Undateable

Undateable
File:Undateable.jpg
Also known as	'Undateable Live'
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Adam Sztykiel
Based on	Undateable by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle
Starring	Chris D'Elia Brent Morin David Fynn Rick Glassman Ron Funches Bianca Kajlich Bridgit Mendler
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Adam Sztykiel Bill Lawrence Jeff Ingold
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	21–23 minutes
Production company(s)	Doozer Productions Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	May 29, 2014 (2014-05-29) – January 29, 2016 (2016-01-29)
External links
Official website

Undateable is an American television sitcom 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 and is 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. 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, it was reported that NBC had canceled the continuation of the series after three seasons.

Premise

Main article: List of Undateable episodes

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 friend Shannon moves out to get married, 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
• Brent Morin as Justin Kearney, Danny's roommate who is a bar owner
• 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
• Ron Funches as Shelly, Justin's oddball friend who now lives in the upstairs loft at the bar
• Bianca Kajlich as Leslie Burton, Danny's recently divorced sister
• Bridgit Mendler as Candace, Justin's optimistic new bartender and later fiancé (Season 2–3)

Recurring

• Briga Heelan as Nicki, Justin's former employee who was briefly his girlfriend (Season 1; guest in Season 2)
• Eva Amurri Martino as Sabrina, Danny's ex-girlfriend and Justin's new employee (Season 1)
• Adam Hagenbuch as Trent, Candace's ex-boyfriend (Season 2; guest in Season 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. 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.

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

Season	Timeslot (ET)	Episodes	First aired		Last aired		TV season	Rank	Avg. viewers (millions)
			Date	Viewers (millions)	Date	Viewers (millions)
1	Thursday 9:00 p.m.	13	May 29, 2014 (2014-05-29)	3.84	July 3, 2014 (2014-07-03)	1.99	2013–14	N/A	2.78
2	Tuesday 9:00 p.m.	10	March 17, 2015 (2015-03-17)	6.43	May 12, 2015 (2015-05-12)	4.01	2014–15	109	5.11
3	Friday 8:00 p.m.	13	October 9, 2015 (2015-10-09)	2.54	January 29, 2016 (2016-01-29)	2.73	2015–16	133	3.23

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref
2015	Art Directors Award	Multi-Camera Television Series	Undateable – Episode: "Pilot"	Nominated
		Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series	Cabot McMullen (production designer), Jeffrey Beck (set designer), Susan Bolles (graphic designer), Amber Haley (set decorator)	Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Undateable at IMDb