LOS ANGELES (AP) "My Boys" executive producer Betsy Thomas is taking a soup break in her Paramount Studios office a mini-shrine to the Chicago Cubs.

Part of her collection: a stuffed Cubs bear, a ball, a table-top pinball machine in the shape of Wrigley Field. But her favorite is, perhaps, the white flag on the wall bearing a blue W, a replica of the one that flies at Wrigley after a Cubs win.

"This Christmas, my husband gave me these diamond earrings and I'm like, 'Oh my god, I love them!' When I opened this, that's what made me cry," Thomas says, grinning.

The perfect gift for a woman who lives and breathes sports one of Thomas' personal traits she's given to PJ, the Chicago sportswriter in the TBS comedy "My Boys," returning at 11 p.m. on Monday with nine new episodes.

When the series debuted last December, critics and audiences alike cheered for PJ (played by Jordana Spiro), an effervescent blonde with a passion for poker and a tight-knit circle of guy friends and one ultra-feminine girlfriend.

The show has captured both male and female viewers by using sports, gambling and dating to delve into the differences in how men and women see the world.

"I've always been fascinated with the differences between men and women and the similarities," says Thomas, an avid poker player who'd rather watch ESPN than shop for shoes. "Definitely the genesis of this came from a place of being really fed up and feeling alienated by so many women on TV, feeling I had nothing in common with them."

Although PJ is single and in her 20s and Thomas is a married 41-year-old, the writer created the character with her own life as a template.

"I would say PJ thinks a lot like me," says Thomas. "I always put myself in her shoes. I try to use myself as a gauge to keep her emotionally honest."

Raised in Franklin, Michigan, with seven brothers and sisters, Thomas grew up "in a kind of genderless household," she says. "I never felt any inequality of the sexes. It was only when I got out into the world that I learned that."

Thomas' vision for "My Boys" is clear: Just keep it real. It helps that the characters are so familiar.

PJ's best friend, Brendan (played by Reid Scott), is based on Thomas' longtime pal, writer Brendan Smith, who inspired the season's cliffhanger in which Brendan reveals his secret crush on PJ.

"We made out in college," Smith says of Thomas, "and we threw that out last season because it was sort of one hilarious night and we both have different versions of the story."

Working with Thomas, Smith says, "is great because we've been friends for so long, I don't have to worry about pleasing her. I don't have to play those games."

The success of "My Boys" prompted further development at TBS, now boasting two additional original comedy hits with "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and "The Bill Engvall Show."

"The response made us all feel like, 'OK, done correctly, this is a business for us",' said Michael Wright, a senior vice president and for TBS.

"But we take nothing for granted as far as going forward."

For her part, Thomas is looking forward to a more personal endeavor: motherhood. She and her husband, writer Adrian Thomas, are expecting their first child in September.

"I'm so excited," she says, beaming, "and it's a boy. It gives a whole new dimension to `My Boys."'

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