''Rita Rocks'' is a Lifetime original

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 ...

that ran from October 20, 2008 to December 7, 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 as Rita, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Richard Ruccolo, 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 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'', Sullivan agreed the main character is going through a midlife crisis, but she does not like using the term "midlife".

Characters

Main

*Rita Clemens ( Nicole Sullivan): a working mom with a busy life. She is the leader of a garage band and also the assistant manager of Bed Bath & Max. She was formerly training assistant before her boss learned of her pregnancy. *Jay Clemens ( Richard Ruccolo): 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 ( Tisha Campbell-Martin): a postal worker and Rita's best friend who convinces her to take down her guitar and start the band. *Hallie Clemens ( Natalie Dreyfuss): 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): Rita's unemployed neighbor who joins her garage band. He has two kids with wife Audrey. (left in 2009 to join '' Cougar Town'').

Recurring

*Audrey ( Lauren Bowles): Owen's wife and mother of his two children who seems to love her job more than her own husband. *Chuck ( Duane Martin): 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): Rita's mother, who visits and stays for four episodes before leaving at Rita's request to talk to her father. * Allison ( Allie Gonino): 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 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

airs the program. * Citytv in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

airs the program. * STAR World in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

airs the program. * Fox Life in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

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and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

airs the program. * SKY Uno in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

is going to air in autumn 2009. * NET 5 in the

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airs the program * TNT Serie in

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airs the program. * Comédie! in

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and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

will air the sitcom in 2010. * Yes Comedy in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

airs the program. * TV4 Komedi in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

airs the program. *

MTV3 MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

airs the program.

References

External links

*
''Rita Rocks''
at Mylifetime.com {{Lifetime Shows 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings 2000s American multi-camera sitcoms American English-language television shows Lifetime (TV channel) original programming Television shows set in Detroit Television series by Media Rights Capital Television shows about midlife crisis