''Undateable'' 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 aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
from May 29, 2014, to January 29, 2016, and originally premiered as a
mid-season replacement
In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...
. The series was created by
Adam Sztykiel
Adam John Sztykiel is an American television and film producer and screenwriter known for such television series and films as ''Undateable'', which he also created based on the book, ''Undateable: 311 Things Guys do That Guarantee They Won't be Da ...
, based on the book ''Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won't Be Dating or Having Sex'' by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle.
In the show, bachelor Danny Burton has trouble getting into a relationship with various women he meets. On May 8, 2015, NBC renewed ''Undateable'' for a third season that consisted entirely of live episodes, which premiered on October 9, 2015.
On May 13, 2016, NBC canceled the series after three seasons.
Premise
Danny Burton is a 34-year-old carefree
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
guy who has watched most of his friends move on to
serious relationships. When his last remaining single friend, Shannon, moves out to marry, Danny searches for a new
roommate
A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Britis ...
. A promising candidate is Justin, the owner of Black Eyes Bar (frequently mispronounced "Black Guys Bar") in the
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
suburb of
Ferndale. Justin and his friends—the creepy Burski,
oddball Shelly, and recently
out-of-the-closet Brett—all have certain qualities that make them appear "undateable". While Danny himself has good luck getting women into bed, he is unable or unwilling to form a lasting commitment with any of them. Danny's older sister, Leslie, has similar fears about being undateable, having the "baggage" of being a mid-30s
divorcee
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 ...
.
Cast
Main
*
Chris D'Elia
Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom '' Whitney'', Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'', Kenny on the ...
as Danny Burton, a womanizer
*
Brent Morin
Brent Morin (born August 31, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician and writer. He was a panelist in the sixth season of ''Chelsea Lately'' and played Justin Kearney on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'' and the agent Hobbs on the sc ...
as Justin Kearney, Danny's roommate who is a bar owner and is awkward with women
*
Bianca Kajlich as Leslie Burton, Danny's recently divorced and
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
sister
*
David Fynn
David Fynn is a British-Irish actor, producer and screenwriter, best known for playing Brett in the NBC TV sitcom '' Undateable.''
He began playing Dewey Finn in the West End cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical '' School of Rock'' (based on ...
as Brett, Justin's
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
co-worker and friend
* Rick Glassman as Adam Burski, Justin's
nerd
A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...
y friend who has a crush on Leslie
*
Ron Funches
Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born in California, Funches spent his early life in Chicago before relocating to Salem, Oregon, as a teenager. He began his comedy career in Portland, Oregon, at ...
as Shelly, Justin's oddball friend who moves into the upstairs loft at the bar
*
Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992) is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she began her career in the animated Indian film '' The Legend of Buddha'', later starring in the films ''Alice Upside Down'' (2007), ''The Clique'' (200 ...
as Candace (Season 2–3), Justin's eccentric new bartender and later
fiancée
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
; she often scares the gang with bizarre stories from her childhood, living in cars and eating paper – but always delivers these tales with a strange optimism
Recurring
*
Briga Heelan
Briga Heelan (pronunciation ) (born April 2, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her work on the sitcoms ''Cougar Town'', '' Ground Floor'', ''Undateable'', ''Love'', ''Great News'', and ''B Positive''.
Early life and e ...
as Nicki, Justin's ex-girlfriend (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
*
Eva Amurri
Eva Amurri (born March 15, 1985) is an American lifestyle blogger and actress.
Early life
Amurri was born on March 15, 1985 in New York City, to Italian director Franco Amurri and American actress Susan Sarandon (whose mother's ancestry was It ...
as Sabrina, Danny's ex-girlfriend and Justin's new employee (Season 1)
* Adam Hagenbuch as Trent, Candace's ex-boyfriend who wants her back, making him Justin's rival (Season 2–3)
*
Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, investor and podcaster.
A native of Washington, DC, Cummings pursued a comedy career in Los Angeles after graduating from the Univer ...
as Charlotte, Justin's friend from school whom he sets up with Danny (Season 3)
Guest
*
Tom Cavanagh
Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...
as Frank, Justin's father
*
Josh Hopkins
William Joshua Hopkins (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor. Some of his best known roles include Raymond Millbury on '' Ally McBeal'' (2001–2002), Grayson Ellis on '' Cougar Town'' (2009–2015), and Liam O'Connor on '' Quantico'' ( ...
as Julius, Leslie's ex-husband
*
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
as himself
*
Victoria Justice
Victoria Dawn Justice (born February 19, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She has received several accolades, including two Young Artist Awards and nominations for three Imagen Awards, an NAACP Image Award, and three Kids' Choice Awar ...
as Amanda
*
Rene Gube
Rene Gube is an American comedian, actor and writer. He played Threepeat on the TBS sitcom '' Ground Floor'', and was executive story editor and a writer for the CW show ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' where he also had a recurring role as "Father Brah. ...
as Parker, Nicki's new boyfriend
*
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel Braff['Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...](_blank)
as Zach, Shelly's co-worker
*
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison (; born June 22, 1974) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/ NBC comedy-drama '' Scrubs'' (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film '' Cluele ...
as Donald, Shelly's co-worker
*
Christa Miller
Christa Beatrice Miller is an American actress and model who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on ''The Drew Carey Show'' and Jordan Sullivan on '' Scrubs''. She has also appeared in '' Seinfeld ...
as Allie (Season 2), a customer
*
Christa Miller
Christa Beatrice Miller is an American actress and model who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on ''The Drew Carey Show'' and Jordan Sullivan on '' Scrubs''. She has also appeared in '' Seinfeld ...
as Jackie (Season 3), the woman to whom Danny lost his virginity
*
Minnie Driver
Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic ''Grosse ...
as Minnie, Allie's friend
*
Rory Scovel
Rory J. Scovel (born August 6, 1980) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He released his first stand-up comedy album ''Dilation'' in 2011. He has since released the stand-up specials ''The Charleston Special'' (2015), ''Rory Scovel Tries ...
as Kevin, Justin's and Danny's annoying neighbor
*
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn (born November 13, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Janitor on '' Scrubs'' and Mike Heck in the ABC comedy series '' The Middle''. He has had notable appearances in television series, ...
as Neil, a customer
*
Drew Pinsky
David Drew Pinsky (born September 4, 1958), commonly known as Dr. Drew, is an American media personality, internist, and addiction medicine specialist. He hosted the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''Loveline'' from the show's inceptio ...
as himself
*
Mike Catherwood
Michael Dwight Catherwood (born March 15, 1979), also known as Psycho Mike, is an American radio personality. He is known primarily for his work at KROQ-FM on ''Kevin and Bean'' and as the co-host of '' Loveline'' from 2010 to 2016, and ''Neon Bl ...
as Mike, a customer who later becomes Leslie's boyfriend
*
Kate Walsh as Kate, Allie's friend
*
Scott Foley
Scott Kellerman Foley (born July 15, 1972) is an American actor and director. Foley is known for roles in television shows such as ''The Unit'', '' Scrubs'', '' Felicity'', and ''Scandal'', and in films such as '' Scream 3''. He has als ...
as "TV's Scott Foley", an exaggerated version of himself
*
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Louise Christine Chalke (; born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian actress and model. She is known for portraying Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy series '' Scrubs'', the second Becky Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'', Stella Zinman on ...
as herself
*
Meghan Trainor
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...
as Meghan, a customer
*
Robert Maschio
Robert Maschio (born August 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for playing Dr. Todd 'The Todd' Quinlan in the American comedy drama '' Scrubs''.
Early life
He graduated from Columbia University in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in Amer ...
as Todd
Production
Development and casting
NBC purchased the script from Bill Lawrence in October 2012.
Casting for the pilot began in early 2013, with
Brent Morin
Brent Morin (born August 31, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician and writer. He was a panelist in the sixth season of ''Chelsea Lately'' and played Justin Kearney on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'' and the agent Hobbs on the sc ...
and Rick Glassman being cast in February and
Bianca Kajlich and
Chris D'Elia
Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom '' Whitney'', Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'', Kenny on the ...
being cast in March.
Matthew Wilkas was also cast in March as Brett, Justin's gay friend.
Aly Michalka
Alyson Renae Michalka ( ; born March 25, 1989) is an American actress, singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence with her starring role as Keely Teslow in the Disney Channel sitcom '' Phil of the Future'' (2004–2006). Aly Michalka ...
was originally cast as Maddie, a waitress in Justin's bar and Justin's love interest, but she left the show in April 2013 and was replaced with
Briga Heelan
Briga Heelan (pronunciation ) (born April 2, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her work on the sitcoms ''Cougar Town'', '' Ground Floor'', ''Undateable'', ''Love'', ''Great News'', and ''B Positive''.
Early life and e ...
in a guest star role as the similar character Nicki.
Filming
In May 2013, NBC placed a series order for ''Undateable''.
After the series was ordered, Wilkas left and was replaced with David Fynn in the role of Brett.
When both ''Undateable'' and ''
Ground Floor
A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US).
T ...
'', which stars Heelan, were picked up as series,
Megan Park
Megan Park (born July 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her portrayal of Grace Bowman in the television series ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager''. In 2021, Park made her feature directorial debut with '' Th ...
was cast to replace Heelan in the Nicki role.
However, by September of that year, the producers were able to arrange the schedules of the two shows so that Heelan could appear on ''Undateable'' as Nicki on a recurring basis, and she replaced Park.
In March 2014, Lawrence, Morin, Glassman, Funches, and D'Elia launched an 8-city comedy tour to promote the show.
On May 5, 2015, the show was presented live in a one-hour episode that featured numerous guest stars.
Based on the reception to that episode, NBC made the decision to feature all live episodes for Season 3, with each episode featuring a musical guest.
Starting with season 3, ''Undateable'' aired two feeds, one from the
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
and one from the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
, both of which were available online after the show aired on its linear broadcast.
On November 13, 2015, 30 minutes before air time, a decision was made to pre-empt the then-upcoming live program due to the
November 2015 Paris attacks
The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
.
The next week, during the November 20 live episode, references were made about the attack.
''The Sixth Lead''
''The Sixth Lead'' is a five-part webseries starring Rick Glassman. Each part runs for 4–7 minutes. It is described as "A web-series about an NBC Sitcom actor who doesn't really talk much." It is about Glassman wanting to contribute more to ''Undateable'' and become a more important cast member on the series. The first episode is titled "Meeting With the Showrunner".
Reception
Critical response
''Undateable'' initially received mixed reviews from critics. 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 first season holds a 38% rating, based on 16 reviews, with the consensus reading: "Largely bereft of originality or humor, ''Undateable'' is underwhelming."
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, 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 arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the first season has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The third season finale "averaged a 0.8/3 in 18–49 and 2.7 million viewers overall, placing fourth among the Big Four but matching the show's top score since mid-October." Due to the success of the Season 2 finale going live, the decision was made to renew ''Undateable'' for an all-live Season 3, broadcasting live for both the East and West Coast feeds.
Ratings
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, 2788780
2014 American television series debuts
2016 American television series endings
2010s American LGBT-related comedy television series
2010s American sitcoms
English-language television shows
American live television series
NBC original programming
Television shows based on books
Television series about siblings
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in Detroit
2010s American workplace comedy television series