''Living Biblically'' is an American television
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 Patrick Walsh and executive produced by Walsh and
Johnny Galecki
John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms ''Ro ...
, with co-executive producers Andrew Haas, Spencer Medof, and director Andy Ackerman. The series was based on
A. J. Jacobs' best-selling book, ''
The Year of Living Biblically''. The
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
-produced series began airing on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on February 26, 2018. The running time was thirty minutes per episode and included a
laugh track
A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
. On May 11, 2018, CBS canceled the series after only eight of the thirteen first season episodes had aired. The network
aired the remaining episodes from July 7 until July 21, 2018.
Plot
The series chronicles a married film critic and expectant father's decision to improve his life by living according to the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, literally, after the death of his best friend.
Cast
Main
*
Jay R. Ferguson
Jay R. Ferguson (born July 25, 1974) is an American actor, known as Taylor Newton in '' Evening Shade'' (1990–1994), Stan Rizzo in ''Mad Men'' (2010–2015), and Ben Olinsky in '' The Conners'' (2018–present).
Biography
In 1990 Ferguson pla ...
as Chip Curry, a film critic for a newspaper who decides to improve his life by following the Bible literally after the death of his best friend.
*
Lindsey Kraft
Lindsey Brooke Kraft (born January 23, 1983) is an American actress, model and writer. She is best known for playing Marguerite Macaw on '' Getting On'', Leslie Curry on '' Living Biblically'', and Allison on '' Grace and Frankie''.
Kraft has a ...
as Leslie Curry, Chip's overbearing, pregnant wife who does not believe in Chip's new interest in Christianity.
*
Ian Gomez
Ian Braque Gomez (born December 27, 1964) is an American actor known for his comedic TV work, which include series-regular roles as Javier on '' Felicity'' and Andy on ''Cougar Town''.
Early life
He was born in New York City, New York, to an ar ...
as Father Gene, a liberal priest who is amused that with Chip's plan to follow the Bible by the book but remains supportive. His full name is revealed to be Eugenio Alberto Del Castillo Cabeza de Vaca.
*
David Krumholtz
David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He played Mr. Universe in '' Serenity'', Charlie Eppes in the CBS drama series ''Numb3rs'', and starred in the '' Harold & Kumar'' and ''The Santa Clause'' film franchises.
...
as Rabbi Gil Ableman, a rabbi at the local synagogue who is supportive of Chip.
*
Tony Rock
Anthony Rock (born June 30, 1974) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is the younger brother of comedian Chris Rock. He is best known for playing Uncle Ryan on ''Everybody Hates Chris'' (2008–2009), and television producer Dirk Blac ...
as Vince, Chip's skeptical but supportive friend and co-worker.
*
Camryn Manheim
Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's '' The Practice'', Delia Banks on CBS's '' Ghost Whisperer'', Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries '' Elvis'', and ...
as Ms. Meadows, Chip, Vince and Cheryl's strict and selfish boss, who cares only about money and the newspaper's success. Her first name is never mentioned.
*
Sara Gilbert
Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and ...
as Cheryl, a sarcastic co-worker of Chip's who writes obituaries.
Episodes
Ratings
Production
On May 12, 2017, the show was ordered to series under the title ''By the Book''.
On November 21, 2017, it was announced that the series, now titled ''Living Biblically'', would premiere in the spring of 2018 and air on Mondays at 9:30 P.M. The series premiered February 26, 2018, on CBS and was given a thirteen episode order. On April 19, 2018, CBS pulled the series from the schedule after eight low-rated episodes, leaving five episodes unaired, and announced that the series will remain in production for all thirteen episodes and would return to the schedule at a later date. On May 11, 2018, it was decided not to renew for another season. On June 7, 2018 it was announced that the show would return to the schedule on July 7, 2018 and the remaining five episodes would air over a three-week period.
The final episode aired on July 21, 2018.
Reception
On
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 18% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 4.26/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Living Biblically'' commits the cardinal TV sin of wasting the outline of a refreshingly unusual premise on broad, hammy acting and stock sitcom laughs." 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 ...
, the series has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 1048176, Living Biblically
2010s American sitcoms
2018 American television series debuts
2018 American television series endings
American fantasy television series
Television series based on the Bible
CBS original programming
Religious comedy television series
Television shows based on books
Television series about journalism
Television shows set in New York City
English-language television shows
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Angels in television