Melissa & Joey

Melissa & Joey is an ABC Family original television series starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. It first aired on ABC Family on August 17, 2010. The series follows local politician Mel Burke (Melissa Joan Hart) and Joe Longo (Joey Lawrence), whom Mel hires to look after her niece and nephew after a Ponzi scheme leaves him broke.

The series has been renewed by ABC Family for a second season.^[1]

Series overview

Mel is a local politician from a political family. When a family scandal leaves her niece, Lennox, and nephew, Ryder, without their parents, Mel takes them in. Meanwhile, Joe is a former commodities trader left bankrupt after a Ponzi scheme who is searching for a job.^[2] So when Mel finds it hard to handle an instant family and her own life, she hires Joe to become the family's new male nanny, or "manny".

Cast

Main characters

• Melissa "Mel" Burke (Melissa Joan Hart) is a councilwoman in Toledo, Ohio. Growing up, she was a rebellious, irresponsible party girl, and now she must take care of her niece and nephew after their mother (her sister) was arrested for money laundering and their father disappeared to avoid arrest for running a Ponzi scheme.
• Joseph "Joe" Longo (Joey Lawrence) is a former commodities trader who lost his job, money and marriage in the wake of Mel's brother-in-law's Ponzi scheme and wound up living in his car. Seeing that Mel needed help raising her niece and nephew (and that he needed a job), he has agreed to be the live-in nanny to assist Mel and give advice to the kids. He was born in a U.S. Army hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, and raised in New Jersey.
• Lennox Elizabeth Scanlon (Taylor Spreitler) is a free-spirited teenage girl, who is less than thrilled about living with her Aunt Mel. Although they disagree many times, she appreciates Mel for taking her in.
• Ryder Scanlon (Nick Robinson) is Mel's nephew, and the youngest in the household. He is only a few years younger than Lennox. Like many teenage boys his age, he enjoys watching television and playing sports.

Recurring characters

• Stephanie Krause (Lucy DeVito) is Mel's legislative assistant and former intern, beginning with episode 7. Hyperactive and fiercely loyal, Stephanie is keen to schedule interviews, photo opportunities, and media coverage for Mel. She regularly exhibits that she has a crush on Joe.
• Rhonda Cheng (Elizabeth Ho) is Mel's press secretary. She's a giddy yet loyal friend to her and always gives her dating and/or parenting advice.
• Tiffany (Megan Hilty) is Joe's ex-wife, first seen in episode 13. Their on-again, off-again relationship is punctuated by bouts of lovemaking in unusual places.
• Holly Rebeck (Rachel G. Fox) is Ryder's extremely aggressive, controlling, girlfriend. She is often manipulative, jealous, conceited, and Ryder is usually submissive to her demands.
• George Karpelos, Jr.^[3] (Scott Michael Foster) is Mel's 24-year-old lover, starting with episode 21. He is an independent business entrepreneur who loves bicycling. Their relationship is put on hold when George moves to Italy for business.
• Russell Burke (Christopher Rich) is Mel's senator father, who is very indulgent to his grandchildren and tends to undermine Mel's authority with them.

Production

The series marks the second time Hart and Lawrence have co-starred together in an ABC Family production; their first was the 2009 telefilm, My Fake Fiance. Melissa & Joey was criticized early on for lacking sufficient chemistry between the leads and a "will they, won't they" theme present in their earlier project, My Fake Fiance.^[4]

On October 8, 2010, ABC Family announced their order of an additional 20 episodes for the first season, creating a season of 30 episodes.^[5] The mid-season finale for season one aired on October 26, 2010.^[6] The second half of the first season began airing on June 29, 2011.^[7] On July 11, 2011, ABC Family announced that Melissa & Joey had been picked up for a second season.^[8]

Episodes

DVD releases

On May 24, 2011, Shout! Factory released Melissa & Joey: Season One, Part One on DVD in Region 1.^[11] Special features include a sneak peek of the remaining season 1 episodes, bloopers, and featurettes with Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. On October 4, 2011, Shout! Factory released Melissa & Joey: Season One, Part Two on DVD in Region 1, collecting the final 18 episodes of season one in a 2-disc set.^[12]

Ratings

The following is a table with the average estimated number of viewers per episode, each season of Melissa & Joey on ABC Family.

International disgtribution

References

External links

• Official website
• Melissa & Joey at the Internet Movie Database
• Melissa & Joey at TV.com
• Melissa & Joey at Yahoo! TV

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