Bob Wheeler runs his family's successful, highly competitive sock company in Detroit with his mother Dottie and his younger twin siblings Christina and Douglas. When the stress of the job lands him in Woodward Memorial Hospital due to a mild heart attack, he is immediately drawn to Abishola, his kind, hardworking nurse. Now all Bob needs to do is convince her to give him a chance, which will take some doing since they couldn't be more different. After coming to America from Nigeria to find a better life for herself and her son Dele, Abishola lives in a small apartment with her super-protective relatives, Auntie Olu and Uncle Tunde. Undaunted by Abishola's lack of initial interest or the vast differences in their backgrounds, Bob is determined to win Abishola's heart.
Cast
Main
Billy Gardell as Robert "Bob" Wheeler, a divorced man who runs MaxDot, his family's compression sock manufacturing company in Detroit. When he has a heart attack because of the business and his family, he wakes at the hospital where he meets a Nigerian nurse and falls in love.
Folake Olowofoyeku as Abishola Bolatito Doyinsola Oluwatoyin Adebambo, Bob's nurse at Woodward Memorial Hospital; an immigrant Nigerian who lives with her son, aunt and uncle in a small apartment.
Christine Ebersole as Dorothy "Dottie" Wheeler, Bob, Douglas and Christina's mother. Her late husband, Max, was the founder of MaxDot. After suffering a stroke, she receives nursing care from Abishola at Bob's house.
Maribeth Monroe as Christina Wheeler, Dottie's daughter, Bob's younger sister and Douglas' twin sister. She is the sales department representative at MaxDot and was previously married, but the relationship ended after she stabbed her husband with a knife.
Shola Adewusi as Oluwatoyin "Olu" Ifedayo Olatunji, Abishola's aunt and Tunde's wife.
Barry Shabaka Henley as Babatunde "Tunde" Olatunji, Abishola's uncle and Olu's husband.
Travis Wolfe Jr. as Dele Babatunde Adebambo, Abishola's son.
Vernee Watson as Gloria Tyler, one of Abishola's fellow nurses at Woodward Memorial Hospital.
Gina Yashere as Kemi, Abishola's best friend for the last 20 years; she works in food service at Woodward Memorial Hospital.
Bayo Akinfemi as Goodwin, an employee at MaxDot and Kofo's cousin. They often speak to each other privately in Yoruba.
Anthony Okungbowa as Kofo Olanipekun, an employee at MaxDot and Goodwin's cousin.
Recurring
Tony Tambi as Chukwuemeka Mborata, a pharmacist who was Abishola's suitor and now is Kemi's love interest.
On October 5, 2018, it was announced that CBS had given the production an early pilot order. The pilot was written by Chuck Lorre, who executive produced along with Eddie Gorodetsky, Al Higgins and Gina Yashere. Production companies involved with the pilot included Chuck Lorre Productions and Warner Bros. Television. On May 6, 2019, it was announced that the production had been given a series order. A day after that, it was announced that the series would premiere in the fall of 2019 and air on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. The series debuted on September 23, 2019. On October 22, 2019, it was announced that CBS had ordered an additional nine episodes of the series. On March 13, 2020, Warner Bros. Television announced that production was suspended due to the television impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown left the last two intended episodes of the season unfilmed. On May 6, 2020, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which is set to premiere by fall 2020.
Casting
On December 17, 2018, it was announced that five co-leads, opposite Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku as the title characters, had been cast, including Christine Ebersole, Maribeth Monroe, Matt Jones, Shola Adewusi and Barry Shabaka Henley. This is Gardell's second starring role in a CBS sitcom, after Mike & Molly, which ran from 2010 to 2016 and was also executive produced by Lorre; in addition, Gardell has a recurring role on Young Sheldon as Herschel Sparks, a neighbor of the title character. Matt Jones is an alum of fellow Lorre/CBS series Mom. On January 30, 2020, it was reported that Anthony Okungbowa and Bayo Akinfemi have been promoted as a series regulars.
Release
Marketing
On May 15, 2019, CBS released the first official trailer for the series.
Broadcasting
Bob Hearts Abishola premiered in United States on CBS and Canada on CTV on September 26, 2019.
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 58% approval rating with an average rating of 6.75/10, based on 12 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Groundbreaking, but unfortunately grating, Bob Abishola undermines its own progressive premise with underwhelming humor that relies too heavily on outdated stereotypes." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 57 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
