She lives with her mother Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney), who is also a recovering drug and alcohol addict, as well as her teenage daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), who was born when Christy was 16years.

Other prominent character in the series is the wise Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy), Christy and Bonnie's friend and co-Alcoholics Anonymous member.

Jaime Pressly and Beth Hall, who play co-Alcoholics Anonymous members Jill and Wendy, respectively, were upgraded to series regular status for this season.

Meanwhile, Bonnie is trying to start dating again, so she sets her sights on fellow AA member Steve (Don McManus), the lawyer that Christy works for.

While Bonnie struggles to move forward in her relationship with Steve, Christy has trouble establishing boundaries with her mentees, who incessantly keep trying to get in touch with her.

Naturally, these problems come to light, as the family tries to host a traditional Shabbat dinner for Violet's judgmental future mother-in-law, Phyllis (Linda Lavin).

Christy tries to help a recently sober man named Julian (Joe Manganiello) get back on his feet, but finds her attraction to him impairing her best intentions.

Meanwhile, Bonnie convinces Christy, Wendy and Jill they can make a huge profit smuggling a barrel of pure maple syrup back from Canada.

Meanwhile, a wrong number results in Bonnie developing a sudden friendship with an unknown man, but when they finally decide to meet, he loses his nerve and disappears...in a wheelchair.

They have a great time on their first real date and plan to see each other again – until Christy soon learns from a colleague that Adam was notorious for cheating on his girlfriends, and she doesn't know how to break the news to Bonnie.

Meanwhile, Christy is hospitalized with pneumonia (and terrified of Wendy's angry, authoritative behavior as an ER nurse) but resolves to get to her pre-law final exam even if it kills her.

When Christy's hard realities regarding college costs and her daughter's broken engagement and marijuana use begin overwhelming her, Bonnie attempts to make some quick money re-selling items (clearing out Jill's over-stocked garage in the process).