They Probably Will, Eventually

NBC is seemingly incapable of launching any new comedies, but lately they've had a lot of luck with dramas. So far, The Mysteries of Laura, Debra Messing's new series, is a moderate hit, so as long as the numbers are good, there's an equally good chance that the show will be sticking around. Debra Messing has made it back on NBC and is starring opposite Josh Lucas on the dramedy as a New York City detective who's struggling to balance work with her recent divorce and raising uncommonly badly behaved twin boys. The central relationship of the show is between Laura and Jake, her ex-husband, and while it's not a romantic relationship yet, they're just contentious enough that they might end up back together.

The pilot forced Jake back into Laura's life when he pulled strings in order to become her boss, desperate to win her back. If Josh Lucas wasn't inhumanly charming, that would be terrifying, but he's able to sell it, at least in the context of a TV show. But Jake's past infidelity and irresponsibility make Laura swear that she'll never take him back. Of course, whenever a TV character swears they'll never, ever, ever take someone back… it's only a matter of time before they get back together. And in an interview with BuddyTV, executive producer Jeff Rake compared Mysteries of Laura to Moonlighting , the classic will they/won't they detective dramedy that ultimately had its characters get together.

These early episodes are carefully drawing lines between how charming Jake can be at work and the reality of dealing with him in a relationship. But the writers keep throwing in these small indicators that Laura will eventually soften up. One of the show's strangest insistences is that Laura has to be used as sexy bait in order to do her job every week. I think it's an attempt at superficially (and with a sexist connotation) reminding the audience that even though Laura is kind of a curmudgeon, she still has the potential to get another relationship if she wants — but at the moment, they could cool it on the romance and focus on developing the chemistry between Laura, Jake, Sands, and Max as they work together as equals.

I'd be willing to bet that while Laura and Jake definitely won't get together right away, at some point late in the first season or early in the second, maybe right after Jake has his first official girlfriend or Laura goes on a non-serial killer date, that she will realize she still has feelings for him and they'll briefly rekindle their romance… or at least hook up. But hopefully the show will learn from classic will they/won't they fallout like Moonlighting, or recent disasters like New Girl, and realize that while it's easy to put two opposite characters together for a first kiss, it's a lot harder to keep it going after that first moment.

Images: Will Hart/NBC (2); Giphy