When well-meaning 23-year-old Jimmy Chance has a one-night stand with a wanted felon, he ends up being a dad to a bouncing baby girl. Inspired to do the right thing by his daughter, he has to convince his less-than-enthusiastic parents and great-grandmother to help him raise her.

When Jimmy returns to work, he hires Sabrina's cousin Shelley - a/k/a "Dead Tooth" - to babysit Hope. Meanwhile, Burt tries to get Virginia to quit smoking.

When Jimmy "teaches" Hope to crawl, the family must baby-proof the house and find new places to store their belongings. It's soon revealed that Virginia is a hoarder and has been saving junk in the storage shed, which becomes Hope's favorite new hiding place. This leads Virginia to realize that she may have to change her ways. Meanwhile, Jimmy makes frequent unnecessary trips to the grocery store to see Sabrina.

Jimmy is delighted when Sabrina accepts to pay him a visit. None of his family wants to help make a good impression, but she seems charmed by all their dysfunctional family quirks. Mother insists on explaining all the stressed misery caused by the annual Chance family pictures, as it's time for another with baby Hope, but accepts to let Jimmy take her place as organizer.

Sabrina's boyfriend can't make it to the deli guy's Halloween party, so Jimmy offers to put on his costume and go in his place. Virginia takes Maw Maw, who is dressed as a cat, trick-or-treating while Burt plots ways to play tricks on Jimmy.

Jimmy receives a box with videotapes of Hope's mother from prison but he is not sure if Hope should see them. Virginia thinks children do not always have to know the truth.

When the doctor refuses to comment on Hope's symptoms, probably just a cold, without insurance data, Jimmy is shocked to learn his family never got some. An embarrassing episode, trying to buy potentially addictive cough-syrup at the supermarket, inspires Jimmy to seek employment there, as it comes with insurance. Burt however may not know, as he claims he can get the whole family insured by winning a city contract biding against his former employer, Green Thumb, which even Virginia won't believe. meanwhile maw maw in quarantined, or at least that's attempted, for a cold could kill her.

After it becomes painfully clear that Hope starts imitating her canine companions in the day care center, Jimmy decides it's his duty to get her into a prestigious kindergarten, which is way beyond the Chances' means, so their only hope is the single scholarship for the underprivileged, for which competition is murderous. It's utterly impossible as long as the 'blue dot' on their home isn't taken off the sex offenders website. It refers to Burt's teenage arrest for clumsy sex with willing but underage Virginia. They appeal to crazy TV lawyer Wally Phipps. Alas, dealing with the court and costs results in fresh convictions for both utterly unladylike 'ladies'. Jimmy is reduced to shameless lies, but can't go trough with fraud at even poorer kids' expense.

Jimmy wants Hope's first Thanksgiving to be an all-American traditional family dinner, not the Chances' mere pizza. Jimmy even insists to invites the maternal grandparents, Dr. Dale and his wife Margine, who went crazy out of grief over their daughter's crime and execution. Jimmy painstakingly makes his family accommodate Dale's weird 'therapy' for Margine, only to be rewarded by Hope being kidnapped, gets her back and still extends a second invitation. Meanwhile lonely Barney from the supermarket offers to come cook a traditional feast for the all, instead of having to eat his all alone.

Every year, supermarket manager Barney must chose an act for the 'Grocery-Palooza', a free show for the customers. Jimmy learns that one of the many, lame options is washed-up one-hit 'rock star' Smokey, Burt's teenager musical hero. The gang moves heaven and earth to see to it that Smokey is hired and Burt as his guitarist, only the life-long dream comes with matching stage-fright.

Jimmy refuses to let Burt sell the last of the stock of hottest toy he arranges each Christmas, demanding it for Hope, remembering how hard it was to sit by the pile himself. Burt's promise is as worthless as ever, and when he finally agrees, the only childless client, supermarket executive Barney, proves a hard nut. Jimmy ultimately allows Virginia to sign up Hope, and thus all the Chances, for the annual live church nativity crib, despite his trauma having been dragged to every performance just so she could get on stage, as a way to fight the stigma of serial killer's child. However they didn't count on the Asian new parishioners.

Jimmy is delighted when he finally meets fellow single father in the supermarket, so he agrees with Justin their kids should get play dates, despite lack of support on the Chase home front. It turns out Justin's far less dysfunctional family is also snobbish, end employs Virginia as cleaner. A last chance dinner backfires.

The Chances get caught in Virginia's web of lies when her cousin Delilah, whom she told Maw-Maw was dead, turns up to claim her share of the estate, her business being wiped out by the crisis. Their rivalry started when Delilah, who was spoiled and better at everything else, lost most desirable teenager Burt to jealous Virginia, so she proposes an alternative mode of payment: in 'bedroom' kind. Jimmy was to mind the 'deceased' inconspicuously, but she escapes and crashes back in.

Virginia's nemesis, spoiled cousin Delilah, invites the whole family to Las Vegas for her high-profile wedding with an air force hero. Jimmy asks Sabrina along, as she always wanted to 'go wild once'. Burt is allowed to come but without cash, given his gambling record. Instead he and Jimmy earn cash doing odd and dubious jobs, but make a pittance. Virginia fails utterly to sabotage Delilah's wedding. Burt hoped to make up for his pauper wedding by renewing his vows here, but comes up with a budget comfortable alternative.

Based on a block assembly toy, Jimmy and parents proudly assume Hope inherited her serial ma's IQ. Afraid of looking stupid to Sabrina as his daughter outsmarts him, Jimmy decides to return to high-school. Refusing to be left as the family's dumbest, his parents follow suit. Old teacher Mr. Swift remembers all three formerly abusive, unmotivated dropouts and enjoys humiliating them in class. Tutoring by Sabrina, Frank and Mawmaw helps Jimmy, Burt and Virginia, but only enough to pass in a few courses each. To avoid utter failure, they decide to cheat so at least Jimmy gets his G.E.D.

A mysterious Natesville resident keeps popping up in the Chances' lives.

Burt and Virginia introduce Natesville to a new bartering system called "Burt Bucks," that looks an awful lot like a pyramid scheme.

Virginia and Burt fear that Jimmy and Sabrina's marriage has lost its spark. So they use their own relationship experiences to try and shake things up.

In trying to help Barney and Maxine's budding relationship, Burt and Virginia wind up getting in a fight. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Sabrina decide to start fencing in order to relieve some of the tension in their relationship.

Virginia thinks that Burt is getting her an expensive gift for their 25th anniversary. So she decides to take him to a dude ranch that is run by a crazy cowboy. But Burt isn't able to enjoy himself, because of a secret he is keeping from Virginia.

Maw Maw has found a new love, Hubert, who encourages her to engage in some reckless activity. When Virginia finds herself scolding Maw Maw, she fears she's become a lame adult and wants Burt to do more risk-taking activities with her. Jimmy and Sabrina follow suit when they find themselves spying on their own babysitter.

Virginia's boss, Louise, begins grooming her for the role of regional sales manager. But when Virginia sees what her boss' job is really like, she has second thoughts. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Sabrina are worried about Hope's lack of compassion when she feels no sadness over the death of her pet fish, and Burt and Virginia perform at the Natesville Telethon.

Virginia stops believing in magical things, but second guesses herself when a ghost appears in their house. When Burt discovers that Jim Hughes has secretly been living in their house's bomb shelter, Burt and Jim play along with Virginia's antics in order to make her believe in the paranormal again. Meanwhile, Burt and Virginia learn some news about Jim that scares them straight.

Jimmy and Sabrina get a surprise when they learn that Sabrina's late grandmother has left them the family maid, who has a lifetime contract with the family. Meanwhile, Virginia gets a promotion at work that allows Burt to retire and pursue his passion - even if he doesn't know what his passion is.

Virginia plans her father's wedding in exchange for his paying for Hope's college tuition.