Living With Fran
Living With Fran is an American sitcom that debuted on The WB network in April 2005 that starred Fran Drescher. The show last aired on March 24, 2006.
Premise
Drescher plays Fran Reeves, an interior designer and divorced mother of two. Her son, Josh, recently dropped out of medical school and now lives at home with his younger sister, Allison, his mother and her young boyfriend, Riley Martin. Fran deals with the visits of her lazy ex-husband, Ted, and her divorced cousin, Merrill. Fran also must deal with the fact that others, including her son, disapprove of the relationship she has with her much younger boyfriend. In the episode 'Dreaming With Fran', Fran breaks up with Riley because of the age distance but in the next episode, Rilley preposes to Fran and moves back into the house.
Episodes
| Season |
Episodes |
First air date |
Last air date |
Notes |
| 1 |
13 |
April 8, 2005 |
May 13, 2005 |
2 |
13 |
September 16, 2005 |
March 24, 2006 |
|
Episodes
Season 1: 2005
- Pilot
- "Riley's Parents"
- "The Ex Factor"
- "The Reunion"
- "Oh, Baby"
- "Who's the Parent?"
- "Carriage Ride"
- "The Concert"
- "Josh Works for Riley"
- "Riley's Ex" .
- "School Ties"
- "Girl Talk"
- "Plastered"
Season 2: 2005-2006
- "A Year of Living with Fran"
- "Going to the Bar Mitzvah with Fran"
- "Sweet Sixteen Again with Fran"
- "Learning with Fran"
- "Ahead of the Plan with Fran"
- "Going Crazy With Fran"
- "Coupling With Fran"
- "Healing With Fran"
- "The Whole Clan with Fran"
- "Masquerading With Fran"
- "Going to Bed With Fran"
- "Dreaming with Fran"
- "Reuniting with Fran"
Cast
Regular
- Fran Drescher as Fran Reeves
Fran plays an interior designer who is the mother of two. She had her first kid, Josh Reeves, at seventeen.
- Ryan McPartlin as Riley Douglas Martin
Riley is Fran's younger boyfriend who is twenty-six years old.
- Misti Traya as Allison Reeves
Allison is Fran's fifteen-year-old daughter. She and her brother Josh do not get along all the time. Unlike Josh, she does not seem to mind her mother dating a younger man.
- Ben Feldman as Josh Reeves
Josh is Fran's twenty-one-year-old son who dropped out of medical school. It is revealed that he was forced to go in the first place because of his father, but could not handle the sight of blood. He starts working at a video store. Unlike Allison, he is opposed to his mother dating a younger guy, and often makes fun of the two by comparing their ages. Despite this, he gets along quite well with Riley's father upon his appearance.
Recurring
- Charles Shaughnessy as Ted Reeves
Ted Reeves is Fran's ex-husband. He's a doctor, and the man who forced Josh into medical school. He is described in one episode as being unsupportive of Josh's dreams. He later makes an appearance in person, and seems to have a poor relationship with his kids, mainly Josh. He enjoys making fun of his son, Riley, and Fran during his appearances, but takes more "kindly" to his daughter, Allison. He also flirts a lot with younger women.
- Debi Mazar as Merrill
Merill is Fran's unmarried cousin who appears in several episodes. She later gets hooked up with one of Riley's friends, and in season two, she is engaged. During her engagement party in the last episode, Riley and Fran are broken up.
- Ryan Devlin as Todd
Todd is Allison's older boyfriend who makes appearances in a few episodes. He is disliked by Fran and Riley. In season 2 he is dumped by Allison after lying to her.
- Lainie Kazan as "Nana" Cookie
Cookie is Fran's mother who first appears in season 2. She likes Riley, but her relationship with her daughter is another story. Whenever Fran tries to make a decision, she claims she's not going to say anything, but ends up disgreeing with her decision anyhow and then pointing out her mistakes. She also blames Fran for her missing a concert because she got into an accident on the exact day that Cookie was going to go see it.
- Caitlin Crosby as Becca
Allison's best friend who at one point, had a crush on Josh, at which temporarily ruined her friendship with Allison until Josh told her he was not interested. She appears in several episodes in both season one and two, spending time with Allison. She plays the guitar and sings, later revealed in season two when she sings at Merill's engagement party in the episode "Reuniting with Fran".
Guest
- Hal Linden as Grandpa Hal
Hal is Cookie's husband and Fran's father. According to the family members, he "hates" Riley and believes Fran is taking care of him. He loses all his money to Riley in a bet, but Riley uses the money to send he and his wife on a vacation, possibly resolving their differences.
- Marilu Henner as Donna Martin
Donna is Riley's mother who always makes rude comments about Fran's age, even comparing her to an antique. This amuses Fran's son, Josh. By the end of the episode, however, she and Fran start to get along better after he ends up in the hospital for a cut. After her first appearance, Donna makes no more appearances in person, but does call during the arrival of her daughter, Jenny, making sure she's okay.
- John Schneider as Tom Martin
Tom is Riley's father. Unlike his wife, he's not as rude, and supports his son in everything he does. He and Josh get along very well in the series, forming a father-and-son-like relationship.
- Jenny Martin
Jenny is Riley's younger sister around Josh's age. She innocent and sweet, and Donna appears to be quite protective of her, calling Fran repeatedly before her arrival. She and Josh accidentally get married after they get drunk, but their marriage is terminated later based on the circumstances. She is engaged to be married.
Production
On October 18, 2005, Living with Fran was removed from The WB's Friday night schedule and was replaced with the new series Twins. The show returned Friday, January 13, 2006, at 8:30pm. The second season finale aired on Friday, March 24, 2006. In the episode, Riley proposed to Fran; the episode was a cliffhanger, and Fran's answer was not revealed. On May 17, 2006, one day before the upfronts, it was announced that Living with Fran would not be returning for a third season.
The series was executive produced by actor/comedian Jamie Kennedy best known for his roles in the Scream trilogy movies. He also appeared on an episode of the first season as a flamboyant, stripper-coach Fran hires to surprise Riley for their anniversary.
The series was originally titled Shacking Up and was not renamed until very close to its premiere; episodes of television entertainment shows like Extra can be found on the internet discussing the show with the cast and previewing clips while still calling it Shacking Up.
External links