Mad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999, with a total of 164 half-hour episodes for seven seasons. The show was created by the team of Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson. The series stars with Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City.
The show won many awards including four Golden Globe Awards and twelve Primetime Emmy Awards.
On March 6, 2019, a limited series revival was picked up by Spectrum Originals. On September 5, 2019, it was announced that the first six episodes of the revival will premiere on November 20, 2019, and another six episodes will be released on December 18, 2019.
Premise[]
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.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman
- Helen Hunt as Jamie Stemple-Buchman
- Anne Ramsay as Lisa Stemple
- Leila Kenzle as Fran Devanow
- John Pankow as Ira Buchman
- Richard Kind as Dr. Mark Devanow
Episodes[]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 22 | September 23, 1992 | May 22, 1993 | |
| 2 | 25 | September 16, 1993 | May 19, 1994 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 22, 1994 | May 18, 1995 | |
| 4 | 24 | September 24, 1995 | May 19, 1996 | |
| 5 | 24 | September 17, 1996 | May 20, 1997 | |
| 6 | 24 | September 23, 1997 | May 19, 1998 | |
| 7 | 24 | September 22, 1998 | May 24, 1999 | |
| 8 | 12 | November 20, 2019 | December 18, 2019 | |
Production[]
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. The theme was originally performed by Andrew Gold, but a version performed by Anita Baker made its debut at the beginning of the sixth season. Baker's version was used on several episodes of the last two seasons, in addition to Gold's version, and appears on the show's soundtrack album. Gold's version is available on the collection Thank You for Being a Friend: The Best of Andrew Gold.
Reception[]
Mad About You has garnered critical praise for its realistic portrayal of marriage and the chemistry between Reiser and Hunt. Since its debut, the series has been nominated for 34 Primetime Emmy Awards (winning twelve), 13 Golden Globe Awards (winning four), 14 American Comedy Awards (winning seven), 10 Screen Actors Guild Awards (winning one) and 17 Q Awards(winning five), among others.
Helen Hunt stands as the most decorated cast member, winning four consecutive Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Q Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role as Jamie Buchman, as wells as receiving the most award nominations. Guest performers on the series have also received awards and nominations, most notably Mel Brooks and Carol Burnett.
Media[]
Soundtrack[]
In 1997, Atlantic Records released a Mad About You soundtrack. The soundtrack from and inspired by the sitcom, is composed of fun and sentimental songs and clips from the show. The tracks are organized chronologically marking the milestones of the couple's relationship. The album is bookended by the two versions of Paul Reiser's song "Final Frontier"—the first track is the classic version used in the show's opening, and the last track is Anita Baker's jazzy, full-length rendition, with Reiser on keyboard. The 21 tracks are as follows:
Home Media[]
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released the first three seasons of Mad About You on DVD in Region 1 and 4. The first two seasons were also released in Region 2. Due to poor sales, no subsequent seasons were released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
In February 2010, Shout! Factory acquired the rights to release the remaining seasons of Mad About You on DVD. They subsequently released seasons 4 and 5 on DVD.
On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Mad About You. They subsequently re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on August 5, 2014.
Mill Creek released the complete series on a 14-DVD set on May 3, 2016. The complete series package has been edited, to an unknown degree. One fan of the series finale noticed, to his regret, that some parts were removed from the finale.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | October 22, 2002 (re-released on August 5, 2014) |
| The Complete Second Season | 25 | April 22, 2003 (re-released on August 5, 2014) |
| The Complete Third Season | 24 | February 4, 2007 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 24 | June 29, 2010 |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 24 | November 2, 2010 |
| The Complete Series | 164 | May 3, 2016 |
External links[]
- Mad About You on NBC Wiki
- Mad About You on Television Wiki
- Mad About You on Wikipedia