‘Home Economics’ Season 3 Ended on Some Major Open Plot Threads

Home Economics has wrapped up Season 3, and fans are nervously waiting for news on Season 4. If we do get Home Economics Season 4, the creative minds behind the ABC sitcom will have plenty to work with. While there weren’t any huge swings made at the last minute — unlike the ill-fated America Housewife did in 2021 — but there are still several status quo changes that will provide loads of creative material for another season.

The single biggest open plot thread is that Sarah (Caitlin McGee) and Denise (Sasheer Zamata) are finally beginning the IVF process. Exploring Sarah’s pregnancy journey in Season 4 will be huge for the couple, especially since it was sidestepped a lot in Season 3 due to McGee’s real-life pregnancy. As co-creators/co-showrunner Michael Colton told TV Line, a fourth season would provide the room to really dig into that story.

“Timing-wise, there were other stories we wanted to tell first,” Colton recalled. “Once a character has a baby that [becomes their main] story; it’s hard to get away from that. And there were a lot of other things we wanted to play before we got to that point. And because we have a lesbian couple and it’s a very specific type of journey to get pregnant — the characters are based on my sister and her wife — we wanted to make sure we have the room to tell that journey. And had we [accelerated the story to sync up with Caitlin’s pregnancy] we would’ve jumped ahead and started Season 3 with her already pregnant, and [subsequently] missed the chance to tell some of the stories we want to tell about IVF. In [a potential] Season 4, we would have the runway to tell the story the way we want to tell it.”

Connor (Jimmy Tatro) has two potential story beats to follow. He has a blossoming romance with Nicky (Daniella Pineda) to follow up on. Then, following the events of the Season 3 finale, “Emergency Preparedness Kit, $129.99,” the richest sibling wants to run for mayor of San Francisco. 

Colton told TV Line: “We have some fun ideas on how to play the mayor thing out if we get a Season 4. I think it’s something we can have fun with for a few episodes. It’s inspired by the idea that when people have a certain degree of wealth they think that maybe they should…” His fellow co-creator/co-showrunner John Aboud then interjected to finish his sentence: “run everything!”

Plus, we’d be remiss if we didn’t bring up the crazy fact that the Hayworth family discovered they have a secret half-sibling, Harmony (Casey Wilson). Colton had high praise for Wilson, noting “she’s hilarious and she’s ABC sitcom royalty,” referencing her run on Happy Endings. While he noted, “we definitely want to bring her back,” Colton was clear to note “it’s a little early” to discuss bringing her on in a more full-time capacity.

While we wait for Home Economics Season 4, Home Economics Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Hulu. In addition to the stars previously noted, the Home Economics cast also includes Topher Grace, Karla Souza, Lidia Porto, Shiloh Bearman, Jordyn Curet, JeCobi Swain and Chloe Jo Rountree.