Mad About You was never a massive hit compared to then-contemporary NBC comedy titans Seinfeld and Friends (it peaked at #11 in the Nielsen ratings and bottomed out at #85). But it was popular enough to warrant seven seasons, and stars Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser, who played wife-and-husband Jamie and Paul Buchman, were nominated for a combined 13 Emmys, winning four times. It was a dependably solid sitcom — never great, but never bad, either. In that sense, Mad About You was the opposite of Roseanne. But like Roseanne, Mad About You had a high-concept series finale and it’s being revived.
Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt have just closed deals with Sony Pictures Television to reprise their Mad About You roles… Co-creator Danny Jacobson is also on board to return. The deals follow months of negotiations to try and bring back the 1990s series, which aired on NBC from 1992 to 1999. (Via)
Before all you Murray the dog fans get too excited, though, Mad About 2.0 still doesn’t have a network. But “given the rather spectacular ratings success of ABC’s reboot of Roseanne, as well as the solid performance of NBC’s revived Will & Grace,” according to Entertainment Weekly, “there are likely to be multiple potential suitors.” Obviously the revival wouldn’t work without the involvement of Hunt and Reiser (who likely didn’t come cheap; they were both paid $1 million per episode in the final season), but there’s another hurdle Mad About You must clear before returning: bring back Mel Brooks.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
