''Rita Rocks'' is a Lifetime original

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, 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 troup ...

that ran from 20 October 2008 to 7 December 2009. It was the network's first original comedy in over a decade. The series debuted alongside re-runs of '' Reba'' as part of a new comedy hour for Tuesday nights, which later changed to Monday nights. The show stars

Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan (born April 21, 1970) is an American actress and comedian best known for her six seasons (1995–2001) on the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. She also played Holly Shumpert in five seasons (2001–2005, 2007) of the CBS sitcom ' ...

as Rita,

Tisha Campbell-Martin Tisha Michelle Campbell (born October 13, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film ''Little Shop of Horrors'', and later starred on the short-lived NBC musical comedy dram ...

Richard Ruccolo Richard Robert Ruccolo (born March 2, 1972) is an American television and film actor, best known for his lead role in the sitcom '' Two Guys and a Girl'' (originally titled ''Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place''). Early life Ruccolo was born in ...

, Raviv Ullman, and Kelly Gould. On 11 January 2010, Lifetime cancelled the series after two seasons due to low ratings.

Plot

A hard-working mom and wife splits her time between a job she doesn’t particularly like, running the kids around and managing the household. She believes that if she can just get a few hours a week to herself, she can figure a few things out. After finding her old guitar in the garage and the prompting of a new friend, they start up a weekly jam session and are joined by a neighbor, the mail-woman and her daughter’s boyfriend for nightly rehearsals. The plot is set in the

Metropolitan Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

area, most likely the Southfield area as Shannon attends Southfield Elementary School, which is shown throughout season 1. In a February 2009 interview on ''

Anytime with Bob Kushell ''Anytime with Bob Kushell'' is a five-minute talk show produced for Sony Pictures Television and their online portalCrackle.com. The show consists of a single monologue joke, a field-piece/desk bit, and a celebrity interview. It is hosted by Em ...

'', Sullivan agreed the main character is going through a

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's growi ...

, but she does not like using the term "midlife".

Characters

Main

*Rita Clemens (

): a working mom with a busy life. She is the leader of a

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

and also the assistant manager of Bed Bath & Max. She was formerly training assistant before her boss learned of her pregnancy. *Jay Clemens (

): Rita’s husband who tries his best to support her band. He sometimes takes care of the household, getting himself into funny situations in the process. *Patty Mannix (

): a postal worker and Rita's best friend who convinces her to take down her guitar and start the band. *Hallie Clemens (

Natalie Dreyfuss Natalie Rachel Dreyfuss (born February 25, 1987) is an American actress, who has had guest-starring roles on shows such as ''Burn Notice'' and ''The Shield''. She also had a recurring role on the television series '' Rita Rocks'', ''The Secret L ...

): Rita's absent minded and rebellious teenage daughter. *Shannon Clemens ( Kelly Gould): Rita's nine-year-old daughter. She goes to a school for gifted children and is interested in space camp and astronauts. *Kip ( Raviv Ullman): Full name is Skip; Hallie's goofy and likable boyfriend/ex-boyfriend is the drummer in Rita's band. His parents are separated and he spends all of his time at the Clemens' household. *Max: Rita & Jay's new baby. Rita gave birth to him in the Season 2 finale. *Owen Delgado Jr. (

Ian Gomez Ian Braque Gomez (born December 27, 1964) is an American actor known for his comedic TV work, which include series-regular roles as Javier on '' Felicity'' and Andy on '' Cougar Town''. Early life He was born in New York City, New York, to an a ...

): Rita's unemployed neighbor who joins her garage band. He has two kids with wife Audrey. (left in 2009 to join ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...

'').

Recurring

*Audrey (

Lauren Bowles Lauren Elizabeth Bowles is an American actress. Early life and education Bowles was born in Washington, D.C., to Judith (née LeFever) and L. Thompson Bowles. Her half-sister (on her mother's side) is actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She majored in ...

): Owen's wife and mother of his two children who seems to love her job more than her own husband. *Chuck (

Duane Martin Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. Early life and education Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and he graduated from New York University. He played NCAA Division III basketball at NYU and was signed as an undraf ...

): Rita's new neighbor, a former baseball player who is a huge annoyance to Rita and Jay. He and Patty (played by Duane Martin's wife Tisha Campbell-Martin) begin dating in late Season 2. * Marilyn (

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony Award nominations, ...

): Rita's mother, who visits and stays for four episodes before leaving at Rita's request to talk to her father. * Allison (

Allie Gonino Allie Gonino is an American actress and singer. She is known for her regular role as Laurel Mercer in ''The Lying Game'' and her recurring role as Michelle in ''10 Things I Hate About You'', both of which were ABC Family series. Gonino was a mem ...

): Hallie's friend. * Rusty ( Paul Vato): the owner of the bowling alley where Rita's band performs publicly for the first time.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1: 2008–09

Season 2: 2009

Home media

''Rita Rocks: The Complete 1st Season'' was released on a 3-disc combo pack on April 27, 2010.

International broadcasting

Arena TV FOX Arena (formerly ''Arena'') is an Australian general entertainment cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar, and Optus Television's subscription platforms. History In the late 1990s, Arena had the slogan "The Art of Televis ...

in Australia airs the program. *

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television A ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

airs the program. *

STAR World Star World (formerly known as Star Plus) is an English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 as Star Entertainment () by STAR TV in Hong Kong as the old iteration of Star Plus. On 30 March 1996, the ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

airs the program. *

Fox Life Fox Life is an international pay television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group in 2004. The network has been discontinued in several markets over time, except for the Middle East, Bulgaria, Portugal, the Balkans, India and Greece. The ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

airs the program. * SKY Uno in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

is going to air in autumn 2009. *

NET 5 Net5 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is part of Talpa TV, formerly a part of SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6, Veronica, and SBS9. It is aim ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

airs the program *

TNT Serie WarnerTV Serie (until 24 September 2021: ''TNT Serie'') is a German pay television channel dedicated to broadcast television series. The channel was rebranded into WarnerTV Serie on 25 September 2021. Distribution The station was operated by T ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

airs the program. *

Comédie! Groupe Canal+ is a French mass media company. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal+ to private investors which are still using the name of Canal+. It is head ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and Switzerland will air the sitcom in 2010. * Yes Comedy in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

airs the program. *

TV4 Komedi TV4 Komedi was a sister subchannel of Swedish TV4, owned by TV4 Group. The channel focuses on comedy only with sitcoms, comedy shows and talk shows. The channel airs classic sitcoms like '' ALF'', ''Family Matters'', ''Cheers'', ''Hope & Faith'', ' ...

in Sweden airs the program. *

MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Yle TV1 (from Yle) took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV (literally "Advertiseme ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

airs the program.

References

External links

*
''Rita Rocks''
at

Mylifetime.com Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared towa ...

{{Lifetime Shows 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings 2000s American sitcoms English-language television shows Lifetime (TV network) original programming Television shows set in Detroit Television series by Media Rights Capital Midlife crisis in television