Former wild child Mel Burke has just been elected as city council person for Toledo, Ohio. However, in addition to her new job, she is also forced into raising her niece, Lennox, and her nephew, Ryder. Lennox and Ryder's father, Louis Scanlon, was part of a ponzi scheme and fled the country. Their mother was sent to prison, leaving Mel as the only option. Joe Longo, a former employee of Louis and lost all of his money. His wife kicked him out and left him with nothing. Joe tracks down Mel for information on Louis. Their paths continue to cross until Mel accidentally offers Joe a job to help her take care of the kids. Lennox got suspended from school and Joe saves the day getting Lennox to talk to the principal and accept her punishment.

A doctor's Halloween house call is anything but ordinary when it is revealed that Mel was once a teenage witch and her help is needed in a battle against an evil foe.

When their honeymoon to Tahiti gets canceled due to Mel's broken leg, Joe surprises her with a cabin getaway. But their dream vacation quickly becomes a nightmare. Meanwhile, Lennox tries to hide her relationship with Marco.

Mel & Joe are reeling from both the pregnancy test results and Ryder's announcement that he's joining the Navy. Feeling Ryder is completely unprepared, they hatch a plan to have Joe put him through a rigorous mock Boot Camp.

When Joe learns the significance of the little devil tattoo on Mel's backside, it's a big turnoff for him in the bedroom. Meanwhile, Lennox and Zander are forced to work with an untrained actress on their "Cassandra" short film.

Joe finds himself in a compromising position with a famous “bondage romance” author that Mel invited to her book club.

After taking a new job with crazy hours, Joe has to down a bunch of energy drinks to stay awake for a meeting Mel has with Hank, a rich backer who might finance her Congressional run. But with Joe wired and acting weird, Hank fears he's is on drugs. Meanwhile, Lennox decides to kill off Cassandra to break up Zander and McKenna.

Mel tries to convince Joe to talk Gloria into drawing up a will, but Joe chickens out. So Mel invites Russell to come talk to her. Gloria is offended, but Russell soon charms her - a little too well for Mel's liking. Meanwhile, Lennox and Zander try to just be "friends with benefits."

On a family game night, questions and answers lead to a breakdown of Mel and Joe’s, as well as Lennox and Zander’s, relationship.

Mel dates a guy with ulterior motives. Joe deals with getting his stuff back from his ex-wife, most importantly his flat screen TV. Lennox tries to make friends in her new school.

Mel's sister Meredith comes home from prison on furlough to celebrate Christmas with the kids and Mel, and seems unruffled by Joe's obvious animosity towards her.

Joe rushes home to tell Mel that he has feelings for her after their romantic night together in New Jersey. When he arrives, he's shocked to find Austin has shown up and wants to give his relationship with Mel another try. Deciding he can't stay and watch them fall in love all over again, Joe quits. Meanwhile, Lennox plots to get Joe and Mel together and Ryder gets sick from his own cooking.

Joe, wanting the family to spend more time with each other, puts a ban on cell phones and computers all weekend long. But it may come back to haunt him when he's offered a job if he gets back to the guy in time.

Joe is shocked to learn that Dani snuck friends in to the house, drank wine and then lied about it. Meanwhile, Mel is less than thrilled over Lennox's infatuation with her professor.

Lennox wishes to follow her professor to Colombia; Joe wants Dani to tell her mother about her irresponsible behavior.

Mel and Joe want to have a child as soon as possible. Ryder wonders what to do with his future.

After being frozen in an avalanche on a ski trip, Mel and Joe thaw out 100 years in the future.

New couple Mel and Joe have a disagreement over whose family ornament gets to adorn the top of their Christmas tree.

Mel learns the true reason why Joe is unsupportive of Dani's musical talents.

Mel decides to run on a Healthy Diet campaign for her senate run but is then caught eating a Piggy Burger by a voter. After he tweets a photo of her and calls her a hypocrite, she gets into a war of the words with him.

Mel insists on Joe "courting" her, but soon becomes frustrated at their lack of time together. Desperate to spend time with him, Mel sneaks over to his new digs, where he works as a live-in nanny, risking getting him fired—for a second time in as many weeks. Meanwhile, after witnessing a robbery, Ryder expects a hero’s welcome, but is horrified to discover that his interview with the local news has been turned into a viral video called "I Peed My Pants."

Mel takes Joe to a work dinner. Upon meeting the press, Joe starts to spout his—and Mel’s—opinions on issues, which garners Mel bad press. Meanwhile, Ryder musters up the courage to ask his new Chem partner Stella out on a date.

Dani wants to go on a date with a boy at school, but Joe tells her she’s too young. So she tricks Mel into taking her anyway, putting Mel in the awkward situation of wanting to be the cool stepmom but having to lie to Joe. Meanwhile, Lennox and Marco run into Zander and are outed as a couple.

Joe wants Mel to stop taking birth control so they can start a family, but she's unsure. So he invites Nate and Gillian over with their new baby to see if he can change her mind. Meanwhile, Lennox tries to help Zander move on by setting him up with her friend Lilah, and Ryder announces his unexpected plans for the future.

Joe has to return a fancy wedding gift from her relatives and then learns that they are going to pay a visit.