This article contains spoilers.

I didn’t know a lot about comedian Leanne Morgan when I started watching her new Netflix series “Leanne.” What attracted me to it was the premise: a 50-something-year-old woman becomes unexpectedly single and has to reinvent herself. At least, that’s what I thought it was about. That’s what I was hoping it was about.

And it is about that. Kind of. 

The 16-episode show starring Morgan and “Third Rock from the Sun”’s Kristen Johnston (who lived a portion of her childhood in Fox Point, Wis.) emulates a classic ‘80s sitcom the way it’s written, shot and – yikes – even contains canned laughter. 

Creating a menopausal female character inside the confines of sitcoms past has so many possibilities. Unfortunately, “Leanne” doesn’t take the story where it could have. Instead, we get a show that broaches concepts like hot flashes and pelvic floor exercises – topics that never would have been talked about in older sitcoms – but don't reach the emotionally fulfilling levels of “Kate & Allie” or even (OK, I’m dating myself here), “One Day At A Time.”

That’s not to say “Leanne” doesn’t have redeeming aspects. Admittedly, I wanted to give up midway through episode one, but somewhere along the path of tired tropes, dumb sex jokes and – my god – the desperate canned laughter, there is a rhythm that sucked me in. The show gets better as it goes along. But here's the question: is “Leanne” worth the time investment? I'm still not sure.

Thirteen thoughts on Netflix’s “Leanne.”

1. The first episode. It's awful. If you are a “I will never get those 19 minutes back from my life” kind of person, do not even attempt it. The acting is stiff, the writing is stiffer and how many times can I reiterate this: the canned laughter is unbearable. However, if curiosity gets the best of you, there is something comforting about the ’80s sitcom format, thus giving the second episode a try isn’t the worst idea. 
    
2. The accents. I have never been to Knoxville, Tenn. (where the show is set), so I am no expert on the actors’ languid, thick-as-honey accents. My experience with Southern culture has been primarily inside Waffle Houses. Plus, as a person who pronounces only half of the consonants in my city’s name, I’m not about to get judgey about dialects. But the drawls did seem over the top at times to this Midwesterner.
    
3. The exploration of middle-aged women's issues. Sure, Leanne says words that even Peg Bundy wouldn't touch with a 10-foot bonbon, but the topics are never explored. Instead, they are skipped over faster than an average hot flash, making the storyline lack relatable, sincere efforts to tell a post-menopausal woman’s story. 
    
4. The edgy/"edgy" humor. It was there – but there’s just not enough of it. Plus, it occasionally drops a nugget of dark humor that sticks out like a blood stain on white jeans. At a church event (and there are many in “Leanne”), Leanne points out to another parishioner, who is diabetic, that she made a sugar-free Jello salad. “We don’t need you losing another foot,” she says. Diabetes joke? Not for me, thanks. I did smirk, however, when Leanne, recalling the birth of her child, says to her presumably-soon-to-be ex-husband, “I was dilated nine centimeters and you were eating a bag of Funyons.” I also found humor when Leanne yells one word: "sh------t!" from behind the wall of the waxing salon after her first visit in ... quite a while.
    
5. The sister relationship between Leanne and Carol. Overall, this is the best part of the show. The two actors clearly have rapport and a mutual appreciation for one another. But as for how they interacted in the storyline, I didn't always have the same fondness. Throughout the 16 episodes, Leanne and her sister, Carol, share a bed because Leanne struggles to sleep alone after 33 years of marriage. At first, it’s sweet – but then it gets a little weird. I remember sleeping with my sister one night after watching a scary episode of “Little House on the Prairie” – the one where Sylvia gets raped by a mime in the barn – but the nightly sister slumber party seems a little extreme. Other times, the deep sibling connection is really sweet. “You’re my other half,” Carol says of Leanne. And Leanne to Carol (cue the afore-mentioned dark humor): “(If you died) I would shave your hair and wear it as a wig.” Wait, what?
    
6. The recurring fart jokes. Of course, Southern, prim-and-proper Leanne hates farts and fart adjacent comments, but why are there so many? The first night Carol climbs into bed with freshly dumped (not sorry for that pun) Leanne, she offers to  “snore and fart so you think he’s still here.” OK, maybe that one’s a teensy bit humorous. We all have a 12-year-old boy chuckleheading somewhere inside of us.
    
7. The aging parents. This is a reality for so many middle-aged folks, and Leanne’s parents, although still spunky, are showing signs of inevitable decline. I have eternal empathy for anyone who goes through this. Also, is it just me, or does Celia Weston (who plays Leanne’s mother) remind anyone else of an elderly Kristen Wiig?
    
8. The boring-as-beige husband. This guy, played by Ryan Stiles from “Whose Line is it Anyway?," is the worst of all the characters. Case in point: he ended his 33-year marriage to Leanne via an email – a fact that's mentioned only once. This is so incredibly cowardly that I wanted it to be the focus of an entire episode. He also got the family dentist pregnant, and even though he left Leanne, he still mopes at her dating and throws out occasional “I want you backs.” Whatta dickcake. 
    
9. The way-too-much weight loss talk. I know it’s “Skinny Girl Summer” or some stupidity like that, but the constant suggestion that Leanne is overweight (she’s not) and needs to lose a few (she doesn’t) is irritating. Leanne’s neighbor tells her right after her husband left, “Now’s the time for lasagna; Ozempic comes later.” And later, Leanne claims, “If I’m going to build up my self-esteem, starvation is my foundation.” Aack. Are we trapped in a Cathy comic?
    
10. The yearning for the past. “Leanne” wades into some pretty deep sap slosh, but there are a few well-crafted lines that hit me straight in the aging Gen X feels. “Back then (in the ‘80s) our boobs weren't big enough, our hair wasn’t high enough and our leg warmers weren’t warm enough. We criticized ourselves left and right even though we were gorgeous. And 10 years from now, we’re gonna look back and wish we were this young again. So don’t waste it.”
     
11. The many faces of Leanne and Carol. The two actors are masters of contorted faces and extreme expressions. This adds wordless humor to a seemingly hastily written script.
     
12. The pleasant return of Jack McBrayer. “Kenneth the NBC Page” from "30 Rock" appears in an episode of "Leanne," playing a funeral director forced into planning a wedding. It's the cameo we didn't know we needed. McBrayer nails it.
     
13. The deeper concepts. Leanne struggles that her life didn’t turn out the way she planned. This is the show’s most relatable theme. Leanne’s three-decade marriage ended abruptly; her 30-year-old daughter, uninterested in marriage or children, leaves Knoxville to work on a hippie farm in California. In the final episode, Leanne has a turning point. She finally unclenches the past and looks toward the future. She forgives her husband, and it seems like, if there is a season 2 (Netflix hasn't announced this yet), we might meet a much stronger and more interesting Leanne. Truth be told, I gave it a chance, but I won't be watching another season of "Leanne." Not even if they get rid of the canned laughter.