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That's Life (1998 TV series)

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That's Life
GenreSitcom
Created byEric Gilliland
Brian Burns
Directed byMichael Lembeck
Robin Bextor
StarringGerry Red Wilson
Kellie Overbey
Nadia Dajani
Ron Livingston
Pauley Perrette
ComposersMark McAdam
Jonathan Wolff
Paul Buckley
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersEric Gilliland
Sid Youngers
ProducerLisa Albert
Production companiesEric Gilliland Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseMarch 10 (1998-03-10) –
April 14, 1998 (1998-04-14)

That's Life is an American television sitcom that premiered March 10, 1998, on ABC. The series is about a blue-collar family living in Queens. It was cancelled by ABC after only a little more than a month,[1] airing its final episode on April 7, 1998, leaving one episode unaired.

Summary

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Mike is head of the meat department at the supermarket. He has been married to Patty for ten years, and the two live in their own duplex in Queens. Patty's sister Catherine and her son Kieran move into the apartment above Mike and Patty. Lisa is Patty's college-aged sister, and Mitch is Mike's best friend.[2]

Cast

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"The First One"Michael LembeckStory by : Brian Burns & Eric Gilliland
Teleplay by : Eric Gilliland
March 10, 1998 (1998-03-10)1ABK01
2"The Second One, Believe It or Not"Gordon HuntPat Bullard & Rich KaplanMarch 17, 1998 (1998-03-17)1ABK03
3"Actually, the Third One"UnknownNorma Vela & Lisa AlbertMarch 24, 1998 (1998-03-24)1ABK02
4"94 to Syndication"UnknownJanet Leahy & Lisa Albert & Pat Bullard & Rich KaplanMarch 31, 1998 (1998-03-31)1ABK06
5"The Easter Story"UnknownEric GillilandApril 7, 1998 (1998-04-07)1ABK04
6"The Sixth One to Air"UnknownSid Youngers & Norma Vela & Stacie Lipp & Mark McAdamApril 14, 1998 (1998-04-14)1ABK05

Reception

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Rick Lyman of The New York Times called the series "an affable car wreck of a sitcom".[3] Ray Richmond of Variety said that it is "an uncomfortably crude" series that "looks to be a jarringly insular, Hollywood vision of how the gentiles must live".[2] Tom Shales of The Washington Post panned the show, describing it as a "pathetic attempt by ABC to do a blue-collar sitcom in the tradition of 'Roseanne'. . . . It's not imitated, of course, in ways that matter or in terms of quality and credibility."[4] In response to the Easter episode, which aired on April 7, 1998, the series was denounced by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights as "the most anti-Catholic television show ever".[5]

References

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  1. ^ Flint, Joe (April 17, 1998). "The latest news from the TV beat". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  2. ^ a b Richmond, Ray (March 8, 1998). "That's Life". Variety. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  3. ^ Lyman, Rick (March 10, 1998). "Television Review; Erin Go Brawl: Feuds And Fussing in Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  4. ^ Shales, Tom (March 10, 1998). "'That's Life': ABC's Blue-Collar Crime". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  5. ^ Carter, Bill (April 17, 1998). "Catholic Lay Group Accuses ABC of Biased Programming". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
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