''The Michael Richards Show'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

created by

Spike Feresten Spike Feresten (born ) is an American television writer, screenwriter, comedian and television personality, who is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', writing for David Letterman, and hosting the late night '' Talkshow with Spike Feresten'' ...

Gregg Kavet Gregg Kavet (born ) is a writer and director who worked on NBC's ''Seinfeld'' for several seasons with collaborator Andy Robin. The team wrote episodes including " The Jimmy", " The Hot Tub", " The Caddy", "The Bottle Deposit", " The Fatigues" ...

Andy Robin Andy Robin (born ) is a writer who worked on NBC's ''Seinfeld'', alone and with collaborator Gregg Kavet. Their episode " The Fatigues" won the 1997 Writers Guild of America Award. Robin and Kavet wrote and directed the feature film ''Live Fr ...

and

Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from October 24 to December 19, 2000, for eight episodes. The show stars Richards as socially awkward but talented

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...

Vic Nardozza, who gets the job done despite his unusual methods.

Synopsis

The show revolved around Vic Nardozza (

), an inept and clumsy

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

working for McKay Investigative Services. Throughout the show, misunderstandings and poor decisions get in the way of the cases, but Nardozza always ends up getting the job done.

Cast

as Vic Nardozza *

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

as Brady McKay *

Bill Cobbs Wilbert Alexander Cobbs (June 16, 1934 – June 25, 2024) was an American actor, known for such film roles as Louisiana Slim in '' The Hitter'' (1979), Walter in '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), Reginald in ''Night at the Museum' ...

as Jack *

Amy Farrington Amy Farrington (born September 20, 1966) is an American actress and model who is best known for her roles as Stacey Devers on ''The Michael Richards Show'' and Detective Lt. Piper Lynch in the CBS drama series '' S.W.A.T.''. Biography Farrin ...

as Stacey Devers *

Tim Meadows Tim Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. For his work on ''S ...

as Kevin Blakely

Production

Following the conclusion of his previous show, ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'',

re-teamed with

, and

, three former ''Seinfeld'' writers/producers, in a comedy caper about a

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. When originally conceived, Richards wanted to differentiate his character from Kramer, the role he immortalized on ''Seinfeld''. When test audiences' expectations for Richards were not met, NBC decided that the character would share characteristics with his previous role. The character Nardozza was named after Richards' own mother, Phyllis Nardozzi. By June 13, 2000, Ron Zimmerman had been named as a co-executive producer for the series. ''The Michael Richards Show'' premiered on

on October 24, 2000, to 13.19 million viewers according to

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. On November 8, following the second episode's broadcast, co-creator Spike Feresten departed the series over "creative differences" with the series' crew. A decline in ratings following the first episode's broadcast led NBC to cancel the series after eight episodes. In a 2015 interview, co-star

recalled that making the show was "a nightmare", blaming both Richards' actions as the star of the show and the lack of a capable showrunner for its failure.

Episodes

Reception

The show received generally negative reviews from critics. ''

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), ...

'' reviewer Phil Gallo described the premiere episode as "thoroughly unfunny" and that "the humor is lacking at every turn in this series, and the wit is practically nonexistent." ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' reviewer Tom Gliatto compared the difficulty in ''Seinfeld'' stars moving onto solo projects to "stepping onto a toboggan loaded with tubes of nitroglycerine and then hurtling down a sheet of rock." Gliatto stated that the comedy the series incorporated "isn't enough to fill out a show" and said that the series "is off to a flat-footed start." ''

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

'' reviewer Ken Tucker wrote, "''The Michael Richards Show'' isn't merely unamusing; it's shockingly incompetent."

References

External links

* 2000s American multi-camera sitcoms 2000 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series by Castle Rock Entertainment NBC sitcoms {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub