Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2010-11 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at CBS's short-lived sitcom Mad Love!
The Details:
Premiered: February 14, 2011 on CBS
Starring: Jason Biggs, Sarah Chalke, Judy Greer and Tyler Labine
Created by: Matt Tarses
What I Thought Then:
"[It] is quite similar to many relationship comedies over the years, but with a talented cast that could elevate the show."
"Mad Love is formulaic to a tee, it's nothing that hasn't been seen in a romantic comedy before, all the way down to the use of the top of the Empire State Building."
"There is some decent, not forced, chemistry between Chalke and Biggs, or at least the potential is there."
"There's a fine line between being standard sitcom fare and formulaic and cliched, and right now, Love is straddling that line."
What Others Said:
"Chronicling the opposite relationships requires Mad Love to bounce from light romantic comedy to murderously hostile wisecracks and back again, which it accomplishes with considerable deftness." - Glenn Garvin, Miami Herald
"Of the couples comedies to debut so far this midseason, Mad Love is probably the best. That's not to say it's a great show, but it is the least groan-inducing." - Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Mad Love is not a bad show, but, judging from its first outing, it's not immediately deserving of the caliber of actors it managed to secure for its primary quartet." - Mikey O'Connell, Zap2It
"Maybe they'll be back for more. Maybe they'll be canceled. It's hard to imagine anyone getting mad if that happened or loving the show enough to do much about it. Maybe they should have called it Sort of Annoying Like." - Jonathan Storm, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Like dozens of recent network comedies, Mad Love feels as though it was focus-grouped until any edges it might have were completely worn away." - Maureen Ryan, Huffington Post
What I Think Now:
I didn't start watching How I Met Your Mother until somewhere around 2012 or 2013 when I finally started from the beginning. So when I first saw Mad Love in 2011, I had no idea just how much of a carbon copy of Mother this show was. It had so many similar vibes: the NYC setting, the rom-com feel, Jason Biggs basically playing Ted Mosby, Sarah Chalke in this after a prominent recurring role on Mother, the style of comedy with quick flashbacks. It didn't have quite as much of a gimmick or quite as much charm, and we've seen time and time again that shows that are copies of hit shows never do as well. So while you could look at the two shows and see that they are basically the same, Mother came first and was more polished, not that Mad Love couldn't have gotten there. The pilot also seemed to realize immediately that the secondary characters, played by Ted Labine and Judy Greer, were really the ones to watch in this show so Biggs and Chalke sometimes feel like supporting roles. Labine and Greer really kept the story moving and got the vast majority of the comedic lines. I think this was the definition of "fine."
What Happened to the Show:
Mad Love premiered on Valentine's Day airing after, you guessed it, How I Met Your Mother. The show had a lot of casting changes before it began as it was originally set to star Minka Kelly in the Sarah Chalke role, Lizzy Caplan in the Judy Greer role and Dan Fogler in the Tyler Labine role. The show received very lukewarm reviews (60 on Metacritic) with many comparing it unfavorably to its lead-in. The show didn't receive terrible ratings airing in a comfortable slot but CBS already had a new show working on the night (Mike & Molly) and the ratings threshold was high on CBS in those days to get renewed. So Mad Love ran for 13 episodes, got what would be acceptable ratings for other networks, and then was cancelled and quickly forgotten because CBS didn't have room for a show like this. I know I watched at least some of the series, I might have even watched the whole thing but I can't remember for sure, which probably speaks to its forgettable nature.
Final Episode: May 16, 2011
Episode Count: 13
Where to Watch: Not currently available anywhere
I'm excited to be contributing to The TV Ratings Guide! You can read my regular work at Benjamonster's TV!
