ABC Family Renews ‘Melissa & Joey’

COMMENTS (18)

• I like that ABC Family is doing multi-cams, but do they have to be so dreadful?

  Comment by Multi-cam fan — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 2:05pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I love this show. Glad to see it’s coming back. Yes, it’s traditional and has the laugh-track,

  Comment by brick — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 2:08pm PDT  Reply to this post

• If these multi-cams are indeed so “dreadful”…why would any network renew them ? Somebody must be watching.

  Comment by k4kafka — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 2:14pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • Very very few people are watching. Melissa and Joey survived because its demo numbers were just good enough to make money off it.
    The numbers on their dramas, which are significantly higher quality, are way better.
    But yeah, would love to hear you make the case that Melissa and Joey isn’t dreadful…

    Comment by Multi-cam fan — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 3:14pm PDT  Reply to this post

    • That depends on your definition of “very very few.” I’m told “Melissa & Joey” brought in around 900,000 viewers per week — not much by broadcast network standards, but cable is a different beast. It’s all a matter of relative economics and filling out the schedule — and multi-camera comedies are much cheaper to produce than single camera dramas. The first season of “M&J” cranked out thirty episodes for well under thirty million dollars. Thirty episodes of a single-camera half-hour comedy or drama would have cost at least fourty-five million, and probably sixty. Different people like different things, and although you might not like it, other people do — which means “M&J” is filling a need.

      Comment by Michael Taylor — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 4:56pm PDT  Reply to this post

    • Joey Lawrence isn’t dreadful. He’s been doing this kind of show all his life and does it better – less hammy – than some of the actors on big network shows. Some of the others aren’t bad either, but Melissa Joan Hart is not very good, and the material has shown only intermittent flashes of not-badness.

      I’m a multi-cam fan too, but I think there’s an element of condescention that’s built into the way a lot of them are performed and written, even some of the successful ones. (Chuck Lorre’s shows, whatever else we can say about them, believe in the form 100%, and are well-acted, which makes up for a lot.)

      Comment by T'Rank — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 6:17pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I like State of Georgia. It is what it is, you know? Not everything needs to be prestigious. Sometimes you just want to watch kid’s show.

  Comment by Helen — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 2:18pm PDT  Reply to this post

• State of Georgia has a lot of sexual innuendo especially when Loretta Devine’s character is on screen. It is not a children’s show and one shouldnt jump to that conclusion just because it stars Raven Symone! She’s all grown up!

  Comment by Christian — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 3:30pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Melissa and Joey is my guilty pleasure. I am only admitting that because this post is anonymous. This is why the show got picked up, people are watching, even if they don’t admit it in public.

  Comment by me — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 3:48pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Loretta Devine’s character needs to be eliminated immediately on “Georgia.” I never figured out if she was supposed to be a high-class escort or an old woman with a ridiculously inflated opinion of her looks and charisma. Writing her into the script is like throwing a box of nails in the pathway of a limo carrying a newlywed couple on the way to their honeymoon!

  Comment by MIOBI Fan — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 3:56pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Melissa & Joey is a great sitcom. It’s not amazing, and surely not too original. But hey, it’s a funny comedy with two 90′s favorites. I don’t know why people have to be so critical over every little thing. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. The end.

  And, in case no one has realized this yet. ABC Family is all about sex and mature themes. Name one show that does not talk about sex or sensuality. So, to say just one show on that network focuses too much on sex is a major understatement. It really should axe the “Family” part of that title and change it.

  Comment by RecceR — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 4:56pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • “Family” is always going to remain in the name, per the clause when ABC purchased the network:

    The original sale from CBN to Fox/Saban contained a stipulation that the channel contain the word “Family” in the name forever, no matter who owns the network.

    Comment by RJ — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 7:38pm PDT  Reply to this post

• M&J is so terrible. You have to watch it once to believe how unbearable it is. The weird banter, the shifty looks to the side, the weird shaved head awkwardness on Joey with his muscle shirts and painful line delivery, it is all just so awful and terrible. Have you seen either Melissa or Joey do press appearances? They seem to believe people care about them or what they’re saying. And now they probably want to renegotiate their contracts on a show that is barely getting by. So grody and childish… blechhh.

  Comment by Beyond Awful — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 5:24pm PDT  Reply to this post

• this show wouldn’t survive on ABC!

  Comment by Herb Finn — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 5:35pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • It’s old school ABC TGIF that’s why it’s on ABC Family, and not on ABC that Disney network is left for the artsy fartsy crap like Modern Family, Cougar Town, and Happy Endings.

    Comment by lsb — Monday July 11, 2011 @ 9:03pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I love M&J. I like the TGIF vibe I get from it. It’s better than watching “reality” television, which despise to no end. Sitcoms are gone and reality is all that’s on TV. If I want reality or scripted reality, better yet, I’ll go outside. I love that M&J is bringing back the good aura of sitcoms on ABC. I can’t wait to see Matt and Andy Lawrence as well.

  Comment by Erica — Tuesday July 12, 2011 @ 11:15am PDT  Reply to this post

• MJH is amazing and if you know what she’s delivering, you’ll pick it up. I loved her in the 90s and I was always looking for her stuff and will continue to do so. M&J is something to relax to and not have to worry about perverted-ness!

  Finally, this is great news about the renewed season: I’ve been waiting to hear more on the series.

  Comment by TS — Monday August 8, 2011 @ 10:39pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I love melissa & joey, there not only funny but on every show or movie they do together they have really awesome chestiry with each other. the writers should make them a couple on show they already live together.

  Comment by Anonymous — Friday May 18, 2012 @ 2:52pm PDT  Reply to this post