''Abby's'' is an American
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series created by Josh Malmuth that aired from March 28 to June 13, 2019, on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
. The series stars
Natalie Morales,
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn (born November 13, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. After performing with numerous comedy troupes in the Chicago area during the 1980s, he made his film debut in ''Major League (film), Major League'' (1989). During the ...
,
Nelson Franklin
Nelson Franklin (born July 2, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles in ''The Millers'', Traffic Light (TV series), ''Traffic Light'', ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Black-ish'', a ...
,
Jessica Chaffin
Jessica Chaffin (born January 5, 1974) is an American actress, comedian, writer and podcaster best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's ''Z ...
, Leonard Ouzts, and
Kimia Behpoornia
Kimia Behpoornia is an American comedian and actress. She is best known for her performances in '' Unicorn Store'', '' Abby's'', ''Reboot'', and ''Abbott Elementary''.
Early life
Behpoornia was raised in Los Angeles. Her parents immigrated to th ...
. In May 2019, the series was canceled after one season.
Premise
Set in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, the series takes place at the home of Abby, a
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
ex-
Marine sergeant, who turned her backyard into an unlicensed bar complete with her own set of rules, which the eclectic set of regulars have to follow.
Cast and characters
*
Natalie Morales as Abby, a former
Marine sergeant and the owner of the unlicensed bar, Abby's
*
Nelson Franklin
Nelson Franklin (born July 2, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles in ''The Millers'', Traffic Light (TV series), ''Traffic Light'', ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Black-ish'', a ...
as Bill, an engineer and Abby's new landlord who initially disapproves of the bar, but eventually comes around and joins her circle of patrons
*
Jessica Chaffin
Jessica Chaffin (born January 5, 1974) is an American actress, comedian, writer and podcaster best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's ''Z ...
as Beth, a lawyer-turned housewife and one of the bar's most loyal customers
* Leonard Ouzts as James, the bouncer for Abby's despite his distaste for confrontation and meek personality
*
Kimia Behpoornia
Kimia Behpoornia is an American comedian and actress. She is best known for her performances in '' Unicorn Store'', '' Abby's'', ''Reboot'', and ''Abbott Elementary''.
Early life
Behpoornia was raised in Los Angeles. Her parents immigrated to th ...
as Rosie Consari, Abby's bar-back and oldest friend
*
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn (born November 13, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. After performing with numerous comedy troupes in the Chicago area during the 1980s, he made his film debut in ''Major League (film), Major League'' (1989). During the ...
as Fred Herbert, a functioning alcoholic
bail bondsman who has known Abby since she was a young girl and acts as a father figure to her
Production
Inspiration
Josh Malmuth, a San Diego native,
was inspired by a New Orleans wine bar, ''Bacchanal'',
[
*
*
*
*
*
] with an outdoor patio, string lighting, a music stage, and two stories of indoor and outdoor seating. The show is set in San Diego,
and filmed in
Universal City Studios
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...
.
Development
On September 22, 2017, the production, then untitled, received a
put pilot
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
commitment from NBC. The pilot was written by Josh Malmuth who was set to executive produce alongside
Mike Schur and
David Miner. Production companies involved with the pilot were expected to include
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...
,
Fremulon
Fremulon is an American television production company founded by television producer and writer Michael Schur in April 2008. It is known for producing the series '' Parks and Recreation'', ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Master of None'', and ''The Goo ...
, and
3 Arts Entertainment
3 Arts Entertainment, formerly 3 Arts Productions, is an American film and television production company founded in 1991 by Erwin Stoff, Michael Rotenberg and Howard Klein.
The company has gone on to produce television series such as ''King o ...
.
On January 23, 2018, NBC officially gave the production a pilot order. A week later, it was announced that
Pamela Fryman
Pamela Gail Fryman (born August 19, 1959) is an American sitcom director and producer. She was the principal director of the television series ''How I Met Your Mother'', directing 196 of the show's 208 episodes.
Early life
Fryman was born and g ...
would direct the pilot.
On May 8, 2018, it was announced that NBC had given the production a series order.
A few days later, it was announced that the series would premiere as a
mid-season replacement
In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after ...
in the spring of 2019. On January 24, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 28, 2019. The series notably is filmed using a largely outdoor set.
On May 30, 2019, NBC canceled the series after a single season.
Casting
On February 22, 2018, it was announced that
Natalie Morales had been cast as the titular Abby. In March 2018, it was reported that
Nelson Franklin
Nelson Franklin (born July 2, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles in ''The Millers'', Traffic Light (TV series), ''Traffic Light'', ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Black-ish'', a ...
,
Jessica Chaffin
Jessica Chaffin (born January 5, 1974) is an American actress, comedian, writer and podcaster best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's ''Z ...
, Leonard Ouzts,
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn (born November 13, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. After performing with numerous comedy troupes in the Chicago area during the 1980s, he made his film debut in ''Major League (film), Major League'' (1989). During the ...
, and Kimia Behpoornia had joined the cast as series regulars.
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the series holds an approval rating of 73% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 6.01/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite some watered down, outdated humor, ''Abby's'' brims with potential thanks to its easy going, goofy sensibility and a perfectly cast Natalie Morales." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, it has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
wrote: "a likable cast led by Natalie Morales, but very few early laughs"..."The three episodes sent to critics are nonsequential and don’t really build much in terms of the bar’s legality or any developing character relationships or much of anything."
Ratings
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title
2010s American LGBTQ-related sitcoms
2010s American multi-camera sitcoms
2010s American workplace comedy television series
2019 American television series debuts
2019 American television series endings
Bisexuality-related television series
American English-language television shows
Fictional drinking establishments
Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment
Television series by Fremulon
Television series by Universal Television
Television shows set in San Diego
NBC sitcoms