Jamie Lee Curtis, Téa Leoni and Tim Daly Lead NBC’s Refreshing and Witty Sitcom ‘Newlyweds’: TV Review — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Tim Daly plays reserved college professor James opposite real-life partner Téa Leoni’s free-spirited middle-school teacher Jeanie; the characters marry in Las Vegas just six weeks after a blind date.
- Newlyweds generates comedy from the contrast between Jeanie’s warm, Gen Z-angst-filled bungalow and James’ museum-like suburban estate when either ventures beyond his or her comfort zone.
- Newlyweds Episode 3, “We’ll Never Have Paris,” was the best of the three episodes reviewed: Claudia and Jeanie’s children interrupt the mini-moon, James comforts Poppy after a breakup, and Claudia’s banter with Milky stands out.
- Jamie Lee Curtis co-created Newlyweds and plays Claudia, James’ meddling ex-wife; the reviewer praises her “perfectly biting and obnoxious” performance as she repeatedly oversteps James’ boundaries.
- Bill O’Neill plays Norwegian-born teaching assistant Arvid, aka Milky, whose energetic physical comedy and banter with Claudia are credited with elevating the ensemble and compared to Sean Hayes’ Jack McFarland.
- Bruce Helford replaced Gail Lerner as showrunner for the remainder of the 13-episode first season after Lerner, who co-created the series, was fired following her first six episodes.
- NBC scheduled Newlyweds to debut Oct. 23, with the season’s remaining episodes airing weekly on Fridays.
Why it matters: NBC gains what the reviewer calls a “well-oiled” ensemble and a rare sitcom capable of prompting laughter, but the season also changes creative control after episode six. Gail Lerner’s firing for “creative differences” leaves Bruce Helford responsible for the remaining run, putting the praised foundation under an immediate handover.
Ask SkimNews
