''Bless the Harts'' is an American
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
created by
Emily Spivey
Emily Spivey (born September 29, 1971) is an American television writer, producer, actress, and creator of the series '' Up All Night'' and '' Bless the Harts''. She previously worked as a staff writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2001 to 2010 ...
for the
Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an Television in the United States, American Commercial broadcasting, commercial terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by Fox C ...
. Debuting on September 29, 2019, the series is executive produced by Spivey,
Andy Bobrow,
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller,
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
, and Seth Cohen. The series is a joint production between
Fox Entertainment
Fox Entertainment is an American production company owned by Fox Corporation. The company was formed in 2019 after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The programming is created for the Fox Broadcasting Company, MyNetwork ...
and
20th Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
. The animation production is handled by
Titmouse, Inc., with overseas animation services by
Yearim
Yearim Productions Co., Ltd., ( ko, (주)예림프로덕션) founded in 1991, is a full service 2D (including digital animation) Korean animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea with a satellite office in Los Angeles.
Shows
Films
*'' ...
and
Digital eMation
Digital eMation, Inc. ( ko, 디지탈이메이션(주)) is an animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea and founded in 1993. They specialize in traditional animation and digital animation.
Works
*''Alias''
*'' Bless the Harts''
*''Johnny Te ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
.
The show's title is based on the
Southern phrase "
Bless your heart".
Spivey and Bobrow served as co-showrunners for the series' run.
In April 2021, Fox cancelled the series after two seasons.
The series concluded on June 20, 2021.
Premise
''Bless the Harts'' follows a working-class family living in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. The main
protagonist, waitress Jenny Hart, struggles to make ends meet, and lives with her artistically talented daughter Violet Hart and mother Betty Hart. Her boyfriend Wayne has dated Jenny since her daughter Violet was a toddler, and acts as a father figure in Violet’s life. Jenny works at “The Last Supper”, a religious themed restaurant, with her best friend since high school, Brenda.
The show's creator Emily Spivey has stated that it is based on her life growing up in
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...
and is set in the state's
Triad region. The name of the show's fictional town, Greenpoint, is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...](_blank)
and High Point;
[ a map in the episode "The Last Supper" shows Greenpoint in northeast Forsyth County in the region.
''Bless the Harts'' loosely shares a universe with the Fox series '']King of the Hill
''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'', which ran from 1997 to 2010. Spivey cites ''King of the Hill'' as her major influence for creating ''Bless the Harts''. The fictional superstore Mega Lo Mart, first introduced in ''King of the Hill'', makes several appearances in ''Bless the Harts''.
Cast
Main
* Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
as Jenny Hart, a single mother who struggles to make money for her family by working as a waitress at the Last Supper. She ran out on her wedding to local wealthy legend Don Reynolds, but not before she got pregnant with his daughter. Wiig also voices Greenpoint newscaster Maykay Bueller.
* Maya Rudolph as Betty Hart, Jenny's widowed mother. In "Jenny Unfiltered" and "Betty's Birthday", her age is revealed to be 53. Even though her husband Ed is dead, he is mentioned multiple times in the series. Rudolph also voices Norma, Greenpoint's mail lady and Dr. Chakrabarti (season 1), Wayne's neighbor.
* Jillian Bell
Jillian Leigh Bell (born April 25, 1984) is an American actress, comedian and screenwriter. She stars in the 2019 film ''Brittany Runs a Marathon'' and 2022's ''I'm Totally Fine''. She starred as Jillian Belk on ''Workaholics'', voiced the role o ...
as Violet Hart, Jenny's daughter who loves art. Although sarcastic and cynical, she cares deeply about her family. She is either 13 years old (according to her voice actress) or a preteen (according to Betty). Reynolds is her biological father. Bell also voices Cherish, a mom with two teenage sons, as well as various background characters.
* Ike Barinholtz
Isaac Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series ''MADtv'' (2002–2007), ''Eastbound & Down'' (2012), '' The Mindy Project'' (20 ...
as Wayne Edwards, Jenny's boyfriend. Wayne's main goal is to win Violet's approval, though he has fears that he will never live up to Jenny's wealthy ex-boyfriend. Wayne is generally well-meaning, and his inner thought monologues reveal that he actually has serious and reflective concerns about being a good parental figure, but his outward attempts at expressing this usually fail awkwardly. Barinholtz also voices various background characters.
* Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wr ...
as Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, who appears as a figment of Jenny's imagination. Although, in "Toni with an I", Violet also sees him.
* Fortune Feimster
Emily Fortune Feimster (; born July 1, 1980) is an American writer, comedian, and actress. Having made her television debut on NBC's ''Last Comic Standing'' in 2010, Feimster starred as Colette on '' The Mindy Project'' (2015–2017). In July 2 ...
as Brenda Clemmons (season 2; recurring season 1), Jenny's co-worker and best friend, and Bobbie-Nell, Jenny's elderly neighbor who picks fights with Wayne.
Recurring
* Emily Spivey
Emily Spivey (born September 29, 1971) is an American television writer, producer, actress, and creator of the series '' Up All Night'' and '' Bless the Harts''. She previously worked as a staff writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2001 to 2010 ...
as Louise, Jenny's boss, whose catchphrase whenever she enters is "Doot-dih-dih-doo", and various background characters.
* Drew Tarver
Andrew Tarver (born May 6, 1986) is an American actor and comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. He is known for starring in the Seeso show '' Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' and for his appearances on comedy podcasts, i ...
as Randy, the town oddball and village idiot
The village idiot in strict terms is a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character.
Description
The term "village idiot" is also used as a ster ...
whose religion is Satanism, Charles Lee, a city councilman, and various background characters.
* Jeremy Rowley
Jeremy Rowley (born June 12, 1978) is an American character actor, voice actor, writer and comedian. He is known for playing Lewbert on the Nickelodeon television series ''iCarly'' and Bunsen in '' Bunsen Is a Beast''.
Career
Rowley has appeare ...
as Jimmy Lee, a city councilman, various background characters, Uncle Tommy, Wayne's child uncle, and Mayor Webb, the mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of Greenpoint. Rowley provided the voice of Mayor Webb in season 1 and "The Last Supper". After, the role was recast to Jon Hamm, who took over in "Dead Mall".
* Oscar Montoya as David Brito, Violet's best friend.
* Andy Bobrow as Bud, the owner of a strip club, and various background characters.
* Gary Anthony Williams
Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He voiced the character of Uncle Ruckus on '' The Boondocks'', and a number of video game characters. He also appeared on the television series '' Weeds'' ...
as Leonard, Wayne's co-worker and friend. Leonard does not have any lines in season 2 and only makes cameo appearances.
* Rich Blomquist
Rich Blomquist (born July 27, 1977) is an American writer, producer and occasional actor. He was a former staff writer for ''The Daily Show''. The show won six Emmy awards during his employment; in 2003–2006, 2009 and 2011.
Career
He has also ...
as Daniel, Louise's unfaithful, uncaring and rude husband (Daniel passes away in "Big Pimpin'"), and various background characters.
* Christy Stratton as Dawn, a stripper and one of Jenny's friends, and various background characters.
* Mary Steenburgen as Crystalynn, Betty's arch-nemesis.
* Jon Hamm
Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televis ...
as Mayor Webb (starting with "Dead Mall"; see above)
* David Herman as Peter, Wayne's dim-witted co-worker, Benny, a cook at the Last Supper, and various background characters.
* Kevin Michael Richardson as Mr. Stikeleather, and various background characters.
* Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...
as MeeMaw Edwards (season 1), Ashleigh, and Mayor Webb's mother.
* Phil LaMarr
Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include J ...
as Reverend Ace, RJ Deerdeckers, Rayford, and various background characters.
* Holly Hunter
Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...
as Marjune Gamble, a rich woman who is a member of the Ladies of Greenpoint.
* Janine Brito as a waitress at the Great Sydney Steakhouse.
* Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...
as Doug, one of Wayne's co-workers.
* Michelle Buteau as Vanessa, Linda, Detective Bassett, and various background characters.
* JP Karliak
John Paul "JP" Karliak is an American actor and comedian.
He is known for voicing characters, such as Linus in ''The Stinky & Dirty Show'' and Wile E. Coyote in '' Wabbit/New Looney Tunes'', Naysaya in the Disney XD animated series '' Star vs. th ...
as various background characters.
* Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also t ...
as Travis, Wayne's childhood friend.
Guest
* John Solomon as Tracheo Steve
* Jee Young Han as Binh Ly
* Stephen Root
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom '' NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickl ...
as Rick Ocean
* Jorma Taccone
Jorma Christopher Taccone (; born March 19, 1977) is an American comedian, director, actor, and writer. He is one-third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island, with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wr ...
as Craig
* Chris Parnell as Ian David Cole
* Susan Yeagley
Susan Melinda Yeagley is an American actress.
Early life and education
Yeagley was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California.
Career
She portrayed Jessica Wicks in nine epis ...
as Mary Jill and Dr. Pam
* Kristen Schaal
Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...
as Stacey
* Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she ...
as Debbie Donatello
* Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's '' Suburgatory,'' TBS's ''People of Earth'', NBC's ...
as Sam
* Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni (; born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' for its first 12 seasons and its spin-off ...
as Detective Voccola
* Sal Vulcano as Bear Vulcano
* Fred Tatasciore
Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC ...
as Henri Tomber
* Michael Hitchcock
Michael Hitchcock (born July 28, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer.
Early life
Hitchcock received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Un ...
as Mr. Bigsby and a senator
* Daisuke Suzuki as Hiroki Kakatani
* Paula Pell
Paula Pell (born April 15, 1963) is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress, best known for her work writing for the sketch series ''Saturday Night Live,'' being recognized with a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety ...
as Ruth and Lenore
* Chris Diamantopoulos
Chris Diamantopoulos (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series '' Silicon Valley'' and starred in the film '' The Three Stooges'', and the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. He currently voices Mickey Mouse ...
as Minister Mikey
* Drew Droege as Julian
* Jack McBrayer
Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, who gained national exposure for his portrayal of characters on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and as Kenneth Parcell in '' 30 Rock''. For his role in ''30 Rock'' he was ...
as Deputy Tug and Parker
* Sarah Baker as Pastor Joanne
* Harry Hamlin
Harry Robinson Hamlin (born October 30, 1951) is an American actor, author, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his roles as Perseus in the 1981 fantasy film '' Clash of the Titans'' and as Michael Kuzak in the legal drama series '' L.A. Law' ...
as Rod
* Tim Meadows
Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emm ...
as Sheriff Taylor
* Rachael MacFarlane
Rachael Ann MacFarlane Laudiero (born March 21, 1976) is an American voice actress and singer. Her voice credits include Hayley Smith on the animated television show ''American Dad!'', Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 in the television series '' Code ...
as a dispatcher
* Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards.
Kurtz made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of '' Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony Award nominations ...
as Mee-Maw Edwards (season 2)
* Madhur Jaffrey
Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook ...
as Dr. Charkabarti (season 2)
* Erin Andrews
Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster, television personality, and actress. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox S ...
as herself
* Joe Buck
Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster.
The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...
as himself
* Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. ...
as Leslie
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2019–20)
Season 2 (2020–21)
Production
Development
On September 25, 2018, Fox gave the production a straight-to-series order for a first season consisting of thirteen episodes. The series was created by Emily Spivey
Emily Spivey (born September 29, 1971) is an American television writer, producer, actress, and creator of the series '' Up All Night'' and '' Bless the Harts''. She previously worked as a staff writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2001 to 2010 ...
, who was also expected to executive produce alongside Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
, and Seth Cohen. Production companies involved with the series were slated to include 20th Century Fox Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Co ...
and Lord Miller Productions, but with the Disney acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the Fox Corporation was added as a production company (also copyright holder) later on.
The series debuted on September 29, 2019, and was renewed for a second season on October 18, 2019.
On November 27, 2019, writer, showrunner, and executive producer Andy Bobrow confirmed that 3 of the episodes in season 1 would air in season 2 as holdovers.
On April 22, 2020, the show joined the rest of Fox's Animation Domination lineup in a partnership with Caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...
for the ''AniDom Beyond Show'', a recap series hosted by Andy Richter
Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night'' and ' ...
. The hour-long program featured interviews with guests and live interactivity with fans online, with recaps for the episodes that aired through April and May. While there was no ''Bless the Harts'' episode, on May 18, 2020, showrunner Andy Bobrow joined the series with other writers from the Fox Animation Domination lineup. The second season premiered on September 27, 2020.
The second season was produced during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, which impacted many other television productions, but left animated production largely unaffected. The series had a panel at the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...
, which was marketed as "Comic-Con@Home", to promote the season, with Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell
Jillian Leigh Bell (born April 25, 1984) is an American actress, comedian and screenwriter. She stars in the 2019 film ''Brittany Runs a Marathon'' and 2022's ''I'm Totally Fine''. She starred as Jillian Belk on ''Workaholics'', voiced the role o ...
, Ike Barinholtz
Isaac Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series ''MADtv'' (2002–2007), ''Eastbound & Down'' (2012), '' The Mindy Project'' (20 ...
, Fortune Feimster
Emily Fortune Feimster (; born July 1, 1980) is an American writer, comedian, and actress. Having made her television debut on NBC's ''Last Comic Standing'' in 2010, Feimster starred as Colette on '' The Mindy Project'' (2015–2017). In July 2 ...
, Andy Bobrow, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller. On April 1, 2021, it was announced that the second season will be the show's last.
Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, and Ike Barinholtz were cast in series regular roles. On January 11, 2019, Mary Steenburgen and Drew Tarver
Andrew Tarver (born May 6, 1986) is an American actor and comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. He is known for starring in the Seeso show '' Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' and for his appearances on comedy podcasts, i ...
were cast in recurring roles. On July 25, 2020, during the San Diego Comic-Con@Home, the series' panel announced that Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...
, Kristen Schaal
Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...
, and Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she ...
joined the cast in guest starring roles for the second season.
Release
Because of Citytv's deal with Fox, the series was also syndicated to Canada, airing new episodes the same day and time as the United States.
The show is also available to stream on Hulu, and able to purchase on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and iTunes. In India, the series is simulcasted on Disney+ Hotstar because of 20th Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
output deal with Star India.
On April 28, 2020, the Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
Fox channel had announced that they had picked up the series for syndication from 20th Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
. The show debuted in Finland on May 9, 2020, in Finland and is available to stream on Ruutu
Ruutu is a Finnish surname. It means 'square', 'diamond', or 'box' ( wikt:ruutu).
People with the surname Ruutu include:
In sports:
* Jarkko Ruutu (born 1975), Finnish professional ice hockey player, brother of Mikko and Tuomo
* Mikko Ruutu (b ...
free with commercials. Season 2 premiered on November 7, 2020.
''Bless the Harts'' debuted on the Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
Fox Premium channel on July 21, 2020.
The Dutch version of Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
acquired both seasons.
The show is available to stream on Disney+
Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
via the Star content hub in selected territories.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...
, the series holds an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With an exceptional cast and a big heart to boot, ''Bless the Harts'' particular worldview won't be for everyone, but it fits quite nicely into Fox's Animation Domination line-up". On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, it has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Bubbleblabber gave the first season a 6 out of 10, stating "this first season most definitely has more misses than hits in its line up which three more episodes likely wouldn’t have helped at this point. With this extra time to work on these and future episodes while taking in reception from this season, I think the next will really benefit in the long term. Plus, it gets the rare honor of being a new Fox animated show that actually GOT a second season, which has not happened since ''Bob's Burgers
''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and t ...
'' got its first renewal at the start of the decade. Fox is thinking outside the box to keep its adult animation thriving, which hopefully means more chances for exploration in future seasons. I’ll tell you what, these Harts are quite blessed to be given the chance to be Fox’s next enduring animated series."
The Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers ...
, a frequent critic of Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an Television in the United States, American Commercial broadcasting, commercial terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by Fox C ...
animated comedies like '' Family Guy'', gave the first episode a negative review.
Ratings
Overall
Season 1
Season 2
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bless the Harts
2019 American television series debuts
2021 American television series endings
2010s American sitcoms
2010s American adult animated television series
2010s American satirical television series
2020s American sitcoms
2020s American adult animated television series
2020s American satirical television series
American animated sitcoms
American adult animated comedy television series
Animated television series about dysfunctional families
Animated television series about teenagers
English-language television shows
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
Portrayals of Jesus on television
Television series by Fox Television Animation
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series by Fox Entertainment
Television shows set in North Carolina
Television series created by Emily Spivey