''The Mind of the Married Man'' is a television series that ran on the HBO network for two seasons consisting of twenty episodes between September 2001 and November 2002. The story focused on the challenges of modern-day married life from a male perspective. The

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

was the title song of the musical '' I Love My Wife'' (1977), written by

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

and Michael Stewart.

Cast

* Mike Binder as Micky Barnes * Sonya Walger as Donna Barnes * Ivana Miličević as Missy * Jake Weber as Jake Berman *

M. Emmet Walsh Michael Emmet Walsh (born March 22, 1935) is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 films and television series, including small but important supporting roles in dozens of major studio features of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in '' B ...

as Randall Evans * Taylor Nichols as Doug Nelson * Doug Williams as Kevin *

Bobby Slayton Robert Michael Slayton (born May 25, 1955) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Slayton is probably best known for a supporting role in the 2001 film ''Bandits'', and as a frequent guest on '' The Adam Carolla Show'' (2006-2009). Career Sl ...

as Slayton *

Brigitte Bako Brigitte Bako (born May 15, 1967) is a Canadian actress known for her role on ''Red Shoe Diaries''. She also wrote, produced and starred in the adult comedy ''G-Spot''. Life and career Bako was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Jewish parent ...

as Bianca * Kate Walsh as Carol Nelson

Reception

''The Mind Of The Married Man'' received mixed-to-negative reviews.

Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' rated it the worst show on television in 2002, calling it "Mike Binder's rancid little barf-com" and described it as more offensive than similar shows on other non-subscription networks "because it could be more explicit in its moronic sexism". Phil Gallo in ''

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), ...

'' described it as an "overblown take on the sexual predilections and peccadilloes of a trio of ribald Chicago newspaper columnists" and that while it aspired to be "a male ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'', it does not have any of that show’s strengths — character, plot, reality." In a marginally more positive review, Julie Salamon of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said ''Married Man'' wants to copy ''Sex and the City,'' but it isn't nearly as deft or surprising and "adheres to many sitcom clichés", yet is "cleverly produced and compelling in part because its characters are so annoying (and so close to certain truths). Women especially will enjoy feeling superior to these sad souls with their pathetic dreams." HBO cancelled the show after 20 episodes over two seasons. According to Carolyn Strauss, who was the executive vice president of program development for HBO at the time, "''Mind'' turned out to be a divisive show within households ..Women wouldn't watch it, so husbands didn't watch it with their wives, and boyfriends didn't with their girlfriends." In a 2011 retrospective review, '' Metro'' called it "outdated" and that it "looked as though it could have been straight out of the early 1990s. Everything from the boxy jackets to the less-than-perfect visual quality of the filming looked oddly old-fashioned." The review added, "Although it had its funny moments, the writing wasn’t snappy enough to compensate for all of this."

Episodes

Season 1 (2001)

Season 2 (2002)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mind Of The Married Man, The HBO original programming 2001 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series English-language television shows Television shows set in Chicago