Whitney (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Whitney is an American sitcom that premiered on NBC
on September 22, 2011, where it airs in the 9:30 pm (E/P)/8:30 pm (C) Thursday night timeslot. The show stars Whitney Cummings
(based on her real-life experience and her comedy routines). On September 25, 2011, the pilot of Whitney was multipurposed on various NBCUniversal networks, including Oxygen, E!, Style
and Bravo; it last aired on E!.
Whitney is the first multi-camera
sitcom in NBC’s Thursday-night lineup
since the short-lived Four Kings
in 2006. However, on November 14, 2011 NBC announced that the show will move to Wednesdays beginning on January 11, 2012.
, as she portrays a fictionalized version of herself, and her very supportive live-in boyfriend. Even though the two have decided that they will not commit to marriage, she does question how committed they are in their 3-year relationship and tries to go as far to prove a point; she begins to fear what she sees as "relationship boredom" and worries what will happen next that could possibly end her relationship. Because of what she sees and hears around her involving other relationships, she decides to use unconventional methods to keep the romantic flames glowing with the help of her close friends. The episode "A Decent Proposal" reveals that the show is set in Chicago
.
project for CBS
, 2 Broke Girls
was picked up at the same time as Whitney. For this one, Cummings also serves as the executive producer, creator and writer with Scott Stuber
, Quan Phung and Betsy Thomas
for Universal Media Studios.
Beverly D'Angelo
originally played Patti in the pilot episode before being officially replaced by Kaczmarek. D'Angelo's scenes in the pilot were refilmed with Kaczmarek as a result.
by CTV
, where it premiered on Monday, September 19, 2011, after the season premiere of Two and a Half Men
. As of September 29, it will air on the same night as the NBC telecasts, but will be scheduled in different timeslots by region.
The series will also air in Australia
on the Seven Network
, starting in 2012.
The Huffington Post found the series to be completely uninspired, and many of the characters to be tenuous at best. In regards to Roxy, one of the supporting characters, the reviewer stated that "you have to wonder if the real Whitney has ever actually met a divorced woman, or if her research ended at watching a lot of Lifetime. Perhaps this show would have been better off as a one time original movie."
Not all reviews were as harsh, however. The show currently holds a score of 50 out of 100 on the Metacritic. Robert Lloyd of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Eventually the mood relaxes, even as the slapstick amps up, and what may prove to be a charming comedy begins to emerge."
of Two and a Half Men
.
In its US debut on NBC, the series made a modest debut, scoring with 6.7 million viewers and a 4.0/6 rating. However premiered more importantly to a strong 3.2 18-49 demo rating (on which the cost of advertisement is often dependent).
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on September 22, 2011, where it airs in the 9:30 pm (E/P)/8:30 pm (C) Thursday night timeslot. The show stars Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings is an American comedian and actress. She was formerly a cast member of the MTV television show Punk'd and currently stars in the NBC sitcom Whitney.-Early life:...
(based on her real-life experience and her comedy routines). On September 25, 2011, the pilot of Whitney was multipurposed on various NBCUniversal networks, including Oxygen, E!, Style
Style Network
The Style Network is an American cable television network based in Los Angeles.Owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of General Electric and Comcast, its sister channels include E! Entertainment Television, USA Network, Syfy, G4, Golf Channel, and Versus, among others.-Network Overview:Style's...
and Bravo; it last aired on E!.
Whitney is the first multi-camera
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
sitcom in NBC’s Thursday-night lineup
Must See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
since the short-lived Four Kings
Four Kings
Four Kings is a sitcom introduced as a part of NBC's winter 2006 programming but cancelled before the end of the season. It aired at 8:30pm on Thursdays. It starred Seth Green, Josh Cooke, Todd Grinnell and Shane McRae...
in 2006. However, on November 14, 2011 NBC announced that the show will move to Wednesdays beginning on January 11, 2012.
Synopsis
The series follows Whitney CummingsWhitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings is an American comedian and actress. She was formerly a cast member of the MTV television show Punk'd and currently stars in the NBC sitcom Whitney.-Early life:...
, as she portrays a fictionalized version of herself, and her very supportive live-in boyfriend. Even though the two have decided that they will not commit to marriage, she does question how committed they are in their 3-year relationship and tries to go as far to prove a point; she begins to fear what she sees as "relationship boredom" and worries what will happen next that could possibly end her relationship. Because of what she sees and hears around her involving other relationships, she decides to use unconventional methods to keep the romantic flames glowing with the help of her close friends. The episode "A Decent Proposal" reveals that the show is set in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Cast
- Whitney CummingsWhitney CummingsWhitney Cummings is an American comedian and actress. She was formerly a cast member of the MTV television show Punk'd and currently stars in the NBC sitcom Whitney.-Early life:...
as Whitney Cummings, a photographer - Chris D'EliaChris D'EliaChris D'Elia is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comic, actor, and writer.D'Elia has been featured on Showtime's Live Nude Comedy and Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and Comedy Central Presents. He was introduced to a broader audience as a regular on the series Glory Daze, which ran for one season on...
as Alex Miller, an internet entrepreneur - Maulik PancholyMaulik PancholyMaulik Pancholy is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Sanjay on Weeds from 2005 to present, and his role as Jonathan on 30 Rock, which he has played since the show began in 2006....
as Neal, Lily's fiance and a friend of Alex - Zoe Lister-JonesZoe Lister-JonesZoe Lister-Jones is an American, actress, singer, playwright, and screenwriter. She is currently appearing on Adult Swim's television program Delocated as Kim and on NBC's Whitney as Lily.-Life and career:...
as Lily, Neal's devoted fiance and a close friend of Whitney - Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne, an over-the-top divorcee who likes to complain about her ex and why she married him in the first place
- Dan O'Brien as Mark, a police officer with a weakness for women
Production
This will be one of two sitcoms for which Cummings will serve as co-creator and producer, as her Warner Bros. TelevisionWarner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
project for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, 2 Broke Girls
2 Broke Girls
2 Broke Girls is an North American television comedy series that debuted on CBS during the 2011–12 television season. The first episode aired at 9:30 pm after Two and a Half Men on September 19, 2011. Later episodes followed How I Met Your Mother on Monday nights at 8:30 pm . The series was...
was picked up at the same time as Whitney. For this one, Cummings also serves as the executive producer, creator and writer with Scott Stuber
Scott Stuber
-Biography:Stuber was Co-President of production at Universal Pictures with Mary Parent and in 2004, Stuber and Parent were named Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production for Universal Pictures. In 2005, Universal inked a production deal with the duo under the shingle Stuber/Parent Productions...
, Quan Phung and Betsy Thomas
Betsy Thomas
Betsy Thomas is an American television writer and producer living in Los Angeles, California with her husband, writer and actor Adrian Wenner.Thomas is best known as the creator of the sitcom My Boys that debuted on the cable television network TBS November 28, 2006...
for Universal Media Studios.
Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly Heather D'Angelo is an American actress and singer.-Early life:D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla , a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. She is of part Italian ancestry...
originally played Patti in the pilot episode before being officially replaced by Kaczmarek. D'Angelo's scenes in the pilot were refilmed with Kaczmarek as a result.
International broadcasts
The series has been picked up in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, where it premiered on Monday, September 19, 2011, after the season premiere of Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
. As of September 29, it will air on the same night as the NBC telecasts, but will be scheduled in different timeslots by region.
The series will also air in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, starting in 2012.
Critical reception
The series premiere was given a D− by A.V. Club reviewers Erik Adams and Steve Heisler, citing the weakness of Cummings' acting.The Huffington Post found the series to be completely uninspired, and many of the characters to be tenuous at best. In regards to Roxy, one of the supporting characters, the reviewer stated that "you have to wonder if the real Whitney has ever actually met a divorced woman, or if her research ended at watching a lot of Lifetime. Perhaps this show would have been better off as a one time original movie."
Not all reviews were as harsh, however. The show currently holds a score of 50 out of 100 on the Metacritic. Robert Lloyd of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Eventually the mood relaxes, even as the slapstick amps up, and what may prove to be a charming comedy begins to emerge."
Ratings
The series first debuted on Canada's CTV on September 19, 2011, three days before its U.S. premiere on NBC. The show won its timeslot with two million viewers, buoyed by its lead-in, the much-anticipated ninth-season premiereNice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt
"Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt" is the ninth season premiere of the comedy series Two and a Half Men and the first appearance of Ashton Kutcher as Walden Schmidt, "an internet billionaire with a broken heart". It is the 178th episode of the show, and the first episode without former lead...
of Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
.
In its US debut on NBC, the series made a modest debut, scoring with 6.7 million viewers and a 4.0/6 rating. However premiered more importantly to a strong 3.2 18-49 demo rating (on which the cost of advertisement is often dependent).
External links
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