Bless This Mess

ABC

Original Series

Studio: ABC

This new single-camera comedy follows newlyweds Rio and Mike as they make the decision to move from big city New York to rural Nebraska. After dropping everything (including their jobs and overbearing mother-in-law) to make the move from skyscrapers to farmhouses, they soon realize that the simpler life isn’t as easy as they planned. Rio and Mike must now learn how to weather the storm as they are faced with unexpected challenges in their new life as farmers.

Episode List for Bless This Mess

Episode	Date	Title	Description
20	5/4/2020	Tornado Season: Part Two	When a tornado touches down in Bucksnort, everyone’s concerns about their current situations are heightened; Mike and Beau are still at odds about their egg businesses; a mix-up with pregnancy tests leads to confusion.
19	4/28/2020	Tornado Season: Part One	When a wealthy restaurateur named Dolores comes to Bucksnort with plans to open a new diner right outside of town, Mike jumps at the chance to earn her business as her egg supplier. After Mike seeks out help from Beau with his pitch to Dolores, Beau attempts to get the business for himself, having just found out they are in a financial pinch. While Dolores is in town, she finds romantic interest in Rudy, and he quickly finds himself having a sugar-mama/sugar-baby relationship with her.
18	4/14/2020	The Table	Mike’s family comes to Bucksnort to surprise him for his birthday; a shocking family secret involving Rudy is unveiled; Constance and Clara attempt to help Brandon find a girlfriend via online dating apps.
17	4/7/2020	After-Prom	Kay asks Mike and Rio to help chaperone Jacob’s after-prom event at the community center. After realizing how controlling Kay has been of Jacob’s life, Rio tries to encourage her to relinquish control, especially when it comes to his “bad girl” girlfriend Janine. At the same time, Mike recognizes that Beau is upset about Jacob going to college, and he tries to get Beau drunk at the after-prom in order to get him to talk about his feelings.
16	3/24/2020	Knuckles	While cleaning out the basement, Rio jokes about Mike’s lack of follow-through when it comes to his hobbies and various projects. Hurt by this comment, Mike sets out to prove Rio wrong. Meanwhile, Constance struggles to end her romantic endeavors with Pastor Paul who has become quite clingy.
15	3/17/2020	Pastor Paul	When the new pastor in town starts giving out free advice to the townspeople, Rio feels like her therapy practice is in jeopardy; Mike falls in love with a used truck and purchases it without telling Rio.
14	2/25/2020	Völsung and the Beef Boy	When faced with choosing between meat judging (his dad Beau’s preference) or playing music (his shared bond with Mike), Jacob realizes he must figure out what his passions are on his own. Meanwhile, Rio takes driving lessons from Kay, but their friendship hits a bump in the road when Kay learns that Rio has secretly been getting lessons from other townspeople.
13	2/18/2020	Calm Down	Rio comes up with a plan when Sierra confesses something big on her wedding day, while Mike and Rudy devise a plan to make money from the New Yorkers who are coming in for the wedding. Meanwhile, Beau and Kay fall back into their old arguments and soon find themselves at a crossroads.
12	2/11/2020	Bunker Down	Rio is excited to plan the perfect farm wedding for her best friend Sierra, but when she arrives in Bucksnort, she shows a different side which could affect their friendship forever. Meanwhile, Constance keeps her mind off of Ruby after their break, and Mike is determined to figure out a way to calm things between Constance and Rudy.
11	1/28/2020	The Letter of the Law	Description Rio is bummed she can’t afford to go to Iceland for her best friend’s wedding, so the nuptials are moved and brought to the farm; Rio is forced to take on Deb’s mail route after she quits; Mike and Jacob help Rudy get over Constance.
10	12/10/2019	Bad Seed	Mike and Rio must decide what seed to start growing on their farm; Rio tries to get Beau and Kay’s relationship to set sail; Jacob shadows Constance for a school project, making Rudy a nervous wreck while they discuss catching criminals.
9	12/3/2019	Goose Glazing Time	Mike and Rio are thrilled about having their first Christmas alone as a married couple, but a wrench is thrown into their romanticized holiday plans as they are interrupted by crisis after crisis; Kay invites Beau home for Christmas.
8	11/26/2019	The Grisham Gals	Rio tries to help Kay get over her jealousy of her sister Stacey who is in town visiting, but soon finds herself jealous of Kay’s near-perfect sister when she learns that Mike and Stacey used to date. Meanwhile, Rudy and Constance want to take their releationship to the next Level.
7	11/19/2019	Six Out of Six	Mike and Rio are at odds with each other when they consider having a kid of their own; and they soon get a taste of the parenting life when they are forced to take care of Portia’s six piglets. Meanwhile, Kay and Beau may have found common ground during the annual Euchre tournament party
6	11/12/2019	The Visit	Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance’s son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy.
5	10/29/2019	Scare Night	Mike and Rio first met on Halloween years ago, so now Mike loves to commemorate the holiday by scaring the wits out of Rio all night. Unbeknownst to Mike, Rio actually hates the scares but is afraid to tell Mike. When Rio turns the tables on Mike and tries to scare him into ending Scare Night, Mike gets bitten by a bat and the night escalates from there.
4	10/15/2019	Bang For Your Buck	Mike decides to get back into journalism by reinvigorating the town newspaper.
3	10/8/2019	Omaha	The ladies head to Omaha for their annual exams, but the trip quickly goes off the rails; Kay is jealous of Beau’s new dating profile; Mike, Rudy and Beau bond when an accident leaves them stranded in a tree.
2	10/1/2019	Phase Two	Mike and Rio attempt to reignite their love life, after getting pressure about it from Beau; Constance and Rudy grapple with how to unveil their relationship to Constance’s son.
1	9/24/2019	459	Mike and Rio host the big event of college football season: the town’s Huskers kickoff party. But no one in Bucksnort believes they can pull it off. They might be right when Rio loses Portia, the pig that’s been selected for the lucky pig race. Beau and Kay frantically try to hide the fact that they’ve split up, with mixed results.

Episode	Date	Title	Description
6	5/21/2019	The Estonian Method	Mike and Rio enter the “best hen” competition at the county fair with their prized chicken Priyanka in order to prove themselves to the community. Meanwhile, romantic sparks fly between Rudy and Constance, only to be halted by a run-in with someone from Rudy’s past; and Kay and Beau struggle with some marital issues.
5	5/14/2019	In Hot Water	In order to afford a new water heater, Rio and Mike must come up with ways to make money since Mike refuses to let Rio’s mom, Donna, pay for it. Mike decides to sell their chickens’ eggs at the local farmers market; and Rio tries to find new clients for therapy, but the town doesn’t seem to want their business.
4	5/7/2019	Predators	Rio is having trouble adjusting to social and cultural differences between New York and Nebraska, resulting in a few awkward encounters. Through their wild chase to catch an unwanted predator that is after their chickens, Mike and Rio soon convince Rudy and Beau to step out of their comfort zones by getting them to express their feelings.
3	4/30/2019	The Return of Short Shorts	Mike attempts to fit in with the Coffee Boys in order to get rid of his old nickname, “Short Shorts,” by trying to prove to them that he’s a “true farmer.” Meanwhile, Rio finally gets Constance to open up to her, and she discovers that Constance has a liking for Rudy.
2	4/23/2019	The Chicken and the Goat	After weeks of researching soil revitalization and coming up with a wonderful plan to make their farm successful, Rio and Mike are forced to find a new strategy when the weather forecast is not in their favor. As Mike tries to focus on addressing the dead soil, Rio attempts to connect with new neighbors at the Bowman’s potluck but ends up spicing up her romantic relationship with Mike instead.
1	4/16/2019	Pilot	Newlyweds Rio and Mike drop everything (including their jobs and overbearing mother-in-law) to make the move from big city New York to rural Nebraska in search of a simpler life. They soon realize that becoming farmers isn’t as easy as they planned as they are faced with unexpected challenges.