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.

After Lennox breaks up with her new boyfriend, Mel starts dating his father behind her back. Joe tries to teach Ryder a lesson about how to invest in the stock market.

During her first visit in a few years, Joe gives Mel's mother, Monica some advice that upsets Mel. Meanwhile, Lennox gets into some hot water when her gym teacher assumes that she is pregnant.

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.

When Mel and Joe walk in on Lennox and Aidan in bed together, they try to steer her away from sex, while Aidan's parents are delighted at the idea of the two being each other's "first." Holly tries to get Ryder to shave for the first time.

Joe thinks that Mel is having an affair with a married man and seeks to expose her. Lennox's friend has a boyfriend, Haskal (Gregg Sulkin), that has been crushing on her and she tries to find the right words to tell Scarlett. Ryder looks for a perfect birthday present for Holly.

Mel's friend declares she wants to have a baby, and thinks Joe should be the father.

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.

Joe gives Lennox driving lessons without Mel's consent. After Lennox gets into a minor accident, Joe tries to cover it up from Mel. Mel & Ryder are keeping a secret of their own.

In the second-season opener, Mel has her home renovated, but the construction work does not go smoothly. Meanwhile, Lennox's school puts on a play she wrote, but the audience reaction is not what she anticipated.

Mel and Joe attempt to respect each other's privacy after they have a quarrel about boundaries. Elsewhere, Lennox dreads working on the spirit committee at school, but her attitude changes after she meets the president of the club, Aidan (Cody Linley).