''That's Life'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series created by

Diane Ruggiero Diane Ruggiero-Wright is an American television writer and producer. Her credits include '' That's Life'', ''Veronica Mars'', '' Free Agents'', ''Dirty Sexy Money'', '' Big Shots'', the ''Mythological X'' remake ''The Ex List'' and ''iZombie'', ...

, that was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from October 1, 2000 to January 26, 2002.

Synopsis

The hour-long series follows the life of a young

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

woman (Lydia DeLucca, played by

Heather Paige Kent Heather Paige Dubrow (née Kent; born January 5, 1969) is an American actress and television personality. Heather portrayed Lydia DeLucca in the television series '' That's Life'' in 2000 and starred on the reality television series ''The Real H ...

), loosely based on Ms. Ruggiero's life, and her family in suburban

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The show was set in fictional Bellefield, ostensibly a play on the combination of Belleville and Bloomfield, two adjacent older

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

suburbs on the north side of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not consi ...

, while Dolly is a housewife. In the second season, Frank retires after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on the job, and he and Dolly open a restaurant.

Kevin Dillon Kevin Brady Dillon (born August 19, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Johnny "Drama" Chase on the HBO comedy series ''Entourage'', Bunny in the war film ''Platoon'', and John Densmore in the musical biopic ''The Doors ...

played Paulie, Lydia's younger brother who was a young officer on the Bellefield Police Department who still lived at home.

Debi Mazar Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), ''Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''Si ...

played Jackie, Lydia's wise-cracking friend who owned a hair salon. The show mixed family situations with situations focusing on Lydia's life as a young single woman looking for both love and stable career, and for more out of life than simply raising children. The first season revolved around the fallout from Lydia's breaking off her engagement to Lou (

Sonny Marinelli Anthony Savino "Sonny" Marinelli (born May 2, 1967) is an American actor and voice actor. Marinelli is best known for his acting roles in ''Vegas'', ''Entourage'' and '' Noel''. Marinelli also played the role of mobster John Gotti in the 2001 tel ...

, who was written out after a few episodes), enrolling at a local university somewhat resembling nearby

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

, and moving away from home for the first time. Most of the situations were light-hearted, but plots occasionally delved into darker subjects, including Paulie's struggle to resist the temptation to fall into corruption as a police officer. In the second season, Lydia finally selects a major to pursue a career in

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

. Her mother Dolly successfully ran for city council of Bellefield. Paulie started dating Plum (

Danielle Harris Danielle Andrea Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress and film director. She is known as a " scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween'' franchise ('' Halloween 4'' and '' 5''; 19 ...

), a classmate whom Lydia befriends in the first season, and marries her. The show developed a small fan base and received generally positive critical response, but languished in the ratings, despite the presence of well-known names in its cast, in part because it aired during the

Friday night death slot The "Friday night death slot" or "Friday evening death slot" is a perceived graveyard slot in American television. It implies a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday evenings (typically, between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. ET) ...

for much of its run. It was cancelled at the end of the second season with numerous unresolved plot lines, including the budding romance between Lydia and one of her professors.

Cast

as Lydia DeLucca *

as Jackie O'Grady *

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

as Dolly DeLucca *

Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...

as Frank DeLucca *

as Paulie DeLucca *

as Plum Wilkinson (later: DeLucca) *

Gregory Jbara Gregory Jbara (; born September 28, 1961) is an American film, television, and stage actor, and a singer. Early life and education Jbara was born in Nankin Township (now Westland), Michigan, the son of an advertising office manager and an insura ...

as Jo Jo Regosi

Episodes

Season 1 (2000–01)

Season 2 (2001–02)

TV ratings

*Highest rated: 12.1 million/9.1 household rating eries debut against Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony">Summer_Olympics.html" ;"title="eries debut against Summer Olympics">eries debut against Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony*2000 to 2001: *2001 to 2002: 6.9 million viewers

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:That's Life CBS original programming 2000 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series Serial drama television series Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New Jersey