Living with Fran

- Season 1

(2008)

As if it weren't hard enough for rather timid Jewish suburban student Joshua 'Josh' Reeves (25), who stayed with his father after their divorce unlike his his bratty sister Allison (15), to tell his mother Fran that he has cracked under pressure of resident life, was kicked off med school and needs a comfort zone, the greeting committee also includes a tall, handsome stranger: contractor Riley Martin, Fran's hunky, much younger in-living 'goy toy' lover, only she never told Josh about having one. Riley is great under pressure and immediately proves understanding and ...

Without telling anyone, Fran has invited Riley's parents for dinner. Mother Donna Martin, the one who accepted and suggested this 'surprise', is shocked to find Fran much older, and turns very hostile, as Riley points out a nasty habit with every girl he ever dated. Father Tom Martin proves as nice as Riley, and seems the supportive, tolerant father of Fran's boy Josh's dreams, even a prank partner. The question whether her age is an issue for him makes Riley so nervous he cuts his finger badly. In hospital Fran reminisces about their short past, without age issues. ...

Josh has accepted a job as video-store clerk. Fran was looking forward to a backpacking trip trough Europe with Riley, but then her ex, surgeon Ted Reeves, calls by, suddenly unconditionally supportive of Josh, and offers Riley months of construction work. Fran feels certain Ted does it all just to spite her and wants Riley to refuse the big job. Then she learns Ted's second wife Tiffany just dumped him and he still looks down on 'loser' Josh...

Fran is terribly nervous to be presented to friends Ryan's age at his high-school reunion, where Fran hangs out with a pregnant girl, telling the hard truth about motherhood, and is confused with a teacher there, called Feinman, while the boys from his sports team can't believe Ryan is really in love with a woman her age. Josh is happy that Ryan lends him his pick-up, which is pretty much a babe-magnet, so he hopes helping his friend Erica move will lay the ground-works to pick her up intimately. The next day, the happy couple hosts three couples from his reunion, but...

After hearing Fran, Josh and Allison reminisce with their photo-album, Riley feels left out and gets a shock when he makes a joke mentioning 'Riley junior': while kids of their own were a given in his 'junior' mind, Fran assumed it's obvious that maternal duties have taken enough out of her life, yet she has her eggs frozen. Ryan proves himself great father material when Allison, who asked him for a ride, gets stood up by her date. Josh overheard the couple and asks his ma why she considers another kid after he 'stole her youth', she assures him he wasn't planned, but...

Josh goes big brother on his younger teenage sister Alison, when she is picked up by her new boy-friend Kurt, but neither Fran nor Ryan cares to check on her, well, Ryan doesn't dare to tell his wife. Behind their back, Fran does talk to Allison. Josh tempts her to check on Alison's e-mail from Kurt, now the daughter goes drama-queen on her 'privacy infringement'. When Josh complains about noise behind Allison's closed door while Kurt is there, that worries Ryan visibly, so ma and Josh barge in to find- the two love-birds actually studying...

Fran is excited about her first Valentine's day with Riley Martin, but disappointed to hear he reserved at Antonio's, so she books at Carmella's instead, which ruins all his plans and breaks trust, so badly he cancels altogether because she took over once too often. Allison gets a cool handbag from a mystery admirer, and ma saw fitting wrapping paper in the Lombardis's trash can, so she hopes it's from 16 year-old Tony, whom she digs as a 'cotelet', alas... Josh was about to take Riley's advice to dump Lilly, whose excessive superlatives really get on his nerves, ...

Josh has a date with an ex of Riley.

After 'family night' charades were a walkover for the girls, Fran is eager to find something Riley and Josh can do - in order to grow closer together, so when he has a construction vacancy, she decides her lover 'obviously' hires her son, never mind neither darling wants that. Both boys try terribly hard, but Josh is as gifted for construction work (roofing, in this case) as Hitler for equality programs. After a long day, Riley tells Fran he just can't keep such an incompetent worker on, and having hired Joshua she should fire him, but she just can't. Only after an ...

Ryan built a shoe-carousel for his six months anniversary with Fran, so what can she give him? She goes for strip- classes, from obviously queer dance instructor Allan. Josh expects a surprise for his birthday on Sunday, so when she asks him to make himself scarce on Saturday 'for a girls book club' -actually to strip for Ryan- he assumes that's to be his surprise party. Ryan loves his self-unwrapping present, till Josh walks in on them. Alison's unorthodox 'self-expressive' school project has Fran, Ryan and Josh visit the principal- it's a piñata in the shape of the ...

Fran breaks her promise to Riley not to talk about their love life with 'girl-friends' by elaborating about it to their new, gay neighbor Greg. However in her eyes Riley is 'far more wrong' when she discovers he never canceled his old city apartment. So when picking up Josh from the dentist Fran takes the kids there to snoop. Realizing the place is too untidy to be a love-nest, Fran believes Josh's theory Riley just needs a 'man-cave', and arranges everything in her basement. Alas, she got the street wrong, so it must all go back when Riley recognizes nothing, and he ...

Laurie, who used to be the fat girl in Josh's class and nobody was nice to except Josh, returns as a slim hottie. Josh gets interested and finds out that Laurie is an artist, who is too busy getting ready for her exhibition to date. Josh sees that the only time he can have with Laurie is at her studio. Laurie has an idea about her final naked body cast piece for the exhibition. Josh offers to be the model but Laurie wants Fran to be the one who gets plastered. Fran declines. Josh concludes that he has to somehow manipulate Riley so that he makes Fran change her mind ...

Josh's latest girl-friend Gina's phone number became partially illegible after Fran washed his trousers complete with his wallet, but he tries every possibility till he finds the girl, and dates for a concert. When they hear it's Ryan's favorite band, while his job forced him to rush off to building sites so often they hardly ever spend any time together anymore, Fran decides to pretend looking forward to it so they'll be together there, dragging Josh along. Alas Ryan's firm has another emergency, so she's stuck with a date-hungry guy and gets crowd-surfed off. When ...