| Hot in Cleveland | |
|---|---|
Opening title |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Suzanne Martin |
| Starring | Valerie Bertinelli Jane Leeves Wendie Malick Betty White |
| Composer(s) | Ron Wasserman Emerson Swinford |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 37 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Suzanne Martin Sean Hayes Todd Milliner Lynda Obst Larry W. Jones Keith Cox |
| Producer(s) | Bob Heath Liz Feldman |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Approx. 22 minutes (without commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Hazy Mills Productions SamJen Productions TV Land |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | TV Land |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original run | June 16, 2010 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Hot in Cleveland is an American sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. The series, which is TV Land's first original scripted series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highest rated telecast in the cable network's 14-year history. The series premiered June 16, 2010, and was picked up for ten episodes.[1] On July 7, 2010, TV Land announced that the show had been renewed for a second season, which began production on 20 episodes on November 1, 2010, and premiered January 19, 2011.[2] On February 28, 2011, TV Land renewed the show for a third season to consist of 22 episodes.[3] On March 21, 2011, TV Land announced that the third season order was increased to 24 episodes.[4]
The show was created by Suzanne Martin (Frasier, Ellen) and is executive produced by Martin, Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, through their production companies SamJen Productions and Hazy Mills Productions, and is produced in association with TV Land. The concept behind the show is based on an original idea by Lynda Obst, who serves as Executive Producer. The series is recorded in front of a live studio audience at CBS's Studio City in Los Angeles using a multi-camera format.
Contents |
The series centers on three past-their-prime entertainment industry veterans from Los Angeles whose lives are changed when their Paris-bound plane makes an emergency landing in Cleveland, Ohio. There they find a welcoming community that is less shallow, youth-obsessed and weight-conscious than Hollywood. Melanie leases a home with a sassy caretaker, and Joy and Victoria move in with her.
Guest stars during the first season have included Shirley Knight as Melanie's overprotective mother, Loretta;[13] Hal Linden as Victoria's womanizing actor father, Alex; singer Joe Jonas as Melanie's son, Will;[14] Carl Reiner as Max, Elka's boyfriend;[13] Bil Dwyer as Melanie's ex-husband Anders; and Juliet Mills as Joy's critical mother, Philippa. Other first season guest stars include John Schneider, Wayne Knight, Robert Gant, Huey Lewis,[13] Amy Yasbeck, Tim Conway, Mark Indelicato, David Starzyk, Gary Anthony Williams, Dave Foley and Susan Lucci.[15]
For the second season, Mary Tyler Moore guest starred in the season premiere as Elka's jail cellmate, in the wake of the latter's arrest in the first season finale. This marked the first time since 1977, when The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, that White and Moore worked together.[16] Sherri Shepherd appeared in two episodes as the judge in Elka's competency case.[17] David Starzyk, John Schneider, Huey Lewis and Carl Reiner all reprise their roles from Season 1. Bonnie Franklin also guest starred as Melanie's ex-boyfriend's mother, Franklin reuniting with One Day at a Time co-star Valerie Bertinelli. On July 20, 2011, Doris Roberts appeared as Lydia Dombrosky, Elka's nemesis. Jennifer Love Hewitt guest starred as Victoria's daughter Emmy. Buck Henry appeared in multiple episodes as Elka's love interest and eventual fiancee. Jimmy Kimmel, Susan Lucci, and Melanie Griffith made guest appearances as themselves. Michael E. Knight, Jon Lovitz, Isaiah Mustafa, Monica Horan, Frank Caliendo, Cedric the Entertainer, Darnell Williams and Jane Leeves' Frasier co-stars Peri Gilpin and John Mahoney also appeared on the show as guest stars. Don Rickles made a surprise appearance as Elka's dead husband in the Season 2 finale, "Elka's Wedding."
Season three features guest stars such as series producer Sean Hayes as a hand model boyfriend of Victoria's, Kathie Lee Gifford, Sandra Bernhard, Don Rickles as Elka's late husband Bob, who faked his death, John Mahoney as Roy, Elka's boyfriend, and Laura San Giacomo as Melanie's estranged sister. The season will also feature the return of guests Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Joe Jonas.[18]
Hot in Cleveland is TV Land's first venture into scripted comedy and is produced by Sean Hayes's Hazy Mills Productions and written by Suzanne Martin, who also serves as the showrunner.[1][19] It is shot with a multicamera setup in front of a live studio audience at the CBS Studio City soundstage.[20][21]
TV Land announced that the show was renewed for a second season on July 7, 2010. Production of the 20 episodes for season 2 began on November 1, 2010, with a scheduled January 19, 2011, premiere.[2][22][23] White is reportedly earning $75,000 per episode for the series.[13]
While appearing on Inside The Actor's Studio, Betty White told the viewers that she was only meant to appear in the pilot of the show but was asked to stay on for the entire series.
The show has been met with positive reviews, with an initial score of 65 out of 100 from Metacritic.[24]
Hot in Cleveland has been referred to as a modern spin on the classic 1980s television series The Golden Girls in which actress Betty White played a starring role. Craig Berman of Today stated that the show is "as close as we're likely to get to a repeat of White's 1980s ensemble comedy hit, The Golden Girls ... [TV Land] the network known as the refuge for people looking to fall asleep to reruns of shows from their childhood has made its first scripted program a modern version of the classic sitcom premise."[25] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times commented: "This is the first original scripted comedy on TV Land, a network that was founded on reruns. So not surprisingly, Hot in Cleveland is a pastiche of classics – a little bit Cheers and Frasier, a little bit The Golden Girls."[26] Michael Musto of The Village Voice wrote: "Wendy [sic] Malick is basically the modern-day Bea Arthur. Sweet-faced Valerie Bertinelli is the new Betty White. Been-around Jane Leeves is the nouveau Rue McClanahan. And witheringly sarcastic Golden Girl Betty White has turned into Estelle Getty."[27]
On April 18, 2011, It was announced that Cedric the Entertainer will guest star in a season 2 episode as a minister that gets caught up in the girls problems.[28] The episode served as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series to star Cedric. The episode entitled "Bridezelka"[29] was written by Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin[30] and aired on August 24, 2011.[31]
On November 1, 2011, it was that announced that Niecy Nash was cast the female lead opposite Cedric. Suzanne Martin and Cedric wrote the pilot and are executive producing with Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. Production began on December 2, 2011. The series will be about Reverend Boyce (Cedric) as he moves from Cleveland to St. Louis and has to balance his wild past as an R&B singer with the expectations of his congregation and his family.[32]
Betty White received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role as Elka Ostrovsky, and went on to win the award. The cast received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
On May 17, 2011, TV Land entered the show in the race for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. The show submitted for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for all four leading women, to reinforce the idea of an ensemble cast. The show also submitted in technical categories.[33]
On July 14, 2011, the show received two Primetime Emmy nominations, including Betty White getting nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series.
In December 2011, Betty White received her second consecutive SAG nomination for Outstanding Peformance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.
| Award Ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Comedy Awards | 2011 | Best Actress in a TV Comedy | Betty White | Nominated | [34] |
| Emmy Awards | 2011 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | [35] | |
| Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series | Michael Andrew Hynes and Maralee Zediker (for "Sisterhood of the Traveling SPANX©", "I Love Lucci: Part Two" and "LeBron is Le Gone") |
Won | |||
| Gracie Allen Awards | 2011 | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Betty White | Won | [36] |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2011 | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Won | [37] | |
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick & Betty White | Nominated | |||
| People's Choice Awards | 2012 | Favorite Cable TV Comedy | Pending | [38] | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2012 | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Pending | [39] |
The series premiere of Hot in Cleveland was a ratings success for TV Land. It earned 1.9 rating and averaged 2 million viewers among the network's target adults 25-54 audience and also averaged 1.3 million among women 25-54. It drew a total of 4.75 million viewers making it the most watched show in TV Land history.[20]
| Season | Timeslot (ET/PT) | # Ep. | Premiered | Ended | TV Season | Viewers (in millions) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Premiere Viewers (in millions) |
Date | Finale Viewers (in millions) |
|||||
| Season 1 |
|
10 |
|
4.75 |
|
3.40[40] | 2010 | 4.2[41] |
| Season 2 |
|
22 [42] |
|
2.95[43] |
|
2.44[45] | 2011 | 2.08 |
| DVD Name | Region 1 Release Date | Region 2 Release Date | Region 4 Release Date | Ep # | Discs | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | January 11, 2011[46] | April 25, 2011 | February 17, 2011[47] | 10 | 2 | Original full-length pilot, bloopers, wardrobe featurette, "We Love Our Age" featurette, set tour, Victoria's full-length Japanese "lady pants" commercial, episode of "Retired at 35". |
| Season 2 | USA - November 29, 2011[48] Canada - January 31, 2012 | August 29, 2011 (Part 1), December, 2011 (Part 2) | January 19, 2012[49] | 22 | 3 | Interviews, The Cast Visits Cleveland, On the Set of Hot in Cleveland, The First Episode of TV Land's Newest Sitcom, The Exes |
On June 22, 2010, it was announced that Endemol will distribute Hot in Cleveland internationally[50], while CBS Television Distribution will own the US rights, with syndication to start in 2013[51]. The show began broadcasting on July 5, 2010, in Canada on CTV and on July 9 on The Comedy Network but only Season 1 and Part 1 of Season 2 have aired. [52] It began broadcasting on July 26, 2010, in Australia on the Nine Network and CNBC-e in Turkey at 2010. In the UK and Ireland, the series began airing on Sky Living on February 15, 2011.[53] In Germany, the series starts in 2012 on RTL II.[54] In former Yugoslavian countries, the series began broadcasting on FOX life on April 5, 2011,[55] and in Norway it began broadcasting on TV3 on June 9, 2011. [56] In South Africa it began broadcasting on M-Net on July 8, 2011.