ABC’s “Call Your Mother” Often References Eastern Iowa City

If you're like most people, you spend a lot of time in the winter months (especially during a pandemic) sitting on the couch flipping through the channels trying to find new shows to watch on TV. Recently, my wife and I found a sitcom that we both can agree on that's loosely tied to eastern Iowa.

Kyra Sedgwick stars in "Call Your Mother" on ABC. She plays a retired Waterloo, Iowa school teacher who decides to be close to her children by moving cross country to Los Angeles, California in order to be with them, much to their chagrin. When she arrives in L.A., to visit her adult son and daughter she becomes the ultimate smothering mother, or a "Smother" and decides to stay. There have been occasional references about Iowa in each of the few episodes so far. They even showed their version of the Waterloo Airport in the pilot.

The show's producer Kari Lizer biggest accolades is being known as the co-executive producer for the popular show Will & Grace for three years, and the creator/executive producer for The New Adventures of Old Christine.  Apparently the idea for the show, came from the producer's own personal life experience. The story goes that Lizer's son got a job in Iowa and moved here from L.A., and Lizer flies here frequently to visit him. Doing so, she fell in love with Iowa, and that's how she got the idea for the show.

If you're looking for some laughs, check it out for yourself, Wednesday nights at 8:30 on ABC (KCRG-TV 9).