'Til Death
| 'Til Death | |
|---|---|
 ’Til Death Logo | |
| Created by | Josh Goldsmith Cathy Yuspa |
| Developed by | Josh Goldsmith Cathy Yuspa |
| Starring | Brad Garrett Joely Fisher J.B. Smoove (2008-present) Kat Foster Eddie Kaye Thomas |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 42 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Josh Goldsmith Cathy Yuspa |
| Producers | Alec Barnow Marc Firek and Annette Sahakian Davis |
| Camera setup | multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 21 minutes (w/o commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | FOX |
| Release | September 7 2006 – present |
’Til Death is an American sitcom on the FOX network which premiered on September 7, 2006 and is written and executive-produced by husband-and-wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa. The lead characters Eddie, played by Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett, and Joy Stark, played by Joely Fisher. Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster star as newlyweds Jeff and Steph Woodcock, who have been married 12 days, move next door to Eddie and Joy, who have been married 23 years and work to strip the Woodcocks of their naivety. Its third season currently airs on Wednesday nights at 9:00PM and 9:30PM EDT on FOX.
History
Beginning on March 14, 2007, the show was given the coveted time slot directly following the American Idol results show, which led to an improvement in the ratings.[1] On November 6, 2007, however, production of the show was halted due to the 2007 Writers' Strike.[2] The show went on hiatus on November 28, but returned with a new episode on a special night Tuesday March 25, 2008 at 9:30/8:30c. [3] Then on April 16, 2008, 'Til Death moved again to Wednesday's at 8/7c leading into Back to You. [4]
On May 11, 2007 the show was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 19, 2007.[5] On May 9, 2008, the series was given a 13 episode order for its third season, while comedy companion Back to You was cancelled.[6]
Cast
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (September 2008) |
The show centers around Eddie and Joy Stark, who have been married for ages. They live in suburban Philadelphia, next door to a pair of newlyweds. Eddie and Joy are represented as the more unpleasant couple, known for trading barbs with each other, gloating when right and squabbling. The overly optimistic newlyweds, Jeff and Steph Woodcock, are joined by a fifth major character, Kenny, who joined the cast in the middle of Season Two (Episode #32). In season three's premier epiosde, Kenny's ex-wife Tina makes her debut.[7]
- Brad Garrett as Eddie Stark. Eddie always thinks he's correct over Joy, and always tries to prove that she's incorrect. Eddie can even hold his own when it comes to talking the talk. Eddie's inconsiderateness often puts off people, including his wife. His mistakes, wackiness, and lack of strengths often cause him to make a fool of himself in the end. The fact that Eddie becomes particularly cocky and overconfident in himself at times, makes it even worse for him when he ends up being wrong or goofing up. Eddie has a pedantic side and a great knowledge of history, possibly because he's a teacher. Eddie has a small set of guy friends he's sometimes seen hanging out with. Eddie's full of marital advice for dealing with wives for his neighbor, Jeff Woodcock. Eddie and Joy have one daughter named Ally, who is in college.
- Joely Fisher as Joy Stark, Eddie's loving wife. Joy makes valid points, speaks intelligently, and has a talent for making Eddie look wrong and feel guilty. This makes it easy for the audience to assume that she is the sane, logical, and innocent one in the marriage but it doesn't take long before it is revealed that she's as equally badly behaved, wacky, boorish, and off-putting as her husband. She works as a travel agent, as seen in episode one.
- J.B. Smoove as Kenneth Westchester. Kenny is Eddie's "little brother" from the Big Brother program. Kenny is a recent divorcé with a penchant for ice cream and roller-skating. He is also the guy with all the answers (just the wrong kind).
- Eddie Kaye Thomas as Jeff Woodcock, newlywed next-door neighbor to the Starks. He is the vice-principal at the high school where Eddie teaches.
- Kat Foster as Steph Woodcock, Jeff's sarcastic wife with a wild past.
Recurring supporting characters
- Laura Clery as Allison Stark, Eddie and Joy's adult daughter (played by Krysten Ritter during seasons one and two)
- Nick Bakay as Karl
- Anthony Anderson as Cofeld
- Margaret Cho as Nicole
- Jerry Lambert as Stan
- Will Sasso as Russ
- Timm Sharp as Doug, Allison's boyfriend
Episodes
Ratings
Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of 'Til Death on FOX:
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 7 - February 15, 2007) Wednesday 9:30 P.M. (March 14 - April 11, 2007) |
September 7, 2006 | April 11, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #82 | 7.1 [8] |
| 2 | Wednesday 8:30 P.M. (September 19 - November 14, 2007) Tuesday 9:30 P.M. (March 25, 2008) Wednesday 8:00 P.M. (April 16, 2008 - May 14, 2008) |
September 19, 2007 | May 14, 2008 | 2007-2008 | #131 | 6.1 [9] |
| 3 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (September 10 - ) | September 10, 2008 | 2007-2008 | N/A | 4.5 (As of 10/4) |
3rd Season Ratings
| Timeslot (EDT) | Viewers (in millions) |
Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday (9/8c) | 6.06 | September 10,2008 |
| Wednesday (9/8c) | 4.89 | September 17,2008 |
| Wednesday (9/8c) | 3.72 | September 24,2008 |
| Wednesday (9/8c) | 4.24 | October 1,2008 |
| Wednesday (9:30/8:30c) | 3.61 | October 1,2008 |
DVD releases
| DVD name | Release date | Ep # | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | August 21 2007 | 22 | Tour of the set, Featurette: A Marriage Stunt, Bloopers. |
| The Complete Second Season | January 13 2009 | 15 |
References
- ^ http://www.startribune.com/459/story/1070209.html
- ^ "Production Stops on at least 6 Sitcoms". Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ Breaking News - FOX RETURNS SERIES TO PRODUCTION | TheFutonCritic.com
- ^ Breaking News - FOX Overhauls Spring Lineup: New 'House' to Anchor Mondays | TheFutonCritic.com
- ^ 'Til Death: FOX's Brad Garrett Sitcom Renewed, TV Series Finale, May 11, 2007Boedeker, Hal (2007-07-10). "Fox announces premiere dates; "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" returns Aug. 30". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "FOX Cancels Back to You, Renews 'Til Death". Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ http://www.comedycentric.com/2008/09/06/til-death-season-three-premiere-details/
- ^ "Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap". May 25 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|source=ignored (help) - ^ http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052808_06
