Mad About You is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City as they navigate life together. In later seasons, the couple has a daughter.
It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Globe Awards and twelve Primetime Emmy Awards. In its final season, the show was dropped from its primetime slot, leading to a sharp decrease in viewership, and subsequently cancelled.
On March 6, 2019, a limited season 8 revival was picked up by Spectrum Originals for 12 episodes. Reiser and Hunt reprised their roles. The revival showed the couple as new empty nesters whose daughter was starting college at NYU. The events of the original series' finale, which showed the events of the next twenty years of the couple's lives, were retconned for the revival. Several foreign-language remakes have been produced, including for China, for Argentina, and for Mexico.
Plot The series focuses mainly on newlyweds Paul Buchman, a documentary filmmaker, and Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist, as they deal with everything from humorous daily minutiae to major struggles. Near the end of the show's run, they have a baby daughter, whom they name Mabel. They live in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan. The 2019 limited series focuses on Paul and Jamie as empty nesters as Mabel starts college at New York University, five blocks away.
Production and scheduling For its original run, Mad About You aired new episodes on six of the seven nights of the week. The show's first season initially aired on Wednesday nights on NBC after the hit sitcom Seinfeld until mid-season, when it was moved to Saturdays after Empty Nest. When the first season ended, the show was moved to Thursdays at 8 p.m. to kick off NBC's inaugural season of the most-known comedy block Must See TV, spending on that timeslot for its next two seasons, causing a increase in ratings, ending inside the top-20 for its third season.
When Friends took over the slot to lead NBC's Thursday lineup, Mad About You was moved to another night of Must See TV on Sundays for its fourth season, where ratings dipped considerably. It bounced back when the show was moved again to another night of Must See TV on Tuesdays, leading once again the block at 8:00 p.m.
Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser were paid $1 million per episode for the last season (with their contracts calling for them to be paid equally). However, ratings fell sharply that year as the series was shuffled away from its Tuesday slot to prop up a fledgling Monday night line-up of comedies on NBC.
The show's theme song, "Final Frontier", was composed by Reiser and Don Was. It was originally performed by Andrew Gold, with a later version covered by Anita Baker, and finally Lyle Lovett and Kecia Lewis, who both had minor acting roles in the series.
Exterior views of buildings were filmed in Manhattan. Paul and Jamie's New York City Apartment was located at 5th Avenue and 12th Street. The Old Town Bar and Restaurant on 45 E. 18th Street was used for the fictional Riff's Restaurant in the series.
Revival In April 2018, it was announced that Sony Pictures Television would revive the show with the two lead actors reprising their roles, though Reiser expressed doubt about it in July 2018. In September 2018, Reiser stated that the revival was still on the table, but that "the studio needs to figure out if they know how to do it."
On March 6, 2019, the series was revived for an eighth season by Spectrum Originals, described as a 12-episode limited series, with Reiser and Hunt confirmed to reprise their roles. On September 5, 2019, it was announced that the first six episodes of the revival would premiere on November 20, 2019, and another six episodes would be released on December 18, 2019. The series was available in a traditional manner in Canada, with its episodes having aired on the CTV Comedy Channel.
Many of the main and recurring cast members reprised their roles for the revival, which ignored the events of the season 7 finale (a flash-forward story that told how the Buchmans would fare over the next 20+ years). The most notable former main cast member not to reprise her role was Leila Kenzle, who played Jamie's best friend, Fran Devanow. Kenzle retired from acting in 2003 and became a psychotherapist. Fran's husband, Mark, does return in the revival, but the character is now remarried.
Cast and characters
Original run (1992–1999) Main Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman, a filmmaker. After attending the New York University Film School, he struggled for recognition before finally succeeding in filmmaking in New York City. He and his family reside near Union Square, on lower Fifth Avenue. Helen Hunt as Jamie Buchman (née Stemple), the younger daughter of Gus and Theresa Stemple. She works in public relations. Maui as Murray, the Buchmans' dog. Twice voted the most popular dog by the readers of TV Guide.TV Guide, Volume 46. 1998. Maui was originally found in a Castaic, California, animal shelter by noted Hollywood animal trainer Boone Narr. Maui weighed 58 pounds and was primarily trained by Betty Linn. His first assignments came in TV commercials and as the backup for the top dog in the feature film Bingo.Media Hounds: Murray on Mad About You Anne Ramsay as Lisa Stemple (seasons 1–5; recurring season 7), Jamie's older sister. Though billed in the opening credits of every episode of seasons 1 through 5, the character appeared less frequently over time, and was in only 22 of the 48 episodes produced in seasons 4 and 5. Anne Ramsay left the show entirely in season 6, but returned for recurring appearances in season 7. Leila Kenzle as Fran Devanow (seasons 1–6; guest season 7), Jamie's best friend. Richard Kind as Dr. Mark Devanow (season 1; recurring seasons 2–5 & 7), Fran's melodramatic ex-husband, with whom she is on good terms. John Pankow as Ira Buchman (recurring season 1; seasons 2–7), Paul's cousin. He first appears in the episode "The Wedding Affair." Cynthia Harris as Sylvia Buchman (guest seasons 1–2; recurring seasons 3–5; seasons 6–7), Paul's Mother. Louis Zorich as Burt Buchman (guest seasons 1–2; recurring seasons 3–5; seasons 6–7), Paul's father. Burt runs a sporting goods store – until he passes it on to Ira upon retirement. His signature line in the show occurs whenever he visits Paul and Jamie's apartment, exclaiming at the door, "It's me, Burt! Burt Buchman—your father!" Alyssa and Justin Baric (twins) as Mabel Buchman, Paul and Jamie's daughter. She was finally named when Jamie's overbearing mother proclaimed that "Mothers Always Bring Extra Love", an homage to The Dick Van Dyke Show where Rob and Laura explain Ritchie's middle name. Alyssa and Justin Baric played Mabel from the beginning of season six when Mabel was brought home from the hospital ("Coming Home"). They continued to play the role of Mabel for numerous episodes. Carter and Madison Gale play the role at a later time. In the season six episode "Letters to Mabel," an 18-year-old Mabel is played by Meredith Bishop. In the series finale, a teen Mabel is played by Cara DeLizia, and an adult Mabel is played by Janeane Garofalo.
Recurring roles and guest stars Jerry Lewis as Freddie Statler, an eccentric billionaire who hires Paul (1 episode) Bradley White as Burtkus, Jaime's superior at her job at City Hall (2 episodes) Jerry Adler as Mr. Wicker, the apartment building superintendent (10 episodes) Hank Azaria as Nat Ostertag, Jamie and Paul's dog walker (15 episodes) Robin Bartlett (29 episodes) and Talia Balsam (1 episode) as Debbie Buchman, Paul's sister. Patrick Bristow as Troy, Jamie's scheming office underling (5 episodes) Mel Brooks as Uncle Phil, Paul's uncle (4 episodes) Carol Burnett (10 episodes) and Penny Fuller (4 episodes) and Nancy Dussault (1 episode) as Theresa Stemple, Jamie's mother. Mo Gaffney as Dr. Sheila Kleinman, Jamie and Paul's therapist (13 episodes) Jeff Garlin as Marvin, Ira's employee and semi-pro wrestler (13 episodes) Judy Geeson as Maggie Conway, British neighbor across the hall (32 episodes) Tommy Hinkley as Jay Selby, Paul's college friend (13 episodes, season 1 only). The disappearance of Selby is never explained, a fact referred to in season 5, episode 21 ("Guardianhood") Lisa Kudrow as Ursula Buffay, absent-minded waitress at Riff's (24 episodes). The character also appeared in the sitcom Friends (1994–2004), in which Phoebe, a co-lead character played by Kudrow, was written as Ursula's twin sister. Cyndi Lauper as Marianne Lugasso, Ira's on and off girlfriend/ex-wife (5 episodes) Lyle Lovett (2 episodes) Gates McFadden as Allison Rourke, Paul Buchman's boss (4 episodes) Larry Miller as Lou Bonaparte (5 episodes) Carroll O'Connor (4 episodes) and John Karlen (3 episodes) and Paul Dooley (1 episode) as Gus Stemple, Jamie's father George O. Petrie as Sid, Paul's film editor colleague (10 episodes) Suzie Plakson as Dr. Joan Golfinos, Debbie Buchman's life partner (and Jamie's Ob/Gyn for a while) (18 episodes) Alan Ruck (4 episodes) and Harry Groener (4 episodes) as Lance Brockwell Eric Stoltz as Alan Tofsky, Jamie's ex-boyfriend (6 episodes) Paxton Whitehead as Maggie's first and third husband Hal (9 episodes) Jim Piddock as Maggie's second husband Hal (7 episodes) Steven Wright as Warren Mermelman (5 episodes) Meg Wyllie as aunt Lolly Stemple (4 episodes) Scott Atkinson as Doug the Handyman (season 5, episode 12: "The Handyman")
Other notable guest stars
Andre Agassi (season 2, episode 15) Ed Asner (2 episodes) John Astin (season 2, episode 23) Kevin Bacon (season 5, episode 7) Lewis Black (season 6, episode 7) Christie Brinkley (season 2, episode 15) Garth Brooks (season 2, episode 23) Michael Buffer (season 7, episode 17) Steve Buscemi (season 1, episode 7) Sid Caesar (season 5, episode 15) James Cameron (season 6, episode 23) Dan Castellaneta (season 7, episode 10) William Christopher (season 7, episode 2) Tim Conway (season 7, episodes 21–22) Ellen DeGeneres (season 6, episode 23) Paul Dooley (season 1, episode 5) Nancy Dussault (season 1, episode 5) Patrick Ewing (season 3, episode 20) Jamie Farr (season 7, episode 16) Barbara Feldon (season 1, episode 20) Janeane Garofalo (season 7, episodes 21–22) Brad Garrett (season 4, episode 18) Marita Geraghty (season 3, episode 10) Steven Gilborn (Season 5 episode 13) Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani (season 3, episode 10) Al Gore (season 6, episode 10) Kerri Green (season 1, episode 4) Seth Green (season 5, episode 21) Billy Joel (season 7, episode 15) Bruno Kirby (season 5, episode 9) Robert Klein (season 7, episode 9) Nathan Lane (season 6, episode 11) Phil Leeds (season 1, episode 6) Eugene Levy (season 6, episode 22) Jerry Lewis (season 1, episode 17) Mark McGwire (season 7, episode 13) Michael Moore (season 5, episode 23) Yoko Ono (season 4, episode 6) Regis Philbin (season 1, episode 18) Sydney Pollack (season 6, episode 13) Beata Poźniak (season 1, episode 12) Carl Reiner as Alan Brady (season 3, episode 16) Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer (season 1, episode 8) Alex Rocco (season, 5, episode 7) Al Roker (season 3, episode 6) Jerry Seinfeld (season 7, episode 1) Brent Spiner (season 3, episode 15) Carol Ann Susi (season 1, episode 9) Wayne Tippit (season 1, episode 11) Patrick Warburton (season 1, episode 16) Bruce Willis (season 5, episode 24) Randy Savage (season 7, episode 17) Ryan Stiles (2 episodes)
Revival (2019) Main Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman Helen Hunt as Jamie Buchman (née Stemple) Anne Ramsay as Lisa Stemple, Jamie's older sister John Pankow as Ira Buchman, Paul's cousin Abby Quinn as Mabel Buchman, Paul and Jamie's daughter Richard Kind as Dr. Mark Devanow Kecia Lewis as Tonya, Mark's new wife Antoinette LaVecchia as Lucia Francavella, Ira's girlfriend then fiancée
Returning