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Naming a TV series is no small feat. When shows are in development, they often lack a name. As the project gets closer to production and an eventual order, the topic of names comes up. Some shows are named quickly, while others take time to figure out what fits best. NBC had difficulty finding the perfect title for the series that would eventually become Mad About You. While network executives couldn’t find the perfect name, they knew what they wanted to avoid. Despite his manager’s best efforts, Paul Reiser’s name would never become the show’s title.

‘The Paul Reiser Show’ was floated as a potential title for ‘Mad About You’ but NBC shot it down

While Network executives and the production team tried to work out the perfect title for the show, the crew showed up to the set of “The Paul Reiser Project.” Reiser’s...

The reboot/revival craze that has rocked Hollywood of late is showing no signs of disappearing.

There have been rumblings for the past several weeks that a revival of Mad About You could be the next show in line to stage a comeback, and now, it's inching closer to reality.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt have closed deals to reprise their roles if the show lands a series order.

The original series focused on a married couple who lived in New York City. It aired on NBC from 1992 to 1999 and lasted seven seasons before being canceled.

The show's earlier seasons performed well in the ratings, but the final season slumped to 85th place for the season after being shifted to help boost the Monday night line-up.

Related: TV Ratings Report: Roseanne Returns Huge

With both stars now attached, Sony Pictures Television can now shop the series to various networks,...

Over the last several years, Henry Rollins' acting career has accelerated, starting with a season-long arc on Sons of Anarchy in 2009. Since then, he's booked guest spots on the Hawaii Five-0 reboot and The Paul Reiser Show, as well as a slew of voice-over gigs. This week marked a new chapter in Rollins' ever-evolving career in film — he just wrapped shooting his first starring role in He Never Died, an indie film that just wrapped in Toronto. Rollins plays Jack, a guy who struggles with cannibalism.

Rolling Stone Readers'...

With the exception of his shortlived sitcom "The Paul Reiser Show" in 2011, comedy actor Paul Reiser has laid pretty low. Only just recently did he get back in front of the camera with a supporting role in Steven Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, and now he's getting back into big screen comedy as well. THR has word that Reiser has joined the indie horror comedy Life After Beth, directed by Jeff Baena (co-writer of I Heart Huckabees). The film stars Dane DeHaan as a young man who attempts to continue dating his girlfriend Beth after she comes back from the dead. Reiser has joined the cast as DeHaan's father. Read on! Aubrey Plaza (starring in the upcoming, promising sex comedy The To-Do List) plays Beth and John C. Reilly is playing her father. Having Reiser and Reilly as the patriarchs in this film really has the comedy geek in me excited,...

Paul Reiser has completed an overhaul of his representation team. Three months after the veteran actor-comedian signed with ICM, he also has brought in a new management company, New Wave Entertainment. Reiser was with the Saftan Co. He most recently created, executive produced and starred in The Paul Reiser Show, which had a brief, low-rated run on NBC last midseason. Reiser, best known for co-creating/exec producing and starring in another NBC comedy series, the long-running Mad About You, also has written three books, most recently Familyhood, a follow-up to Couplehood and Babyhood.

Veteran actor-comedian Paul Reiser has signed with ICM. He was with UTA. Reiser most recently created, executive produced and starred in The Paul Reiser Show, which had a brief, low-rated midseason run on NBC. Reiser is best known for co-creating/exec producing and starring in another NBC comedy series, the long-running Mad About You. Reiser also has written three books, most recently Familyhood, published earlier this year, a follow-up to Couplehood and Babyhood.

ABC's new series "Last Man Standing" premiered to strong ratings Tuesday night (Oct. 11), with 13.2 million people tuning into Tim Allen's return to sitcomdom.

That the former star of a hit comedy ("Home Improvement," in this case) would draw a big audience in his return is maybe not a surprise. Except that when you look at the track record of some of Allen's contemporaries in recent years, it sort of is.

Consider: "Back to You" and "Hank," both of which starred multiple Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer (the former also featured fellow Emmy winner Patricia Heaton), couldn't make it past their first seasons. Ditto for Matthew Perry ("Mr. Sunshine"), Paul Reiser ("The Paul Reiser Show") and Jenna Elfman ("Accidentally on Purpose"), all of whom starred in hit shows in the 1990s and early 2000s and had one-and-done shows in the past couple of seasons.

This year, though? Allen seems to have...

Fiona Gubelmann has been making her mark as a guest star in such shows as Californication, The Paul Reiser Show and The Closer. The new FX show, Wilfred is her first starring role and when she got the part, she told me that she “fell on the floor. It was one of the most incredible moments in my life.”

Wilfred is about a depressed man (Elijah Wood) who suddenly perceives his neighbor’s dog Wilfred (Jason Gann) as an obnoxious Australian guy dressed up in a dog suit. Fiona plays Jenna, Wilfred’s owner and possible future love interest.

I talk to Fiona in a conference call where she talked about the show, how she got the part and her audition process and that fateful call from her agent.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

Wilfred airs on Thursdays at 10 on FX.

HBO is dipping its toe into the pool of unnecessary remakes with an "I, Claudius" miniseries. This is an unnecessary remake because Derek Jacobi and the BBC already owned this in the 1976 "I, Claudius" miniseries. Like the original miniseries, this one will be based on Robert Graves' pair of books, "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God," which present the fictional autobiography of Emperor Claudius from Caesar's assassination in 44 BC through Caligula's assasssination, Claudius' rise to Emperordom, and Claudius' eventual death in Ad 54 (spoiler alert?). HBO is teaming up with the BBC for this remake and, specifically, it's going to come from the duo who was responsible for HBO's underappreciated "Rome" series. So it may be a wholly unnecessary remake, but I'm kind of excited about the prospect nevertheless. And having been created in 1976 myself, does this mean I'm now due for a remake? If so, I'd like Matt Smith...

Paul Reiser chooses to look at the failure of his recent NBC sitcom, 'The Paul Reiser Show,' in a positive light.

The actor has joked that his recent debacle with NBC was just an expensive media blitz for his third book, 'Familyhood,' and in a way he's right. Being axed by the last-place network after only two episodes gave the 'Mad About You' actor a pedestal to A) Rip on his former bosses and, B) Bring up his latest tome, which is you guessed it ... about being a dad to Ezra and Leon (ages 15 and 11).

Reiser's previous books were about marriage and becoming a dad. He spoke to AOL TV sister site PopEater about his new book, being an embarrassing father to his boys and his disappointment in being given the gong so quickly at the network he made millions for.

Paul Reiser has claimed that NBC failed to adequately promote his return to television in the semi-autobiographical sitcom The Paul Reiser Show. The Paul Reiser Show was axed by the Peacock Network after only two airings in April, leading the comic to later joke that NBC was afraid to "jeopardise" its losing ratings battle with an actual hit. Reiser told Jay Leno following the cancellation: "[NBC] is a big company and when you're the last place network, you don't want to jeopardise that. You've found your niche. Stay there." He has now contended that the key reason why The Paul Reiser Show failed was that the series was disregarded by NBC executives during the final days of the network's sale to Comcast. Reiser told PopEater: "One of the things I've learned is it's not (more)...

Larry David has played a number of oddball roles, including George Steinbrenner, a car thief, a referee and George Costanza's caped lawyer in Seinfeld. His new role, however, may be his craziest.

Only in the world of "The Three Stooges" would casting a balding, Jewish man to play a Catholic nun make sense, and it's indeed the Farrelly Brothers' spin on the classic for which David has signed up to wear the Habit. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star will play Mother Mengele, the head of the Stooges' orphanage in the filmmaker's new take on the legendary film shorts, which will star Will Sasso as Curly, Sean Hayes as Larry and Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe.

Joining David at the orphanage will be another fun choice: Jane Lynch, who will play Mother Superior. Also joining them will be Sofia Vergara, in a much more lusty role as a woman who uses her...

Using humor to deflect pain, Paul Reiser used his spot on Jay Leno's chat show on NBC Monday to lob a few zingers at the network that canceled him after two shows. "NBC, to my knowledge, they don't traditionally make bad decisions. Have you heard that? I don't know what your experience is," Reiser quipped to Leno. NBC canceled "The Paul Reiser Show" after two episodes aired, turning in poor ratings. The second episode even featured punk, poet, actor Henry Rollins in a guest spot. Reiser joked. "Listen, when you're the last place network, you don't want to jeopardize that. You've found your niche. Stay there. So I get it."...

Courtesy: Nbclos Angeles, California (X17online) - Paul Reiser wasn't afraid to hide his feelings about NBC when he stopped by The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Monday night. The network canceled Reiser's new show, The Paul Reiser Show, earlier this week after only two episodes. Ratings had been poor. Reiser tried to find a friend in Leno. "NBC, to my knowledge, they don't traditionally make bad decisions," Reiser said. "Have you heard that? I don't know what your experience is." Then, he appeared to show some maturity. "It turns out they said we enjoy missing you more than actually having you," Reiser joked. "But listen, I don't take it personally." Before one final dig: "Listen, when you're the last place network, you don't want to jeopardize that," he said. "You've found your niche. Stay there."...

So, this is awkward. Paul Reiser already was scheduled to promote The Paul Reiser Show on Monday's Tonight Show with Jay Leno when he got word last week that his show was being pulled after two episodes. He showed up to chat with Jay anyway, commenting on the uncomfortable situation ("I said, 'Well, that's weird. What do you think, Jay? Should I come on and just say hi?'") and throwing barbs at NBC...

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Paul Reiser might be a tad bitter about the abrupt cancellation of his blink-and-you'll miss-it return to TV, "The Paul Reiser Show." The former "Mad About You" star, who was shown the door at NBC after just two episodes of his new venture, returned to the network Monday night on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" to bite the hand that pulled the plug on him. Suggesting that NBC's decision to drop him might have been rash, Reiser went on to take a dig at the network's ratings performance, cracking, "When...

Jay Leno was probably looking for some awkward fun when he kept his plans to have Paul Reiser on his show even after NBC axed Reiser’s new show last week after only two episodes. Encouraged to address the cancellation, Reiser told Leno that the dismal numbers were to blame, but, “NBC, to my knowledge, they don’t traditionally make bad decisions. I don’t know what your experience is.” Leno doubled over his desk in laughter as Reiser continued. ” ‘It’s a great spot. You’re opposite American Idol.’ … It turns out, enjoy missing you more than having you.

Paul Reiser has joked about the recent cancellation of his NBC sitcom The Paul Reiser Show. The comedy series was axed last week after only two episodes had aired, with the final instalment attracting just 2.5m viewers. In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Reiser quipped: "They said, 'We enjoy missing you more than actually having you'. I don't take it personally." He added: "It's a business decision. [NBC] is a big company and when you're the last (more)...

Last week, Paul Reiser was booked to come on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote his new NBC sitcom, The Paul Reiser Show. Unfortunately, the peacock network cancelled the low-rated show on Friday before he got a chance to do that.

Many stars would have been too embarrassed to still come talk to Leno but Reiser saw the opportunity to make a few good-natured jokes at the network's expense and came anyway. "It turns out they said we enjoy missing you more than actually having you," he said. Reiser also noted, "When you're the last place network, you don't want to jeopardize that. You've found your niche. Stay there. So I get it."

Leno, who had his own problems with NBC a year ago, was the perfect audience for Reiser's quips. In truth, it was probably a much more entertaining interview than if...

While it’s no surprise NBC would eventually cancel The Paul Reiser Show—a contemptible premise (mega-rich celebs get no respect) and low ratings do not a long-running show make—you think they’d wait until after its star made his promotional appearance on the network’s late night program. And yet Paul Reiser was on Jay Leno‘s couch last night, predictably unhappy that his Curb Your Enthusiasm-lite sitcom had just been dropped after only two shows. “NBC, to my knowledge, they don’t traditionally make bad decisions,” Reiser drolly commented. “Have you heard that? I don’t know what your experience is.”

Ironically, Reiser defended Leno when Conan O’Brien was promptly re-replaced by Jay on The Tonight Show for not bringing in the numbers himself. But that didn’t keep the comedian from feeling slighted by the network’s own refusal to stand by his failing show despite years of service.

While it’s no surprise NBC would eventually cancel The Paul Reiser Show—a contemptible premise (mega-rich celebs get no respect) and low ratings do not a long-running show make—you think they’d wait until after its star made his promotional appearance on the network’s late night program. And yet Paul Reiser was on Jay Leno‘s couch last [...]...

Paul Reiser's new show was quickly cancelled after two episodes aired to truly horrible ratings. Well, The Paul Reiser Show may be gone but the actor and stand-up comic's sense of humor is not. Following the speedy cancellation, Reiser took to Twitter and post a few amusing bits of information for his readers.

Well that was fast!! Apparently networks like big numbers quickly. who knew?

To the millions of people who would have loved this show but didn't get a chance to hear about it, hopefully we will live on elsewhere.

by the way - feel free to start a groundswell movement I'll back you up. thanks for all those who tuned in and supported. pr

What do you think? Was it just a case of bad timing or was The Paul Reiser Show just bad?...

Word came down over the weekend that "The Paul Reiser Show," had been cancelled after only two episodes, due to poor reviews and dreadful ratings. It wasn't a huge surprise: It wasn't a very good show; NBC had very little faith in it (the network pushed back its premiere nearly a full television year); Paul Reiser is not exactly popular, having disappeared from television and film after the end of "Mad About You"; and the debut episode was the lowest-rated in-season comedy debut ever on NBC, scoring only 3.4 million viewers. (The time slot will be occupied by "The Office" reruns for the rest of the season).

Given the time and money put into a scripted series, it takes a particularly nasty brand of heinous to get yanked that quickly. But, two episodes is not the quickest a scripted television series has been pulled off the air. There are quite a few reality ("The Hasselhoffs,...

I will say first and foremost that I've actually met Paul Reiser and he is a super nice guy.  But that being said, and because I'm a serious film/television journalist (Lolz Jk), I will tell you that I did watch The Paul Reiser Show.  And it was painful.  Like, I actually walked away from my TV and read the paper.  That is saying something.

Well, seems like a lot of people agreed with me.  Despite it's prime spot in between Community and The Office, NBC has announced that they are cancelling The Paul Reiser Show after two episodes.  To replace the 8:30 Est slot on Thursdays will be The Office reruns.  So you'll still be able to get a dose of Steve Carrell for a while.

read more...

The 8:30Pm time slot has not been nice to NBC lately. After just two episodes, the network has canned The Paul Reiser Show because of its abysmal ratings.

The show had replaced the mediocre comedy Perfect Couples, another show that failed to capture viewers and was prematurely dropped from the lineup. Thursday night’s episode brought in only 2.5 million viewers with a low 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic. These numbers were down from the pilot, which scored 3.3 million viewers.

The show really didn’t strike a chord with critics either. We thought that the pilot only showed some life because of Larry David’s guest spot.

You can forget about seeing the rest of the episodes, no plans have been announced to burn them off on another day or online. In the show’s stead, NBC will air repeats of The Office.

Friday Night Lights returned to NBC and few noticed (of course most have already seen the episodes via DirecTV or the season five DVD set). Five of the network's original episodes remained at the same level that they were at a week earlier. All but two of the others were losers, including The Event, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Community, and The Office. The Paul Reiser Show had a terrible second week and, as expected, it's already been cancelled.

Which NBC TV shows will be cancelled or renewed depend mostly on the series's ratings, particularly the 18-49 demographic. Before we get to the season-to-date averages, here are the winners and losers from April 15th through April 21st -- based on the coveted demo, as measured against the last original episode.

Week-to-Week Winners: Dateline 1.4/4 (Fri, +7.7%) and Parenthood 2.5/7 (+19.0%).

No...

It's a plotline that would make a great episode of "The Paul Reiser Show": NBC gives long-forgotten comic Paul Reiser another TV comedy, only to put the show on the shelf for the majority of the season. Then, after an abruptly announced and heavily promoted launch, NBC cancels the sitcom after only two episodes, leaving Paul Reiser to return to hanging out with his friends.   Unfortunately (or fortunately), it's a plotline of "The Paul Reiser Show" that viewers will never get to see. After sitting on the shelf for most of the season and an abruptly announced and heavily promoted...

First audiences and now NBC have decided they're not "mad about Paul Reiser." After two weeks of extremely poor ratings, the peacock network has decided to cut their losses and has cancelled The Paul Reiser Show.

Viewers largely ignored the former Mad About You star's new sitcom when it debuted last Thursday night. The premiere attracted only a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 3.37 million total viewers. That's the lowest Thursday night debut in NBC history.

As bad as those numbers were, they got even worse last night, dropping 18% in the demo with a 0.9 rating and 2.34 million viewers.

To no surprise, NBC has pulled The Paul Reiser Show from the schedule, effective immediately. Repeats of The Office will fill the timeslot for the immediate future.

The peacock network hasn't indicated any plans to release...

Filed under: TV News

Paul Reiser's TV comeback was short-lived.

NBC canceled 'The Paul Reiser Show' after only two episodes.

The show -- which didn't fare well with the critics -- didn't tickle the fancy of TV viewers, and it premiered to 3.3 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, ranking as the network's lowest-rated in-season comedy bow ever, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The second episode scored 2.5 million viewers and a 0.9 share.

The show was a semi-autobiographical sitcom about a former television star who hadn't work in the business for several years. The series' flop makes that premise too close for comfort.

Repeats of 'The Office' will take over at 8:30Pm beginning next week.

 

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NBC is no longer mad about Paul Reiser, pulling The Paul Reiser Show off the air after airing only two episodes. The comedy — which replaced Perfect Couples in the Thursday-at-8:30 p.m. slot and featured the Mad About You star playing himself — drew a meager 3.3 million viewers for its April 14 premiere and was dismissed by critics. Last night’s episode performed even worse, attracting only 2.5 million viewers and earning a 0.9 rating in the 18-to-49 demo. The network currently has no plans to air Reiser’s remaining episodes, and will show repeats of The Office in its place for the rest of the season.

Now, Paul Reiser has something to really be mad about. NBC cancelled "The Paul Reiser Show" on Friday after just two episodes, TheWrap has confirmed. The "Mad About You" star's critically panned return to television debuted to the lowest ratings in network history; 3.3 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. The bleeding showed no signs of stopping as “Reiser” suffered an 18 percent drop in its second week. Starting next week, the network plans to air repeats of "The Office" in "Reiser"s' 8:30 p.m. timeslot. No decision has been made...

Has NBC pulled the plug on The Paul Reiser Show after airing only two episodes?

According to The Futon Critic, NBC axed the freshman comedy Friday and will be replacing it with repeat episodes of The Office beginning April 28 at 8:30/7:30c.

NBC announces Paul Reiser Show; replacing Perfect Couples

The report comes a day after the sitcom, from former...

Read More >...

Veteran comic and sitcom star Paul Reiser had none of the magic left from his long-running sitcom with co-star Helen Hunt, Mad About You. According to Deadline, NBC execs gave Paul Reiser the boot after airing just two episodes of The Paul Reiser Show. Granted, Reiser’s ratings sunk low enough to rank as NBC’s lowest-rated comedy series premiere in the lifetime of the network (1.1/3 with adults 18-49) and the fledgling series dipped lower to 0.9 with its second show. Cutting a show loose after just two episodes seemed cutthroat but an NBC exec speaking off the record told Deadline that they had to act fast to protect ratings for the final episodes of The Office starring Steve Carell before his big exit.

Veteran comic and sitcom star Paul Reiser had none of the magic left from his long-running sitcom with co-star Helen Hunt, Mad About You. According to Deadline, NBC execs gave Paul Reiser the boot after airing just two episodes of The Paul Reiser Show. Granted, Reiser’s ratings sunk low enough to rank as NBC’s lowest-rated comedy series premiere in the lifetime of the network (1.1/3 with adults 18-49) and the fledgling series dipped lower to 0.9 with its second show. Cutting a show loose after just two episodes seemed cutthroat but an NBC exec speaking off the record told Deadline that they had to act fast to protect ratings for the final episodes of The Office starring Steve Carell before his big exit.

Veteran comic and sitcom star Paul Reiser had none of the magic left from his long-running sitcom with co-star Helen Hunt, Mad About You. According to Deadline, NBC execs gave Paul Reiser the boot after airing just two episodes of The Paul Reiser Show. Granted, Reiser’s ratings sunk low enough to rank as NBC’s lowest-rated comedy series premiere in the lifetime of the network (1.1/3 with adults 18-49) and the fledgling series dipped lower to 0.9 with its second show. Cutting a show loose after just two episodes seemed cutthroat but an NBC exec speaking off the record told Deadline that they had to act fast to protect ratings for the final episodes of The Office starring Steve Carell before his big exit.

Veteran comic and sitcom star Paul Reiser had none of the magic left from his long-running sitcom with co-star Helen Hunt, Mad About You. According to Deadline, NBC execs gave Paul Reiser the boot after airing just two episodes of The Paul Reiser Show. Granted, Reiser’s ratings sunk low enough to rank as NBC’s lowest-rated comedy series premiere in the lifetime of the network (1.1/3 with adults 18-49) and the fledgling series dipped lower to 0.9 with its second show. Cutting a show loose after just two episodes seemed cutthroat but an NBC exec speaking off the record told Deadline that they had to act fast to protect ratings for the final episodes of The Office starring Steve Carell before his big exit.

This week’s episode of The Paul Reiser Show exhibits more signs of life, but it may not be enough to keep us watching.

The Plot was a little more creative than last week’s. Paul and his friends are concerned about their parenting, Paul has a hidden cat in his yard and he doesn’t know why one of the other parents hates him. Paul ends up taking the wrong boy home from school for a play date, leaving Jonathan’s (Ben Shenkman) son alone at school for hours. Paul tried to console the boy by giving him the cat. Unfortunately Paul’s wife, Claire (Amy Landecker) already promised the cat to the parent who hates him.

Part of the episode is Claire feels guilty for taking the kids out of school for the dentist. What? Why would you feel guilty for that? The day at the Dentist is...

Paul Reiser is bound to be mad about Thursday night’s ratings. After landing the lowest ratings for an in-season comedy premiere in NBC’s history for its debut last week, “The Paul Reiser Show” slid further in the ratings for its second episode, according to preliminary numbers. Also read: "'Reiser' Bombs While Will Ferrell Boosts 'The Office'" NBC’s evening started out with a bright note with “Community” at 8, which scored a 1.5 rating/5 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, a 7 percent uptick from the previous week’s performance, and 3.2 million total viewers.

Last week, NBC finally got around to premiering The Paul Reiser Show, a new sitcom starring Paul Reiser. As you may recall, he was the male lead in NBC's very successful Mad About You sitcom that ran for seven seasons, from 1992 until 1999. Will Reiser's new show stick around as long or be quickly cancelled instead?

The Paul Reiser Show follows the life of a fictional version of Reiser, a former television star. While he enjoys spending time with his family, Reiser finds himself wanting more and he enlists his friends to help him find what that might be. In addition to Reiser, the series features Ben Shenkman, Omid Djalili, Duane Martin, Andrew Daly, Amy Landecker, Brock Waidmann, Koby Rouviere, and Larry Dorf.

Taking the place of low-rated Perfect Couples, the Reiser Show debuted to a disastrous 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic...

Several new shows that are debuting in the coming months on the various networks of NBCUniversal were recently unveiled during a massive press event in Pasadena, CA on Friday. Cast and crew members graciously spoke about their projects. Here’s what we can reveal to you:

“The Paul Reiser Show”

Word of this “Curb Your Enthusiasm” clone debuting to the lowest numbers ever for an NBC sitcom hadn’t yet reached the hall where the press event was being held so Paul Reiser and executive producer Jonathan Shapiro were all smiles when giving us all an insight on how this series came to be: they have a diverse group of friends — since they live in Los Angeles — who all met through each others’ wives and at various school functions, and they thought that it would make for a great show. Reiser also revealed that his former “Mad About You” co-stat,...

One of the biggest ratings stories on NBC last week was the premiere of The Paul Reiser Show and it was a big flop. Several TV shows saw some nice nice gains, including sure-to-be-cancelled Outsourced. Many other series had big losses including Chuck, America's Next Great Restaurant, and the revamped Law & Order: Los Angeles.

Which NBC TV shows will be cancelled or renewed depend mostly on the series's ratings, particularly the 18-49 demographic. Before we get to the season-to-date averages, here are the winners and losers from April 8th through April 14th -- based on the coveted demo, as measured against the last original episode.

Week-to-Week Winners: Parenthood 2.1/6 (+10.5%), The Office 4.0/11 (+17.6%), 30 Rock 2.2/6 (+15.8%), and Outsourced 1.7/5 (+21.4%).

No change: Who Do You Think You Are? 1.3/4, Dateline 1.3/4 (Fri), and The Paul Reiser Show 1.1/3...

So, it’s okay to take someone else’s idea as long as you cite the original source right? Maybe, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work. Case in point: The Paul Riser Show which ended up being a watered down version of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Unfortunately Paul Reiser doesn’t have what it takes to carry the show. The best part of the Pilot was the cameo by Larry David. He had the most energy out of all the characters; even Paul looked bored as he tried to be Larry David.

Curb your Enthusiasm said everything you were thinking but refused to admit and it took unbelievable situations and made it believable and hilarious. The Paul Reiser show is trying to take everyday situations and make them funny only because Paul Reiser is famous. Supposedly it’s funny when famous people do every...

Will Ferrell's debut on The Office (3.9/11 in 18-49, 7.7 million viewers) last night gave a boost to the NBC comedy, which was up 15% from its most recent original March 24 in 18-49. The ratings gains carried over to Parks and Recreation (2.6/7, 5.2 million), up 8% for its best numbers in almost three months; 30 Rock (2.2/6), up 16%; and Outsourced (1.7/5), up 21% from last week, when it had a repeat as lead-in. But things were far less uplifting in the 8 Pm hour. Community (1.4/5, 3.5 million) was down 22% in 18-49 from its last original March 24. Then there was the premiere of The Paul Reiser Show (1.1/3, 3.3 million) at 8:30 Pm. It was down a whopping 48% from the January debut of Perfect Couples in the time slot to rank as NBC's lowest-rated in-season comedy series premiere ever. Fox's American Idol (6.1/19, 21 million) matched its fast-national rating from last week (the reality juggernaut always goes up in the finals). At 9 Pm, Bones (3.7/10, 11.9 million...

Paul Reiser is finding out that just being himself isn’t as easy as it would seem. The former “Mad About You” star was on hand at NBC’s Press Day 2011 in Pasadena on Friday to promote his new series, “The Paul Reiser Show,” on which he plays himself. Seated along side series executive producer/writer Jonathan Shapiro, Reiser explained the difficulty of bringing incidents from his and Shapiro’s life to the small screen. Also read: NBC's 'Paul Reiser Show' Replacing 'Perfect Couples' “All of the episodes came out of things that happened to us,”...

Paul Reiser is finding out that just being himself isn’t as easy as it would seem. The former “Mad About You” star was on hand at NBC Universal’s Summer Press Day 2011 in Pasadena on Friday to promote his new series, “The Paul Reiser Show,” on which he plays himself. Seated along side series executive producer/writer Jonathan Shapiro, Reiser explained the difficulty of bringing incidents from his and Shapiro’s life to the small screen. Also read: NBC's 'Paul Reiser Show' Replacing 'Perfect Couples' “All of the episodes came out of things that happened...

The debut of Will Ferrell on NBC’s The Office gave the comedy a ratings raise Thursday night. The Office introduced Ferrell’s potential Michael Scott replacement Deangelo Vickers and delivered 7.7 million viewers and a 3.9 adult demo rating — up 15 percent from the show’s last original episode. The Office was the night’s top-rated scripted show and sported the highest rating for the series since late January. (Though having CSI and Grey’s Anatomy in repeats couldn’t have hurt either).

The boost is also impressive considering the comedy’s poor lead-in — Paul Reiser’s new sitcom.No way to sugarcoat this: The show tanked.

Community (Grade: C+. Kind of flat. )

"My uncle never stuck his finger in my plop plop ... I know, I'm bummed about it, too."

"I'm auditioning for the all-black production of Fiddler on the Roof. It's called Fiddla, Please.

The Paul Reiser Show (Grade: D. I loved "Mad About You." I really like Paul Reiser. This show? Not very good.)

(Larry David to Paul Reiser) "You should be doing your version of Curb Your Enthusiasm, because you're so much worse than I am."

The Office (Grade: B. The return of a little of that early season uncomfortable humor was refreshing, even if the episode mostly spun its wheels.)

""One of my favorite things is fanfare for its own sake. So, without further ado, let's all start clapping!"

"What is the native American girl's name?"

I'm telling you, that baby could be the star of a show called "Babies I don't Care About.

NBC debuted "The Paul Reiser Show" Thursday night (April 14). It is pretty much "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on NBC, complete with a cameo by "Curb" star and "Seinfeld" creator Larry David.

What it seems like, though, instead of David's wealthy, neurotic, crotchety, awkward shenanigans that can be played out on HBO, is more of a look into the lives of stay-at-home dads led by the semi-retired comedian Paul Reiser. Reiser just isn't as interesting as David, plus the show is on NBC, which has more restrictions on content.

Did you like it? We aren't sure about it yet. The supporting cast was actually more funny than the Paul Reiser/Larry David stuff, we thought. We will give it a few episodes to really find the funny, but we aren't sure it'll get there.

It did make us nostalgic, though. Not only for "Mad About You," but also for "My Two Dads.

Paul Reiser is returning to TV with the appropriately titled, The Paul Reiser Show. Paul, playing a fictionalized version of himself in the semi-autobiographical sitcom, is a man who is struggling with his fading celebrity while enjoying time with his wife and kids. He hangs out with a group of ‘friends’ -mostly other fathers or husbands of his wife’s friends – all while trying to figure out his next career move.

Paul did a Q & A recently where he chatted about making the show a single-camera sitcom and if he got any advice from Larry David on playing himself.

For the full Q&A, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

This new show, it obviously is a single camera sitcom, how is that different for you – you know a lot of your experiences have been in three camera with a studio audience, how has it been...

If you somehow missed the news, Will Ferrell is set to begin his four-episode arc on "The Office" on Thursday night. He'll play the amazingly named Deangelo Vickers, a temporary replacement for Steve Carell's Michael Scott. The two preview clips below clearly show that Ferrell will be bringing his full arsenal of non-sequitur quips and man-child physical humor, and we have no doubt that he'll steal every scene, even on a show filled with scene-stealers. Now, if only Ferrell would replace Paul Reiser on the new cinema verité sitcom "The Paul Reiser Show," which...