''My Big Fat Greek Life'' 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 ne ...

television series that ran 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 Entertainmen ...

from February 24 to April 13, 2003. The series is a continuation of the 2002 movie ''

My Big Fat Greek Wedding ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Joel Zwick and written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in the film as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with White Anglo-Saxo ...

'' and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

Playtone Playtone (stylized on-screen as PLAY•TONE; a.k.a. The Playtone Company) is an American film and television production company established in 1998 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman. It was named after the fictional record company ...

Productions for

. The two lead characters' names are changed, from Toula and Ian, to Nia and Thomas. Series star

Nia Vardalos Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), which garnered her nominati ...

also oversaw the show as one of the co-executive producers, along with Hanks and his wife

Rita Wilson Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. Her film appearances include ''Volunteers'' (1985), ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' Now and Then'' (1995), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ...

, who made a guest appearance in one episode as Nia's cousin.

Premise

The series, which is set in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, follows the main character, Nia Portokalos, a

Greek-American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

woman, as she deals with her family and her new non-Greek husband Thomas Miller, an English teacher who still does not seem to fit in with her family's Greek traditions. Despite the help and interference from her family and her husband, Nia tries her best to stay grounded in various situations. Besides her husband, the family members in her "life" include her parents Maria and Gus, who own the Greek restaurant where she works; her brother Nick, who is not very bright and feels ambivalent toward Thomas; her wise Aunt Voula; and her gossipy cousin Nikki. While the series follows on from the movie ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'', the first names of the leading couple have been changed. In the film, Nia Vardolos' character was Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos; her husband (played in the film by

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003 ...

) was named Ian Miller.

Ratings

The sitcom premiered with high ratings, averaging 22.9 million viewers. Its debut was the highest-rated premiere of any network sitcom since

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

''. The following week ratings dropped 28%, averaging 16.5 million viewers, but surpassing

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' which finished second place. However, the decline in ratings led to the sitcom's eventual cancellation by CBS.

Cast

as Nia Miller *

Steven Eckholdt Steven Eckholdt (born September 6, 1961) is an American actor. He has appeared in many television series and film roles. He is best known as Saun in ''The Runnin' Kind'', Patrick Flannigan in ''L.A. Law'', Mark Robinson in '' Friends, ''and Dou ...

as Thomas Miller *

Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...

as Maria Portokalos *

Louis Mandylor Louis Mandylor (born Elias Theodosopoulos; 13 September 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), a role he reprised in the sequel ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' (2 ...

as Nick Portokalos *

Michael Constantine Michael Constantine (born Gus Efstratiou (Ευστρατίου); May 22, 1927 – August 31, 2021) was an American actor. He is most widely recognized for his portrayal of Kostas "Gus" Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula ...

as Gus Portokalos *

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

as Aunt Voula *

Gia Carides Gia Carides (born 7 June 1964) is an Australian actress. She portrayed Liz Holt in ''Strictly Ballroom'', Susy Connor in ''Brilliant Lies'', and Cousin Nikki in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding.'' Early life Carides was born in Sydney, Australia, t ...

as Nikki

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:My Big Fat Greek Life 2003 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s American sitcoms CBS original programming English-language television shows Greek-American mass media Live action television shows based on films Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Chicago Television series by Playtone el:Γάμος...αλά Ελληνικά#My Big Fat Greek Life