''Melissa & Joey'' is an American television sitcom starring

Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer, and director. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991–1994), ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003), and ''M ...

and

Joey Lawrence Joseph Lawrence Mignogna Jr. (born April 20, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and game show host. He got his start as a child star in the early 1980s and is best known for his role as Joey Russo in '' Bl ...

that aired for four seasons between 2010 and 2015 on

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

(now Freeform). The series follows local politician Mel Burke (Hart) and Joe Longo (Lawrence), whom Mel hires to look after her niece Lennox Scanlon (

Taylor Spreitler Taylor Danielle Spreitler (born October 23, 1993) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Days of Our Lives characters (2000s)#Mia McCormick, Mia McCormick in the soap opera series ''Days of Our Lives'' (2009–2010), Lennox Sc ...

) and nephew Ryder Scanlon (

Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to: * Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist * Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist * Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...

) after a

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comin ...

leaves Joe broke. The series was picked up originally for a pilot and season one containing 12 episodes – this premiered August 17, 2010. Then, due to the success of the show, ABC Family renewed it for 18 more episodes on October 8, 2010, which premiered June 29, 2011. The series was renewed by ABC Family for a second season of fifteen episodes, which began airing on May 30, 2012, and ended on August 29, 2012. During the second season, ''Melissa & Joey'' ranked as cable television's #1 telecast at 8 o'clock across target audiences 18–34, 18–49 and 12–34 demographics. On August 17, 2012, ABC Family renewed ''Melissa & Joey'' for a third season, set to premiere on May 29, 2013. On May 28, 2013, ABC Family announced that the third season would be expanded by 20 episodes, and that the show had also been renewed for a fourth season, bringing the series total to 100 episodes. The show proved to be quite successful for ABC Family as, in its third season, it established a 13-week high in total viewers, an eight-week high in viewers between the ages of 18–34 and 18–49 and a 15-week high in female viewers between the ages of 12–34. During the fourth season, the show reached a milestone of 100 episodes for syndication purposes but declined in the ratings. Along with most ABC Family shows, the declining number of viewers watching ''Melissa & Joey'' occurred in tandem with a general trend of reduced numbers of television network subscribers. Looking to marginalize these declines, the show accelerated the availability of its episodes to non-provider-authenticated ABC Family subscribers with

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

Plus to three weeks post broadcast. On February 9, 2015, ABC Family announced its decision to end the series after four seasons. The series finale aired on August 5, 2015.

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

, and finds himself searching for a job. 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". The show stars two former teen idols who were notable for roles they played in popular 1990s sitcoms, Lawrence for ''

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...

'' and Hart for '' Sabrina, the Teenage Witch''. Hart and Lawrence are both listed as executive producers of the series, and have each directed individual episodes.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Melanie Alison "Mel" Burke (

) is a city councilwoman in Toledo, Ohio (the youngest in the city's history, as Mel repeatedly brags). She is also a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

's daughter. 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, Meredith) was arrested for money laundering and their father disappeared to avoid arrest for running a Ponzi scheme. She started dating Joe in "A Decent Proposal". She accepted his proposal in season 3 episode 32 "Right Time, Right Place", and they marry at the end of "At Last". She runs for Congress in season 4 and learns that she and Joe are having twins. * Joseph Paul "Joe" Longo (

) is a former executive and commodities trader with an MBA 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/ house manager to assist Mel and give advice to the kids. He was born in a U.S. Army hospital in

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Overview Uijeongbu is located north of the Korean capital Seoul; it lies inside a Defile (geography), defile, with mountains on two sides, and com ...

, South Korea, and raised in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Brooke Burke). He started dating Mel in "A Decent Proposal". He proposed to her in "Right time, right place" and they get married in "At Last". In season 4 he writes a book and in the series finale it is published, he is also invited to go on a book tour. * Lennox Elizabeth Scanlon (

) is a free-spirited teenage girl who, at first, is against the idea of living with her aunt, but soon comes to terms with it. Lennox is known for her artsy, hipster style and extremely vocal liberal views and ideas. Her longest relationship thus far has been with Zander. They broke up when he left Ohio for school in Vermont and Lennox stayed in Toledo to attend the University of Toledo. They get back together, but then break up again after Zander finds out that Lennox had a relationship with Joe's nephew, Marco; then Zander slept with his roommate, keeping them apart. In "At Last", she hooked up with Marco to forget about Zander, but continued their relationship afterwards and in the series finale she and Zander get engaged. * Ryder Scanlon (

) is Mel's nephew, and the youngest in the household. In the Pilot, it is mentioned that he suffered a nervous breakdown and burned his father's suits in the driveway. Like many teenage boys his age, he enjoys watching television and playing sports and chasing girls. Lennox often makes jabs at her brother for being a "nerd", but it is not clear if this is true or just a brother-sister teasing relationship. Ryder is suspended from school in Season 3 for smoking marijuana on a school trip. In Season 4 he joins the Navy and is stationed in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Recurring

* 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 Elizabeth Ho (born May 2, 1983) is an American actress. Early life and career Ho was born and raised in San Francisco, California. Her mother is actress and dancer Jennifer Ann Lee, who appeared in a number of Broadway productions including ''A ...

) is Mel's press secretary appearing in 5 of the 6 first episodes. She's a giddy yet loyal friend to her and always gives her dating and/or parenting advice. * Tiffany Longo ( Megan Hilty) is Joe's former 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 Rachel Giana Fox (born July 23, 1996) is an American actress best known for playing Kayla Huntington Scavo in the ABC television series '' Desperate Housewives''. Career Acting career Fox has also appeared on ''Alias'', ''That's So Raven'', '' ...

) is Ryder's extremely aggressive, controlling girlfriend. She is often manipulative, jealous, and conceited, and Ryder is usually submissive to her demands. Later on, she gets help with her "controlling" issues, though sometimes she can't help but be a bit demanding. She broke up with Ryder in the beginning of the third season after she found out he smoked pot on the school trip. * George Karpelos, Jr. (

Scott Michael Foster Scott Michael Foster (born March 4, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Captain John Paul "Cappie" Jones in the ABC Family comedy-drama series ''Greek'' (2007–11), Leo Hendrie in the ABC Family drama ''Chasing Life'' ...

) 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, and later, Mel breaks it off. * Roman Maizes (

Chris Brochu Chris Brochu (born June 25, 1989) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He was born in Washington, D.C., the older brother of Doug Brochu. He is best known as Luke Parker in ''The Vampire Diaries'' and also played Ray in ''Lemonade Mouth' ...

), a nerd and Lennox's boyfriend in the first season. * Russell Burke ( Christopher Rich) is Mel's father, the former Senator of Ohio, who is very indulgent to his grandchildren and tends to undermine Mel's authority with them. He left his wife Monica for a 28-year-old yoga instructor but returns to his wife when Mel informs the yoga instructor that her father had a vasectomy. * Elena Romanov ( Anya Monzikova) is a Russian businesswoman whom Joe marries at the end of the second season. Their marriage ends when she moves back to Russia to testify for an old colleague. * Leo Larbeck ( Joel McKinnon Miller), the friendly contractor who helped Mel and Joe remodel the house in the beginning of the second season. * Jackie (

Christine Lakin Christine Helen Lakin (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC/CBS sitcom '' Step by Step''. She also played Joan of Arc on Showtime's ''Reefer Madness'' ...

), Mel's best friend from college, who is her only other single friend. She plans to get a sperm donor to have a baby without having to marry someone, and Mel unwittingly leads her to purchase Joey's sperm. * Haskell Davis ( Gregg Sulkin), Lennox's boyfriend in the second season. * Aidan Haber ( Cody Linley), the president of the Spirit Committee at Lennox and Ryder's school. Became romantically involved with Lennox in the second season. * Monica Burke ( Rita Rudner), Mel's neurotic mother who gets back together with her husband Russell after Mel ruins his relationship with his mistress by telling her about his vasectomy. * Austin (

Trevor Donovan Trevor Donovan Neubauer (born October 11, 1978), known professionally as Trevor Donovan, is an American actor and model. He is best known for his role as Teddy Montgomery on the hit teen drama television series '' 90210.'' Life and career Donova ...

) is Mel's childhood friend who is back in town. * Noah ( Justin Hartley) Mel's boyfriend in season 3, who temporarily moves in with her after his apartment floods. * Zander Carlson ( Sterling Knight), Lennox's boyfriend in the third and fourth season. He is also a talented artist, and provides illustrations for Lennox's web series "Cassandra." After a car accident, Zander and Lennox decided to take their relationship to the next level and got engaged in the series finale. * Keira ( Sadie Calvano), Ryder's girlfriend in the third season. * Dani Mancini ( Jada Facer), Joey's long-lost daughter, revealed in late season three. She decided to live with Joey and Mel while her mother goes on tour. After her mother returned, Dani moved back with her, but still keeps in touch with Joey and Mel. * Felicia Mancini ( Brooke Burke), Dani's mother who works as a professional band massager. * Anthony "Tony" Longo (

Matthew Lawrence Matthew William Lawrence (born February 11, 1980) is an American actor and singer, known for his roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''Boy Meets World''. Lawrence also starred in the series '' Brotherly Love'' with his real-life brothers Joey and An ...

), Joe's younger brother. Actor Matthew Lawrence and Joey Lawrence are brothers. * Marco (

Kevin Fonteyne Kevin Fonteyne (born 1990) is an American actor from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He stars as Johnny Cash on the CMT drama ''Sun Records''. Biography Kevin was one of six children in a single-parent home. His mother is a retired Air Force milita ...

) Joey's nephew and Lennox's ex-boyfriend who she dumped when he left for Japan for six months. * McKenna Cederstrom (

Greer Grammer Kandace Greer Grammer (born February 15, 1992) is an American actress and former beauty queen. She is best known for her role as Lissa Miller in the MTV series ''Awkward (TV series), Awkward'' and for her role in the 2021 Netflix-released film ''D ...

), an aspiring actress who Lennox and Zander hire for the role of "Cassandra" in their film. She and Zander become romantically involved, until realizing he still loves Lennox. * Noelle (

Hayley Erin Hayley Erin Feil (born July 13, 1994) is an American actress. She is known for playing the teenage Abby Newman on ''The Young and the Restless''. She portrayed Kiki Jerome on ''General Hospital'' from 2015 to 2019. She starred as Taylor Hotchkiss ...

), Lennox's friend who develops a crush on Ryder.

Development and production

Melissa & Joey cast and crew at Paley Center

The series marks the second time Hart and Lawrence have co-starred together in an

production; their first was the 2009 television film, ''

My Fake Fiance My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

''. ''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''. On October 8, 2010, ABC Family announced their order of an additional 20 episodes for the first season, creating a season of 30 episodes. The mid-season finale for season one aired on October 26, 2010. The second half of the first season began airing on June 29, 2011. On July 11, 2011, ABC Family announced that ''Melissa & Joey'' had been picked up for a second season. On August 17, 2012, ABC Family announced that ''Melissa & Joey'' had been picked up for a third season. Both Lawrence and Hart directed episodes in season two. Lawrence's episode is called "Wherefore Art Thou Lennox" and Hart was the first woman to direct an episode of the series. The series was filmed before a live studio audience at

CBS Studio Center Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The lot has 18 sound stages from , of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. T ...

stage 14. The house used for exteriors is located in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles. On February 9, 2015, ABC Family announced its decision to end the series after four seasons.

Broadcast

''Melissa & Joey'' premiered on STAR World India on October 6, 2011. In Southeast Asia, it premiered on

STAR World Star World (formerly known as Star Plus) is an English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 as Star Entertainment () by STAR TV in Hong Kong as the old iteration of Star Plus. On 30 March 1996, the ...

in 2011. In the United Kingdom, all episodes were put on Sky On Demand on July 1, 2014 and began airing on E4 on July 28, 2014.

Home media

On May 24, 2011,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released ''Melissa & Joey: Season One, Part One'' on DVD in Region 1. 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.

Reception

Ratings

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season, the only one to have been rated, holds a 45% approval rating. The show stood as Wednesday's #1 cable TV telecast at 8 o'clock in Adults 18–34, Women 18–34, Women 18–49 and Females 12–34 Demographics. The show continued to dominate its cable time period during its second season, ranking #1 across key measures Adults 18–34, Women 18–34, Adults 18–49, Women 18–49, Viewers 12–34 and Females 12–34. The following is a table with the average estimated number of viewers per episode, each season of ''Melissa & Joey'' on

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melissa And Joey 2010 American television series debuts 2010s American romantic comedy television series 2010s American sitcoms 2015 American television series endings ABC Family original programming Television shows about child care occupations English-language television shows Fictional married couples Fictional nannies Fictional politicians Television series about families Television series about siblings Television series by Disney–ABC Domestic Television Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Toledo, Ohio