| 'Til Death | |
|---|---|
'Til Death Logo |
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| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Josh Goldsmith Cathy Yuspa |
| Starring | Brad Garrett Joely Fisher Timm Sharp Kate Micucci Eddie Kaye Thomas Kat Foster J. B. Smoove Krysten Ritter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 81 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Josh Goldsmith Cathy Yuspa |
| Producer(s) | Alec Barnow Marc Firek and Annette Sahakian Davis |
| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 20–21 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Fox |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV) |
| Original run | September 7, 2006 – June 20, 2010[1] |
’Til Death is an American sitcom which aired on the Fox network from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband-and-wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive-producers. The show focuses on Eddie and Joy Stark (Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher), a couple married for 23 years who live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Contents |
’Til Death centers on Eddie and Joy Stark, and their relationship and behavior after 23 years of marriage. The first two seasons often focus on the contrast between the Starks and their newlywed neighbors, Jeff and Steph Woodcock (Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster). The second season introduces a new character named Kenny Westchester (J. B. Smoove) who is Eddie's friend from the big brother program. The third season focuses largely around Eddie and Joy's relationship with Kenny after he moves in with them.
The fourth season focuses on the Starks adjusting to life with their daughter Ally (Kate Micucci) and new son-in-law Doug (Timm Sharp), who lives in a trailer in the Starks' backyard. The series takes place in suburban Philadelphia in Cheltenham Township.
The first season of ’Til Death ran from September 7, 2006 to April 11, 2007 and contained 22 episodes. The series initially aired Thursdays at 8/7c alongside fellow freshman sitcom Happy Hour. In November the series was given a full season order and then later paired with The War at Home.[2][3] Beginning in March 2007 the show was given the coveted time slot directly following American Idol's results show, which led to an improvement in its ratings. In May, ’Til Death was renewed for a second season.[4][5]
The second season ran from September 2007 to May 2008 and consisted of 15 episodes, during which it aired on Wednesdays at 8:30PM following a new comedy Back to You. Late in 2007, production was halted due to the 2007-2008 writers' strike; only 19 episodes were produced.[6] The series went on hiatus beginning November 28, but returned with a new episode on a special night in March 2008 at 9:30PM.[7] Then in April, ’Til Death moved again to Wednesdays at 8:00PM leading into Back to You.[8] In May the series was given an 18 episode order for its third season, while comedy companion Back to You was cancelled.[9]
The third season ran from September to October 2008 and consisted of only 7 episodes (3 of which were produced during the second season). In this brief season, ’Til Death aired Wednesdays at 9/8c alongside a new comedy Do Not Disturb. The ratings for both shows were low and as a result, the network pulled the sitcom from its November schedule.[10] Despite not airing all of season three and low ratings, ’Til Death was renewed for a fourth season in January, 2009.[11] Fox confirmed at its upfront presentation in May that the new season would air on Friday nights in the fall.[12][13]
The fourth season premiered in October 2009 at a new time, Fridays at 8:30/7:30c, following a new sitcom, Brothers, starring former NFL player Michael Strahan.[14] This season is notable in that a large number of episodes produced for the third season but previously unaired by Fox were shown alongside new episodes produced for season four. Four new episodes of ’Til Death aired on Christmas Day from 8/7c until 10/9c. The schedule changed again, when ’Til Death moved to Sundays at 7/6c and 7:30/6:30c on January 31, 2010.[15] It was eventually paired for three episodes with the similarly canceled comedy Sons of Tucson. The fourth season finale aired on May 23, 2010, although episodes formerly consigned for season three continued to air into June. Two months prior, Fox finally cancelled production of ’Til Death after years of below-average ratings.[16]
| Name | Actor | Seasons Featured |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Stark | Brad Garrett | 1–4 (regular) |
| Eddie is a high school history teacher who has been married to Joy for over two decades. | ||
| Joy Stark | Joely Fisher | 1–4 (regular) |
| Joy is Eddie's wife who works as a travel agent. | ||
| Jeff Woodcock | Eddie Kaye Thomas | 1–2 (regular) |
| Jeff is a newlywed next-door neighbor to the Starks and also the vice-principal at the high school where Eddie teaches. | ||
| Steph Woodcock | Kat Foster | 1–2 (regular) |
| Steph is Jeff's sarcastic wife with a wild past. | ||
| Kenneth Westchester | J. B. Smoove | 2, 4 (recurring); 3 (regular) |
| Kenny is Eddie's "little brother" from the Big Brother program and a recent divorcé. | ||
| Allison Stark | Krysten Ritter (Seasons 1–2) Laura Clery (Season 3) Lindsey Broad (Season 4)[17] Kate Micucci (Season 4)[18][19] |
1-3 (recurring); 4 (regular) |
| Ally is Eddie and Joy's adult daughter who lives with her boyfriend and later husband, Doug. | ||
| Doug Von Stuessen | Timm Sharp | 1–3 (recurring); 4 (regular) |
| Doug is Allison's boyfriend and later husband who currently lives in a trailer in the Stark's backyard and in the 4th season becomes convinced his whole life is a sitcom. | ||
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 4 | Episode Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | August 21, 2007 | February 13, 2008 | 22 |
| The Complete Second Season | January 13, 2009 | TBA | 18 |
The first season DVDs include all 22 episodes from Season one. The second season DVDs include 18 out of the 19 episodes produced for Season two in airdate order.
On July 26, 2011, It was first announced that the show has picked up for syndication by affiliates and WGN America, which debuted on September 12, 2011,[23] It was also announced on July 28, 2011 that Spike has picked up the show for syndication, which debuted on October 3, 2011.[24]
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 | Thurs. 8:00 PM (September 7 - February 15) Wed. 9:30 PM (March 14 - April 11) |
September 7, 2006 | April 11, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #82 | 7.1 [25] |
| 2 | Wed. 8:30 (September 19 - November 14) Wed. 8:00 P.M. (April 16 - May 14, 2008) |
September 19, 2007 | May 14, 2008 | 2007-2008 | #131 | 6.1 [26] |
| 3 | Wed. 9:00 PM (September 10 - October 8) | September 10, 2008 | October 8, 2008 | 2008-2009 | #141 | 4.4 [27] |
| 4 | Fri. 8:30 PM (October 2 - October 23) Sun. 7:00 P.M. (January 31 - June 20) |
October 2, 2009 | May 23, 2010[28] | 2009-2010 | #116 | 2.4[29] |