Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica
| Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica | |
|---|---|
 Titlecard | |
| Starring | Nick Lachey Jessica Simpson |
| Opening theme | "This I Swear" by Nick Lachey |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 41 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | August 19, 2003 – March 30, 2005 |
Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica is a reality television show that was produced and aired by MTV and MuchMusic.[1] It followed the marriage of then husband and wife Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. The show first aired in August 2003 and ran three seasons, with 41 episodes in total. The last season started on January 26, 2005, and the last episode aired on March 30, 2005.
Simpson and Lachey were married on October 26, 2002 and filed for divorce on December 16, 2005. On June 30, 2006 Jessica and Nick's divorce was finalized.[2]
Part of the show's gimmick involved displaying Simpson's naive personality, playing on the popular stereotype of "dumb blondes".[3] Perhaps the most famous example comes from the first episode, in which Simpson, confronted with a can of Chicken of the Sea tuna, asked Nick "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken... by the Sea' [sic]."
Origin
The show was originally intended for Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley after their marriage in 1994, but the couple decided not to continue with the project after the start of pre-production. It was shelved until 2002, when Jessica's father and manager, Joe Simpson, contacted dave about producing a show starring his daughter and her new husband.[4][5]
When Simpson was originally asked why she chose to do such a show for MTV, she replied that it was good promotion for her new album [In This Skin]. The reality show, which coincided with the release of the album, at first did not help Simpson's album sales, as it debuted at #10 on the Billboard Charts and quickly fell down. Constantine Paraskevopoulos was asked to come in and direct Sweetest Sin and help sculpt an image brerakthrough for the couple dipicting them in a way that would break the boundries of her conservative church going base. The video helped raise an over-all awareness and sex appeal for both Jessica and Nick, and was strongly featured in season one's top episode "the Video shoot". During this time, Constantine was also asked to direct Nick Lachey's video Shut Up, featuring Dax Shepard from Punk'd. This was also highlighted on the series.
However, over the span of the first season, Simpson's popularity began growing, as many of her "dumb blonde" antics gave her much publicity. By the close of 2003, Simpson and Lachey had both become household names. Simpson's label decided to release the second single "With You" to see how it would do on radio now that Simpson had become an A-Lister.[6][7][8]
Episode list
Season 1
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | "Chicken of the Sea" | August 19, 2003 |
| 102 | "The Dancers" | August 26, 2003 |
| 103 | "Newlyweds Go Camping" | September 2, 2003 |
| 104 | "Newlyweds Go Golfing" | September 9, 2003 |
| 105 | "The Platypus" | September 16, 2003 |
| 106 | "Buffalo Wings" | September 23, 2003 |
| 107 | "Newlyweds Decorate" | September 30, 2003 |
| 108 | "The Video Shoot" | October 7, 2003 |
| 109 | "Jessica's Birthday" | October 14, 2003 |
| 110 | "Jessica Cooks Dinner" | October 14, 2003 |
Season 2
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 201 | "The Anniversary" | January 24, 2004 |
| 202 | "Nick's 30th B-Day" | January 28, 2004 |
| 203 | "The Newlyweds Shop" | February 4, 2004 |
| 204 | "The French Language" | February 11, 2004 |
| 205 | "The Duet" | February 18, 2004 |
| 206 | "A Newlyweds Christmas" | February 25, 2004 |
| 207 | "Jessica's 'Dessert'" | March 3, 2004 |
| 208 | "Puppy Madness" | March 10, 2004 |
| 209 | "The Newlyweds Vacation" | March 17, 2004 |
| 210 | "Valentine's Day" | March 24, 2004 |
Season 2.5
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 211 | "CaCee Moves In" | June 16, 2004 |
| 212 | "Mismatched Threesome" | June 23, 2004 |
| 213 | "Celebrity Issues" | June 30, 2004 |
| 214 | "Eye Surgery" | July 7, 2004 |
| 215 | "Newlyweds Baby" | July 14, 2004 |
| 216 | "The Kentucky Derby" | July 21, 2004 |
| 217 | "Nick and Joe" | July 28, 2004 |
| 218 | "The Traveling Newlyweds" | August 4, 2004 |
| 219 | "Nick's Lawn" | August 11, 2004 |
| 220 | "The Newlyweds" | August 18, 2004 |
Specials
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| S01 | "Happy Birthday Jessica, Love Nick" | 2004 |
Season 3
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | "Newlyweds Two Year Anniversary" | January 26, 2005 |
| 302 | "Jess Gets a Root Canal" | February 2, 2005 |
| 303 | "Training Daisy" | February 9, 2005 |
| 304 | "The Dukes of Hazzard" | February 16, 2005 |
| 305 | "New Year's Eve" | February 23, 2005 |
| 306 | "The Orange Bowl" | March 2, 2005 |
| 307 | "Boys Weekend in Cabo" | March 9, 2005 |
| 308 | "Newlyweds Together Again" | March 16, 2005 |
| 309 | "The Valentine's Day Budget" | March 23, 2005 |
| 310 | "Newlyweds Series Finale" | March 30, 2005 |
References
- ^ "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (Season 1) : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ "Nick Lachey, Jessica Simpson Split - Divorced, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey". People.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ Upton, Michael A. "The Newlyweds - Marriage, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey". People.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ "Newlyweds - Nick & Jessica - The Final Season : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ Kidder, Kristen (2003-10-13). "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ "Most Watched Newlyweds: Jessica and Nick - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ "Newlyweds - Nick & Jessica: Final Season : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
- ^ "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica - Complete First Season : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. 2004-12-14. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
External links
