''Growing Up Fisher'' 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 ...

that began airing mid-season 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 ...

as part of the

2013–14 United States network television schedule The 2013–14 network television schedule for the five major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 2013 to August 2014. The schedule is followed by a list per network of return ...

. The semi-autobiographical single camera series was created by D. J. Nash. On January 10, 2014, NBC announced that ''Growing Up Fisher'' would premiere following the 2014 Olympics on Sunday, February 23, 2014, at 10:30 pm, and then move to its regular timeslot on Tuesday, March 4, at 9:30 pm following '' About a Boy''. On May 9, 2014, NBC canceled ''Growing Up Fisher'' after one season.

Plot

The family of 11-year-old Henry ( Eli Baker) begins to function after the divorce of blind father and lawyer Mel ( J.K. Simmons) and mother Joyce ( Jenna Elfman). The series follows everyday situations the family goes through, often involving Henry's sister Katie ( Ava Deluca-Verley) and normal situations the parents handle, usually in a comical way.

Cast

Main

J. K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...

as Mel Fisher * Eli Baker as Henry Fisher * Ava Deluca-Verley as Katie Fisher * Lance Lim as Runyen * Jenna Elfman as Joyce Fisher * Jason Bateman (voice only) as Future Henry Fisher

Recurring

* Isabela Moner as Jenny *Matthew Glave as Principal Sloan *Carla Jimenez as Janice

Development and production

The series first appeared on the development slate at

in October 2012 under the title ''...Then Came Elvis''. The network placed a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

order in January 2013. The pilot episode was written by D. J. Nash, and directed by

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...

. Casting announcements began in February 2013, with

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations. Posey made her film debu ...

first cast in the role of Joyce Fisher, Henry's mother who attempts to reclaim her youth, post-divorce. J.K. Simmons was the second actor cast, in the series regular role of the blind family patriarch, Mel Fisher. Shortly after, Eli Baker and Ava Deluca-Verley were then added to the cast, with Baker cast in the lead role of Henry Fisher and Deluca-Verley to the role of Katie Fisher, Henry's older sister, who Joyce desperately wants to be close to. In May 2013, NBC placed a series order for the comedy under the new title ''The Family Guide'', and in June, it underwent another name change to ''Growing Up Fisher''. In July 2013, Jenna Elfman replaced

in the role of Joyce Fisher.

Episodes

Reception and cancellation

Initially sporting good ratings, viewership declined over the course of the season, ending with a 1.2 share (about five million viewers) when the show was cancelled. Only 2 of NBC's 8 sitcoms were renewed that year. It was unpopular with critics, producing a 35% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, although audiences loved it twice as much, producing a 70%.GROWING UP FISHER: SEASON 1 (2014)
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References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 2698984 2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2014 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Universal Television English-language television shows NBC original programming