''Happily Divorced'' is an American

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

Fran Drescher Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...

and

Peter Marc Jacobson Peter Marc Jacobson (born October 27, 1957) is an American television writer, director, producer, and actor. He is best known as the showrunner of the popular sitcom '' The Nanny'', which he created and produced with his then-wife, Fran Dre ...

. Inspired by their own experiences as a formerly married couple, the series, which became

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

's third original scripted series following ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's hig ...

'' and ''

Retired at 35 ''Retired at 35'' is an American sitcom on TV Land starring George Segal, Jessica Walter, Johnathan McClain, Josh McDermitt, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Ryan Michelle Bathe. It is the network's second original scripted series after ''Hot in Cleve ...

'', ran from June 15, 2011, to February 13, 2013, and revolves around a Los Angeles florist who finds out her husband of 18 years is gay. The series was canceled after two seasons on August 23, 2013.

Premise

Drescher plays Fran Lovett, a Los Angeles florist who is shocked when Peter, her husband of 18 years, comes out of the closet as gay. They

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, but because of the poor economy, they cannot afford to live separately. She struggles with navigating the new parameters of their relationship while re-entering the dating pool.

Cast and characters

Main

The main cast includes:TV Land Orders 10 Episodes Of Fran Drescher's 'Happily Divorced'
''OnTopMagazine'', March 22, 2011 *

as Fran Lovett (née Newman), an L.A. florist *

John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the American vers ...

as Peter Lovett, a real estate agent and Fran's gay ex-husband *

Tichina Arnold Tichina Rolanda Arnold (; born June 28, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child actor, appearing in supporting roles in ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986) and '' How I Got into College'' (1989) before being cast a ...

as Judi Mann, Fran's best friend *

Valente Rodriguez Valente Rodriguez (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ernie Cardenas on the sitcom ''George Lopez''. He also starred as Cesar in the TV Land sitcom ''Happily Divorced'', as well as guest starring on ' ...

as Cesar, Fran's Mexican-American flower shop employee *

Robert Walden Robert Walden (born Robert Wolkowitz; September 25, 1943) is an American television and motion picture actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Rossi on ''Lou Grant'', which earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...

as Glenn Newman, Fran's father * Rita Moreno as Dori Newman, Fran's mother

Recurring

* D. W. Moffett as Elliot, Fran's first love after divorcing Peter, later an

on-off relationship An on-again, off-again relationship (also known as an on–off or off–on relationship) is a form of personal relationship between two persons who keep breaking up only to reconcile afterwards, thus repeating a cycle. Researcher Kale Monk, an a ...

interest, and Fran's ex-fiancée *

Renée Taylor Renée Adorée Taylor (née Wexler; born March 19, 1933) is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director.Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for the film '' Lovers and Other Strangers' ...

as Marilyn Kappelmaster, Dori's neighbor and

frenemy "Frenemy" (also spelled "frienemy") is an oxymoron and a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" that refers to "a person with whom one is friendly, despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry" or "a person who combines the characteristics of a friend ...

Harry Van Gorkum Harry Van Gorkum is a British actor living in the United States. Born in London, he studied at Lancaster University , mottoeng = Truth lies open to all , established = , endowment = £13.9 million , budget = £317.9 million , t ...

as Neil, Fran's new neighbor who is at first an adversary, but later complicates her relationship with Elliot *

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

as herself, Peter's boss when he takes a second job as her personal assistant *

Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson (born July 22, 1972) is a Canadian-American actor, director and producer.
Yahoo! Mov ...

as Chris, Peter's boyfriend

Special guest stars

Lou Diamond Phillips Louis Diamond Phillips ( born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For ''Stand and Deliver'' (19 ...

as David *

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as '' Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

as herself *

as himself *

Charles Shaughnessy Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy (born 9 February 1955) is a French actor. He is known for his roles on American television, including Shane Donovan on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', and Maxwell Sheffield on th ...

as Gregory Sherwood *

Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...

as Jill *

Ann Morgan Guilbert Ann Morgan Guilbert (October 16, 1928 – June 14, 2016), sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, was an American television and film actress and comedian who portrayed a number of roles from the 1950s on, most notably as Millie Helper in 61 episode ...

as Myrna * John Schneider as Adam *

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

as Katie * Dan Aykroyd as Harold *

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...

as Frankie *

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...

as Douglas *

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...

as Elizabeth * Thierre Di Castro Garrito as Ramon *

Debi Mazar Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''S ...

as Jan *

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

as Kiki *

Keenen Ivory Wayans Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans (born June 8, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and the creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy ...

as Tony *

Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...

as Peggy

Episodes

Development and production

''Happily Divorced'' is inspired by the real lives of series creators Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson, who had been high school sweethearts and then married in 1978. They divorced in 1999. Jacobson later

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as gay to Drescher and the two remained friends. In 2010 the pair, who had previously created Drescher's earlier series ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three ch ...

'', began developing the series based on their life experiences. Initially Drescher planned only to write and produce ''Happily Divorced'' but eventually decided to star as well. Set in Los Angeles, Fran's gay ex-husband still lives with her for economic reasons, with "a very traditional family. Everyone's very accepting that he's gay. They're both dating; he's new at it, she's new at it." TV Land gave the green light to a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

episode in November 2010. The network announced on March 21, 2011, that the series had been picked up with a ten-episode order. The show is shot in front of a live studio audience at CBS Radford in

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

., which provides ''Happily Divorced'' the typical style of the 1990s' sitcoms. There are still more parallels to ''The Nanny'': the opener is an animation, underlaid with specially composed music and also, Drescher refuses a role name and is just called 'Fran'. ''The Nanny'' regulars, Renée Taylor and Charles Shaughnessy, have made guest appearances; the latter having also co-starred on ''Living With Fran''. The show premiered on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, in the 10:30 time slot after the television show ''

''. The show was renewed on July 20, 2011, for a second season of 12 episodes, which started airing weekly on March 7, 2012. The new season is advertised by the slogan "The Laugh is Back". Beginning of February 2012 TV Land made the guest stars for season 2 public. There are again some famous ''The Nanny'' faces :

(alias ''Sylvia Fine'') returns from season 1 as Dori's neighbor "Marilyn", and

Ann Guilbert Ann Morgan Guilbert (October 16, 1928 – June 14, 2016), sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, was an American television and film actress and comedian who portrayed a number of roles from the 1950s on, most notably as Millie Helper in 61 episode ...

(alias ''Yetta'') appears as Marilyn's mother, "Mrs. Kapelmaster". Furthermore, Hollywood beauties

and

will be on view as well. On April 29, 2012, the day of the

TV Land Awards The TV Land Icon Awards was an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with the Emmys. Created by Executive Producer Michael Levitt, the awards were hosted and broa ...

2012, the cable broadcaster extended the second season, picking up an additional 12 episodes, bringing the total count of season 2 to 24 episodes. The initial 12 episode order concluded June 6. The 12 additional episodes began airing November 28, 2012, at 10:30 PM EST, following the Season 4 premiere of ''Hot in Cleveland'' at 10 PM. The show was officially cancelled on August 23, 2013.

Ratings

Critical reception

Early reviews of the series were mixed. David Hinckley, writing for ''

The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in t ...

,'' noted that it "may be that all this will develop an interesting story. On opening night, though, it feels like the show's primary goal is to set up one-liners – which is not how the great shows got to be great." Brian Lowry of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "so painfully broad and filled with gay stereotypes all but Drescher's most faithful fans will yearn to be separated from their TVs," while Matthew Gilbert of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' summed it as "the kind of throwback you just might want to throw back." Mark A. Perigard's review for ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

'' was very emphatic; he noted that "in ''Happily Divorced'', TV Land, the cable channel for baby boomers, finally may have found the perfect companion to its smash ''

''."

Home media

Paramount Home Media Distribution Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainm ...

released the first season of ''Happily Divorced'' on Region 1

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on March 6, 2012.

Broadcast

Endemol has sold ''Happily Divorced'' into multiple territories. The show has been bought by SBS in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

in Canada,

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Italy,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

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 ...

, MTV in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and TV 2 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Similar deals with a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

company for ''Happily Divorced'' will be announced soon. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

the show has been bought by

Fox Life Fox Life is an international pay television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group in 2004. The network has been discontinued in several markets over time, except for the Middle East, Bulgaria, Portugal, the Balkans, India and Greece. The ...

. Advanced negotiations are underway in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and Sweden. In

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, the sitcom premiered on October 15, 2012, at the prime-time slot of

Makedonia TV Makedonia TV (Greek: Μακεδονία TV) is a Greek private national free-to-air television channel broadcasting from Marousi, Athens and earlier from Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia in Greece. It was founded in 1991 by a group of jour ...

. In

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

the show premiered April 8, 2013, and airs daily on

VIJF Play5 started in October 2004 as SBS Belgium's second channel and a sister channel to VIER (formerly VT4). History On 1 October 2004, the first broadcast was that of a soccer game, even though women are the channel's target audience. By doin ...

after reruns of The Nanny at 6.30pm. In the United Kingdom, the series made its debut on May 12, 2013, on TLC UK. In 2020,

7plus 7plus (stylised as 7+) is a video on demand, catch-up TV service run by the Seven Network. The service became available on 27 November 2017. 7plus also offers online live streaming of Channel 7, 7two, 7mate, 7flix, Racing.com and 7Sport. 7p ...

started streaming ''Happily Divorced'' in Australia.

References

External links

* * {{TV Land original sitcoms 2010s American sitcoms 2011 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings 2010s American LGBT-related comedy television series English-language television shows Television series about Jews and Judaism Television series by Endemol Television shows set in Los Angeles TV Land original programming Television series about divorce Television series created by Fran Drescher Television series created by Peter Marc Jacobson American LGBT-related sitcoms