B Positive Season 1 recap: Episode 1, ‘Pilot’

CBS’s latest sitcom B Positive is tied together by its talented leads and their subsequent chemistry. As far as sitcoms go, this one is pretty good.

CBS’s latest sitcom B Positive enters this strange new barren television landscape with a story about a man named Drew (Thomas Middleditch), a psychologist with a 12-year-old daughter undergoing a breakup with his ex Julia (Sarah Rue).  In the cold open, Drew discovers he’s gone into renal failure. In the process of seeking a kidney transplant, he forges a surprising bond with his donor, a wild, reckless, old high school friend Gina (Annaleigh Ashford).

The pilot episode begins with Drew receiving his diagnosis at the doctor’s office. We then cut to a rather bizarre and disturbing opening credit sequence that would be more at home on a surreal series or horror show over a CBS sitcom.

We meet Gina for the first time at a wedding. She’s a bridesmaid alongside her friend Leanne (Kether Donahue). It quickly becomes apparent that Gina’s a little all over the place, for lack of a better word. Spotting Drew in the lobby after the ceremony, Gina drunkenly calls him over to catch up. She reveals that she drives a bus for the assist living home and sees a lot of death.

Something about Drew looks a little “deathy.”  A reluctant Drew tells her about his kidney problems. Thus far, she’s the first person he’s told, as hasn’t been able to bring himself to tell Julia or his daughter, Maddie.

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Gina jumps at the opportunity to be of assistance and offers to give Drew her kidney. “I’m totally serious and it’s not the wine talking, or the weed, or whatever that pink pill was.” He’s shocked she would make such an important decision out of nowhere, Gina assures him it’s totally in character for her by showing him her thigh tattoo. “Who’s Gunner?” “Exactly!”

Still, Drew isn’t excited by the possibility of relying on someone as carefree and messy as Gina. He tells her he has some other options to look at first, but we quickly learn that none of them are going to pan out. As a last resort, he tracks down Gina on her bus route.

She doesn’t remember anything her drunk alter ego “Becca” promised. Drew almost throws the towel in and gives up, but she decides that as long as she has two kidneys and doesn’t technically need both, why not?

Gina soon finds out she and Drew are a match, the only problem is that she has to stay clean and sober for three months before the transplant procedure. Gina promises Drew she can do just that, but within one night she breaks her vow. Disappointed, Drew tells her to forget the whole thing and turns to the National Kidney Registry instead.

Discovering that the waitlist is like 10+ years, a desperate Drew returns to Gina while she’s on her bus route. He apologizes for calling her a train wreck (“Even though it’s probably true.”) and begs her to help him. Ultimately, she agrees, or we probably wouldn’t have a show, and thus their journey officially begins!

B Positive, “Pilot” Grade: B-

B Positive: Doctor’s Notes

• It’s nice seeing Kether Donahue employed again, I’ve missed her since You’re the Worst ended.
• ”Oh great, a Republican kidney.”
• Overall, B Positive is one of the better sitcom pilots I’ve seen in recent memory. Much of that can be attributed to the chemistry between the two leads. It’ll be interesting to see if it can get renewed, however, as networks, like FOX, have been brutal this television season.

What did you think about the B Positive pilot? Will you keep watching? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

New episodes of B Positive Season 1 air Thursday nights at 8:30/9:30c on CBS.