitcom world with Bob Hearts Abishola. On the other hand, its female lead, Melissa McCarthy, has gone on to become one of the most successful comedic actresses around, earning a ton of prestigious awards and nominations in the process.
Mike & Molly saw the pair play a police officer and a teacher respectively. After they meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, sparks fly, and they begin dating. A sweet relationship ensues and forms the basis of the show, with memorable supporting characters, and a whole lot of hilarity driving it all. As audiences fell in love with the pair and their antics, there were some very memorable moments along the way. These are our picks for the best episodes across all six seasons of Mike & Molly.
10 The Good Wife (Season 6, Episode 6)
By the last season, life had changed a lot for Mike and Molly. Molly found a niche as a writer after managing to get a book published and quitting her teaching job. In this episode, between her writing, Molly comes up with leisure activities that distract her and cause a build-up with the chores at home.
Mike becomes agitated about the house being in disarray and confronts Molly about it. In response, she becomes “the perfect wife,” seeing to everything and being an ideal homemaker. However, rather than her extra effort having a positive effect, it spoils Mike who grows used to being waited on like a bratty kid, drawing the ire of all the Flynn women.
9 Mike Likes Cake (Season 3, Episode 3)
After the end of Season 2, Mike and Molly’s relationship is taken to the next level and the pair tie the knot. In this very funny episode, Molly assesses their wedding photos and gets very frustrated when she notices that Mike either has his mouth wide open or his eyes closed in all of them.
Meanwhile, the couple’s quirky best friend and Mike’s partner Carl is having issues with his girlfriend, or rather his insecurities about her. When Christina’s ex-husband shows up again, it upsets him very much and his usual antics play out comically because of it.
8 St. Patrick’s Day (Season 3, Episode 17)
The pair’s other hilarious friend, Samuel, and Carl get together in this episode for some memorable moments as they throw a party in the hopes of attracting some ladies. In typical style, their plans go awry and things don’t go exactly as they’d planned, with their usual comical banter abounding instead.
Meanwhile, Mike and Molly share some stories, but Molly’s ends up being a bit much when she spills some secrets from her previous St. Patrick’s Day experiences.
7 The Wreck of the Vincent Moranto (Season 6, Episode 8)
Vincent, Molly’s mother’s boyfriend whom she eventually marries, was one of the funniest characters from the show. His tactless ways and seemingly oblivious personality often get him into hot water with the other characters. However, he usually finds a way to endear himself to everyone somehow too.
In this episode, he and Mike have been remodeling a boat together. Vincent usually gets on Mike’s nerves a lot so them spending time together shows a lot of progress. However, Vince ends up selling the boat which annoys Mike, and digs up a lot of old issues he carries around about how his own father constantly let him down.
6 The First and Last Ride-Along (Season 4, Episode 2)
Molly immerses herself deeper into her writing career and decides that it would make good sense to work on a crime novel. Mike’s mother, the unforgettably brash and hilarious Peggy lets on that she doesn’t think much of her writing which doesn’t go down well with Molly at all.
Meanwhile, she gets Mike and Carl to take her on a ride-along, so she can conduct research for a book out in the field with them. This doesn’t go well but makes for some humorous fodder for the audience. By the end, Molly finds a way to get back at Peggy in a hysterical style.
5 Joyce’s Choices (Season 2, Episode 14)
Vincent and Joyce (Molly’s Mother) share a memorably amusing relationship. While Vincent is crazy about her, she often cuts a far more confident person than him, although that’s not always a good thing since it can make her a little belligerent about her own behavior.
When Joyce accepts an invitation from one of her old boyfriends to go out to dinner, it enrages Vince. His jealousy is funny as Joyce typically lets him have it for being insecure and not trusting her. However, when he can’t help himself and ends up spying on her, she breaks up with him. However, there’s a twist in the tale as Joyce ends up confessing to her girls that she kissed her ex.
4 Mike Snores (Season 1, Episode 8)
Early on in the show, Mike learns what it’s like to live with the Flynn women when they insist he spends the night. His snoring becomes an issue, so he ends up using a machine with some very comical results. Molly’s lovable pot-smoking sister, Victoria is also at her funniest here as she adds to all the antics of the episode.
Later, Mike puts his foot in it when a woman from their Overeaters Anonymous meeting flirts with him. If that wasn’t enough to get Molly riled up, he introduces her to the woman as his “friend.” Nevertheless, this all winds up drawing out the full extent of their feelings for each other in the end.
3 Cops on the Rocks (Season 6, Episode 1)
In the Season 6 premiere, Mike and Carl’s feud as partners escalates to the point that they have to attend the couple’s counseling session in the hopes of reconciling. The concept alone is funny enough, but their usual banter makes it even more comical. Their longstanding work relationship and friendship are on the line though, so it’s all worth it.
Meanwhile, Molly’s career is in full swing. She has to do a promotional radio interview for her book and Peggy is meant to go with her. However, Peggy bails, so Molly decides to do it alone.
2 The Wedding (Season 2, Episode 23)
As Season 2 of the show drew to a close, it all built up to Mike and Molly’s big day. Despite all the planning, Murphy’s Law intervenes and everything starts going wrong. While all the mishaps make for some entertaining comedy for viewers, the poor couple’s nerves are put through the wringer.
Nevertheless, by the end, they do manage to finally seal their love and tie the knot in a touching way that perfectly encapsulates how much they’ve grown to love each other since getting together. Here’s a sweet line from the episode that sums up the way their wedding goes down.
“If I get hit by lightening between here and the altar, which based on the day I’ve been having could very well happen, I want you to know that you’re the love of my life.”
1 I See Love (Series Finale)
In the last episode of the show, audiences were treated to a beautifully crafted ending that made everything they’d shared with the couple come into sharper focus. By this point, the show had seen the pair traverse some amazing moments together, plenty of hilarious ones, many lows, but ultimately a perfect ending.
In the build-up to it all, the pair try their best to get pregnant, but it simply won’t happen. They eventually make a decision to adopt. In the finale, they get a worrying call that the baby’s mother went into labor three weeks early. Despite many tense moments where there’s also reminiscing about days gone by, eventually, they emerge from the hospital room with their healthy baby son. The news gets better when Molly announces that she has more to share with everyone. She hasn’t been feeling well lately and found out that the reason is that she’s finally pregnant herself too.
A great ending to a great show, the episode perfectly encapsulated much of what fans of it had grown to love so much them and their other favorite characters. The show ends with Mike and Molly singing the theme song to their baby boy. It’s no wonder that this episode usually tops most lists of Mike & Molly’s best episodes.