In the Motherhood
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Motherhoodlogo.jpg
| caption =
| genre = Sitcom
| based_on =
| creator = {{Plain list|
- Alexandra Rushfield
- Jennifer Konner
}}
| developer =
| presenter =
| starring = {{Plain list|
}}
| composer = {{Plain list|
}}
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 7
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer = {{Plain list|
- Alexandra Rushfield
- David Lang
- Jennifer Konner
- Peter Tortorici
- Stu Bloomberg
}}
| producer =
| location =
| camera = Single-camera
| runtime = 30 minutes
| company = {{Plain list|
- Spud TV
- Mindshare Entertainment
- Pointy Bird Productions
- ABC Studios
}}
| network = NBC
| first_aired = {{Start date|2009|3|26}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2009|7|9}}
| related = Based on the online web series
}}
In the Motherhood is an American television sitcom that debuted on NBC as a midseason entry and ran from March 26 to July 9, 2009.[http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?date=06/30/09&id=8181 ABC Drops "Motherhood", Shuffles Sundays], The Futon Critic, June 30, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2009. The series was produced by ABC Studios in association with Spud TV and Mindshare Entertainment.[http://www.thefutoncritic.com/devwatch.aspx?id=in_the_motherhood From The Futon Critic]
Plot
The series focused on Rosemary, Jane, and Emily, loosely inspired by real-life everyday moms.
Rosemary, who has been married numerous times but currently single, is a fast and loose free-wheeling mom with a teenaged son, Sid, who seems to be more responsible than his non-traditional mother.
Rosemary's best friend, Jane, is a recently divorced mother of two girls, pre-teen Annie, and eight-month-old Sophie. As she tries to keep her career and home afloat, Jane has also hired a "manny," Horatio, to help her out with her working mother duties. Horatio also has the ability to "communicate" with Sophie and believes she is the only person that really "gets" him.
Jane's younger sister, Emily, is a model stay-at-home-super-mom for her two young children, Esther and Bill. Emily also believes in perfection which she sees as key to her family life and takes parenting as seriously as any mother could. Her home is a work of art, and her kids are polite and sweet. Emily is married to Jason, the breadwinner in the family, who likes his food to be organic and determined to make sure that his family is at the top of their class.
Cast and characters
=Main cast=
- Cheryl Hines as Jane
- Jessica St. Clair as Emily
- Horatio Sanz as Horatio
- RonReaco Lee as Jason
- Megan Mullally as Rosemary
=Recurring cast=
- Rachael Harris as Blair
- Yara Shahidi as Esther
- Sayeed Shahidi as Bill
Production
Loosely based on the popular online web series created by Mindshare and produced by Science + Fiction and Microsoft's Branded Entertainment and Experience Team (BEET) in 2007 in conjunction with Suave hair care products and Sprint Nextel, this adaptation chronicled the daily and hilarious perils of three mothers, with most of their stories being adapted from everyday real-life mothers. The success of the webisodes led to ABC's announcement to order 7 initial episodes for the 2008-2009 TV season after the premiere.[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/03/abc-cuts-in-the.html "ABC cuts 'In the Motherhood' order" From Los Angeles Times (March 27, 2009)] Sprint and Suave had an involvement in the series as well.[https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117991763.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=In+The+Motherhood "ABC orders 'Motherhood' episodes" From Variety.com (September 5, 2008)]
Casting
Whereas the webisodes featured Leah Remini, Jenny McCarthy, and Chelsea Handler in the lead roles, Handler was supposed to be the only cast member from the series to make the transition to the small screen.[http://chismetime.com/2008/09/chelsea-handler-is-a-mommy/ "Chelsea Handler is a Mommy!" from Chisme Time (September 13, 2008)] But on November 24, 2008, TV Guide reported that the series would instead star Megan Mullally and Cheryl Hines. In addition, Horatio Sanz and Jessica St. Clair had also been cast, with Sanz playing Hines's manny and St. Clair playing Hines's "intimidating younger sister," who doesn't discipline her children. Handler decided to drop out of the project due to scheduling commitments to her E! show Chelsea Lately.[https://www.tvguide.com/News/Horatio-Sanz-Jessica-1000151.aspx Horatio Sanz Embraces Motherhood]" TV Guide. November 24, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
Reception and scheduling
The series had not been received well by critics, and despite ABC's promotional push in the hope of weakening NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, not many viewers, especially fans of the original web series, flocked to see the show.{{citation needed|date=September 2010}}
On April 30, 2009, ABC announced that it was pulling the series.[http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/kings_motherhood_runs_get_shor.php NBC Yanks "Kings"; ABC Shortens "Motherhood", "Samantha" Runs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425091900/http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/kings_motherhood_runs_get_shor.php |date=2009-04-25 }}, TV Week, April 21, 2009 Followed by the return of Ugly Betty to the schedule while on May 15, 2009, ABC announced that In the Motherhood would return once again, to burn off the remaining episodes.[http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8135 ABC Bumps "Motherhood" Burn Off], The Futon Critic, May 28, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009. But on June 30, 2009, ABC announced that they pulled In the Motherhood and instead doubled up on Samantha Who? for Thursday, July 2 and Thursday, July 9 at 8:30PM Eastern/7:30PM Central.[http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/in-the-motherhood-cancelled "In the Motherhood": ABC Yanks Cancelled Sitcom Again] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705132720/http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/in-the-motherhood-cancelled/ |date=2009-07-05 }}, TV Series Finale, July 1, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
Episodes
{{Episode table |background=#F0F0F0 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |viewers= |country=US |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|Title = It Takes a Village Idiot
|DirectedBy = Richard Shepard
|WrittenBy = Jennifer Konner & Alexandra Rushfield
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|3|26}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Rosemary discovers the special attention pregnant ladies are afforded.
|LineColor =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|Title = Vacation
|DirectedBy = Beth McCarthy-Miller
|WrittenBy = Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|4|2}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Jane's vacation with baby Sophie is anything but relaxing.
|LineColor =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|Title = Bully
|DirectedBy = Gail Mancuso
|WrittenBy = Alan J. Higgins
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|4|9}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Jane becomes a bully at work in order to scare her boss.
|LineColor =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 4
|Title = Practice What You Preach
|DirectedBy = Jamie Babbit
|WrittenBy = Liz Cackowski & Maggie Carey
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|4|16}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Emily and Jason are concerned with Bill's imaginary friend.
|LineColor =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 5
|Title = Shepfather
|DirectedBy = Lee Shallat-Chemel
|WrittenBy = Craig DiGregorio
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|6|25}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Jane becomes jealous when her boyfriend Shep shows off his parenting skills.
|LineColor =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 6
|Title = Where There's a Will, There's a Wake
|DirectedBy = Linda Mendoza
|WrittenBy = Annie Mumolo
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|7|2}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Emily tries to mold Jane into the perfect parent.
|LineColor =
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 7
|Title = In Sickness and In Health
|DirectedBy = Lee Shallat Chemel
|WrittenBy = Joel Madison
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2009|7|9}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Jane tries to prove that motherhood isn't getting in the way of her work.
|LineColor =
}}
}}
U.S. Nielsen ratings
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Order ! Episode ! Airdate ! Rating ! Share ! Rating/Share ! Viewers ! Rank |
| style="text-align:center"| 1
| "It Takes a Village Idiot" ! March 26, 2009 ! 4.6 ! 7 ! 2.2/6 ! 6.69 ! TBA |
| style="text-align:center"| 2
| "Vacation" ! April 2, 2009 ! 3.4 ! 6 ! 1.6/5 ! 5.00 ! TBA |
| style="text-align:center"| 3
| "Bully" ! April 9, 2009 ! TBA ! TBA ! 4.57 ! TBA |
| style="text-align:center"| 4
| "Practice What You Preach" ! April 16, 2009 ! TBA ! TBA ! 4.70 ! TBA |
| style="text-align:center"| 5
| "Shepfather" ! June 25, 2009 ! 2.0 ! TBA ! 0.7/2 ! 2.69 ! TBA |
| style="text-align:center"| 6
| "Where There's a Will, There's a Wake" ! July 2, 2009 ! TBA ! TBA ! TBA ! TBA ! TBA |
| style="text-align:center"| 7
| "In Sickness and In Health" ! July 9, 2009 ! TBA ! TBA ! TBA ! TBA ! TBA |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|1016276}} (Web series)
- {{IMDb title|1374983}} (Television series)
- [http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/2009/03/abc-mid-season-pilot-review-in.html SitcomsOnline.com Review]
Category:2000s American single-camera sitcoms
Category:2009 American television series debuts
Category:2009 American television series endings
Category:Television series based on Internet-based works
Category:Television shows about human pregnancy
Category:Television series by ABC Studios
Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles