Undateable

''Undateable'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from May 29, 2014, to January 29, 2016, and originally premiered as a mid-season replacement. The series was created by Adam Sztykiel, based on the book ''Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won't Be Dating or Having Sex'' by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle. In the show, bachelor Danny Burton has trouble getting into a relationship with various women he meets. On May 8, 2015, NBC renewed ''Undateable'' for a third season that consisted entirely of live episodes, which premiered on October 9, 2015. On May 13, 2016, NBC canceled the series after three seasons.

Premise

Danny Burton is a 34-year-old carefree single guy who has watched most of his friends move on to serious relationships. When his last remaining single friend, Shannon, moves out to marry, Danny searches for a new roommate. A promising candidate is Justin, the owner of Black Eyes Bar (frequently mispronounced "Black Guys Bar") in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale. Justin and his friends—the creepy Burski, oddball Shelly, and recently out-of-the-closet Brett—all have certain qualities that make them appear "undateable". While Danny himself has good luck getting women into bed, he is unable or unwilling to form a lasting commitment with any of them. Danny's older sister, Leslie, has similar fears about being undateable, having the "baggage" of being a mid-30s divorcee.

Cast

Main

* Chris D'Elia as Danny Burton, a womanizer
* Brent Morin as Justin Kearney, Danny's roommate who is a bar owner and is awkward with women
* Bianca Kajlich as Leslie Burton, Danny's recently divorced and alcoholic older sister
* David Fynn as Brett, Justin's gay co-worker and friend
* Rick Glassman as Adam Burski, Justin's nerdy friend who has a crush on Leslie and often goes by his surname
* Ron Funches as Shelly, Justin's oddball friend who moves into the upstairs loft at the bar
* Bridgit Mendler as Candace (Season 2–3), Justin's eccentric new bartender and later fiancée; she often scares the gang with bizarre stories from her childhood, living in cars and eating paper – but always delivers these tales with a strange optimism

Recurring

* Briga Heelan as Nicki, Justin's ex-girlfriend (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
* Eva Amurri as Sabrina, Danny's ex-girlfriend and Justin's new employee (Season 1)
* Adam Hagenbuch as Trent, Candace's ex-boyfriend who wants her back, making him Justin's rival (Season 2–3)
* Whitney Cummings as Charlotte, Justin's friend from school whom he sets up with Danny (Season 3)

Guest

* Tom Cavanagh as Frank, Justin's father
* Josh Hopkins as Julius, Leslie's ex-husband
* Ed Sheeran as himself
* Victoria Justice as Amanda
* Rene Gube as Parker, Nicki's new boyfriend
* Zach Braff as Zach, Shelly's co-worker
* Donald Faison as Donald, Shelly's co-worker
* Christa Miller as Allie (Season 2), a customer
* Christa Miller as Jackie (Season 3), the woman to whom Danny lost his virginity
* Minnie Driver as Minnie, Allie's friend
* Rory Scovel as Kevin, Justin's and Danny's annoying neighbor
* Neil Flynn as Neil, a customer
* Drew Pinsky as himself
* Mike Catherwood as Mike, a customer who later becomes Leslie's boyfriend
* Kate Walsh as Kate, Allie's friend
* Scott Foley as "TV's Scott Foley", an exaggerated version of himself
* Sarah Chalke as herself
* Meghan Trainor as Meghan, a customer
* Robert Maschio as Todd

Production

Development and casting

NBC purchased the script from Bill Lawrence in October 2012. Casting for the pilot began in early 2013, with Brent Morin and Rick Glassman being cast in February and Bianca Kajlich and Chris D'Elia being cast in March. Matthew Wilkas was also cast in March as Brett, Justin's gay friend. Aly Michalka was originally cast as Maddie, a waitress in Justin's bar and Justin's love interest, but she left the show in April 2013 and was replaced with Briga Heelan in a guest star role as the similar character Nicki.

Filming

In May 2013, NBC placed a series order for ''Undateable''. After the series was ordered, Wilkas left and was replaced with David Fynn in the role of Brett. When both ''Undateable'' and '' Ground Floor'', which stars Heelan, were picked up as series, Megan Park was cast to replace Heelan in the Nicki role. However, by September of that year, the producers were able to arrange the schedules of the two shows so that Heelan could appear on ''Undateable'' as Nicki on a recurring basis, and she replaced Park.

In March 2014, Lawrence, Morin, Glassman, Funches, and D'Elia launched an 8-city comedy tour to promote the show.

On May 5, 2015, the show was presented live in a one-hour episode that featured numerous guest stars. Based on the reception to that episode, NBC made the decision to feature all live episodes for Season 3, with each episode featuring a musical guest. Starting with season 3, ''Undateable'' aired two feeds, one from the East Coast and one from the West Coast, both of which were available online after the show aired on its linear broadcast.

On November 13, 2015, 30 minutes before air time, a decision was made to pre-empt the then-upcoming live program due to the November 2015 Paris attacks. The next week, during the November 20 live episode, references were made about the attack.

''The Sixth Lead''

''The Sixth Lead'' is a five-part webseries starring Rick Glassman. Each part runs for 4–7 minutes. It is described as "A web-series about an NBC Sitcom actor who doesn't really talk much." It is about Glassman wanting to contribute more to ''Undateable'' and become a more important cast member on the series. The first episode is titled "Meeting With the Showrunner".

Reception

Critical response

''Undateable'' initially received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 38% rating, based on 16 reviews, with the consensus reading: "Largely bereft of originality or humor, ''Undateable'' is underwhelming." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

The third season finale "averaged a 0.8/3 in 18–49 and 2.7 million viewers overall, placing fourth among the Big Four but matching the show's top score since mid-October." Due to the success of the Season 2 finale going live, the decision was made to renew ''Undateable'' for an all-live Season 3, broadcasting live for both the East and West Coast feeds.

Ratings

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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* {{IMDb title

2014 American television series debuts
2016 American television series endings
2010s American LGBTQ-related sitcoms
2010s American multi-camera sitcoms
American English-language television shows
American live television series
Television shows based on books
Television series about siblings
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in Detroit
2010s American workplace comedy television series
NBC sitcoms