Created by Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson, this NBC sitcom series centred on a newly married young couple, Paul (a documentary filmmaker) and Jamie (an executive for the Ferrah-Ganz public relations firm on Madison Avenue) Buchman.
The Buchman’s lived in an apartment (11D) at 142 West 81st Street in Manhattan with their dog Murray and the comedy usually revolved around the little things in life that most couples face when they set up a new home together and try to adjust to each other’s idiosyncrasies.
When asked what the series was about, Paul Reiser stated, “The feeling of the show should be like a couple’s car ride home after a party, when you can finally say what you’ve been thinking all night. It’s what the world is like behind closed doors”.
Other regular characters on the show during its early years were Jamie’s innocently insensitive single sister, Lisa (Anne Elizabeth Ramsay); Paul’s sloppy bachelor friend, Jay Selby (Tommy Hinkley); Paul and Jamie’s friends Fran and Dr Mark David Devanow (Leila Kenzle and Richard Kind); and Paul’s cousin – and landlord – Ira (John Pankow).
Making occasional appearances over the years were Judy Geeson as Maggie; Paxton Whitehead as Hal; Jeff Garlin as Marvin; Cynthia Harris and Louis Zorich as Paul’s parents (Sylvia and Burt); Robin Bartlett as Paul’s sister Debbie; and Carol Burnett and Carroll O’Connor as Jamie’s parents (Theresa and Gus Stemple).
When Jamie was laid off by Ferrah-Ganz, she first worked as a press agent for the mayor of New York City and then joined with her friend Fran to begin their own public relations firm (Buchman-Devanow).
Paul became a producer and director for the Explorer Channel when his documentary company, Buchman Films, folded.
In the 1997 season, Jamie gave birth to baby Mabel, adding an additional plot element to the humour.
The series was revived in 2019 for a 12-episode limited run on the Spectrum cable channel. The total viewership for the new episodes was about 16 people, and the show was quietly cancelled.
Mad About You was originally to be titled Loved By You, with the Marvin Gaye song How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You as the theme song. The studio couldn’t clear the song for broadcast, so they changed the title.
A 1997 British word-for-word remake used the title Loved By You, but it wasn’t a success and lasted just 13 episodes.
Paul Buchman Paul Reiser Jamie Buchman Helen Hunt
Ira Buchman
John Pankow
Lisa Stemple
Anne Elizabeth Ramsay
Jay Selby
Tommy Hinkley
Fran Devanow
Leila Kenzle
Dr Mark David Devanow
Richard Kind
Maggie
Judy Geeson
Hal
Paxton Whitehead
Marvin
Jeff Garlin
Sylvia Buchman
Cynthia Harris
Burt Buchman
Louis Zorich
Debbie Buchman
Robin Bartlett Theresa Stemple Carol Burnett Gus Stemple Carroll O’Connor
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