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Up All Night (TV series)

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Up All Night
GenreSitcom
Created byEmily Spivey
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes35 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Lorne Michaels
  • Erin David
  • DJ Nash
  • Emily Spivey
  • Jon Pollack
  • Tucker Cawley
Producers
  • Anna Dokoza
  • Christina Applegate
  • Eric Kranzler
  • Andrew Singer
  • Tim McAuliffe
  • Aida Rodgers
  • David Iserson
  • Desiree J. Cadena
  • Chadd Gindin
  • Vera Santamaria
Editors
  • Rick Blue
  • Myron Kerstein
  • Kevin D. Ross
  • Debra F. Simone
  • Dean Holland
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 14, 2011 (2011-09-14) –
December 13, 2012 (2012-12-13)

Up All Night is an American television sitcom created by Emily Spivey that aired on NBC from September 14, 2011, to December 13, 2012.[1] The show starred Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Jennifer Hall, Luka Jones, and Maya Rudolph.[2]

Synopsis

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The series follows Reagan (Christina Applegate), a producer on her best friend Ava's (Maya Rudolph) talk show, and Chris (Will Arnett), Reagan's supportive, stay-at-home husband, as they try to adjust to life with their newborn baby Amy.

The second season focuses on the cancellation of Ava's talk show, and Chris starting a business with Reagan's brother Scott (Luka Jones). Reagan also struggles to adjust to her new role as a stay-at-home mother.

Development and production

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Conception

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The series was based on creator Emily Spivey's life when she went back to working on Saturday Night Live after giving birth to a baby boy.[3] Due to the nature of her job, she was required to take care of the baby and work late nights.[3] She decided she wanted to make a show based on those extremes.[3] NBC executives were "supportive and excited" about the new series.[3] On February 1, 2011, Up All Night received a pilot order, written by creator Spivey and directed by James Griffiths, under the title Alpha Mom.[4] The series was officially picked up for 13 episodes at the NBC upfronts on May 15, 2011 under its final title, Up All Night.[5]

After the success of Maya Rudolph's movie Bridesmaids, Up All Night went through some retooling which now has her character Ava as a talk-show host and Reagan as the show's producer, instead of them being PR executives.[6] Spivey said the character change allowed Ava to be more fun.[6] Some media critics compared the character change to Rudolph's impersonation of Oprah Winfrey on Saturday Night Live.[6][7] The series was later given a full-season pickup on October 4, 2011.[8] On November 21, 2011, NBC added two additional episodes to season one, bringing the total to 24 episodes.[9]

It was also the last show to be produced by Universal Media Studios, along with Free Agents and Whitney.

Crew

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The series is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Media Studios.[10] The series was created by Emily Spivey who serves as executive producer alongside Lorne Michaels, Jon Pollack, and Erin David.[10] David had worked with Spivey and Michaels on Saturday Night Live while Pollack had worked with Michaels on 30 Rock.[10] Series co-star Christina Applegate also works as a producer on the series alongside Eric Kranzler and Andrew Singer.[10]

Cancellation

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In October 2012, it was announced that Up All Night would go on hiatus eleven episodes into its second season to convert from a single-camera setup to a multiple-camera setup shot in front of a live audience.[11][12] During the hiatus, series creator Emily Spivey and star Christina Applegate left the show[13][14][15][16] and Will Arnett was cast in a CBS pilot, which eventually became the two-season series The Millers.[17]

After months of rumors of cancellations,[18][19] Up All Night was officially canceled by NBC on May 9, 2013 after two seasons and was not renewed for a third season.[20]

Cast and characters

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Main cast and characters

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Christina Applegate was the first cast member to sign up for the series
  • Christina Applegate as Reagan Brinkley, a producer for the Ava show, who goes back to work after giving birth. Applegate was interested in the series early on, especially because she had recently had a child.[3] Applegate was also offered several other roles for the pilot season.[3] Applegate was the first cast member signed on to the series.[21] She is credited as a producer for the series.[10]
  • Will Arnett as Chris Brinkley, a former lawyer and now stay-at-home dad. Arnett was the third main cast member to sign on to the series.[22]
  • Maya Rudolph as Ava Alexander, the host of the Ava show and Reagan's best friend. Rudolph was the second main cast member to sign on to the series.[23] Rudolph had previously worked with the series creator on SNL and Spivey had wanted to work with Rudolph before the series plot was established.[3]
  • Jennifer Hall (Season 1) as Missy, Ava's assistant. Hall was the final member to sign on to the series and was initially a recurring actor.[24] She was officially added to the main cast list in the fifth episode, "Mr. Bob's Toddler Kaleidoscope". Due to retooling of the show for the second season, she did not return as a series regular.
  • Luka Jones (Season 2) as Scott Chafin, Reagan's laid-back brother, who moves back to town with his son after going through a divorce. Jones joined the main cast at the start of season two.[25]

Recurring cast and characters

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  • Matt Braunger as Gene Marden, Terry's husband and Reagan and Chris's next door neighbor.
  • Jean Villepique as Terry Marden, Gene's wife and Reagan and Chris's next door neighbor.
  • Jason Lee as Kevin, Reagan and Chris's next door neighbor who dated Ava.[26]
  • Molly Shannon as Nancy, Amy's babysitter. Shannon was initially a one-time guest star, before the producers asked her to appear in another episode.[27] Her second episode aired in early 2012.[27] She is a former cast member of Saturday Night Live and previously worked with Michaels on the series.[27]
  • Nick Cannon as Calvin, Ava's co-host on her talk show.
  • Chris Diamantopoulos as Julian, Ava's eccentric ex-boyfriend.
  • Will Forte as Reed, Chris's gamer friend, who is also a father.
  • Carly and Delaney Prince as Amy
  • Steven Pasquale as Luke Granby, the new boss of the Ava show, who has a hard time getting along with Ava and Reagan.
  • Megan Mullally as Shayna Mund, a competing talk show host, who Ava and Reagan helped lose a large amount of weight during segments of the Ava show.
  • Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Connie Chafin
  • Quinn Friedman as Kyle Chafin
  • Rob Huebel as Jerry, Chris's obnoxious college roommate, and Ava's boyfriend.
  • Ben Falcone as Justin, Reagan and Chris's neighbor.
  • Chloe Csengery as McKenna
  • Sean Hayes as Walter
  • Adam Gregor as Barry
  • Blythe Danner as Dr. Angie Chafin, Reagan's heavily critical psychologist mother. She first appeared in "Parents", and then tried to be a better mother and grandmother in "First Christmas".[28]

Several guest actors have also appeared. Richard Schiff appeared in "Parents" as Reagan's dad.[29] Alanis Morissette appeared in "Travel Day" as a former partner in an R&B duo with Ava. Stevie Nicks appeared in the episode titled "Letting Go" as herself, and former Saturday Night Live writer Jorma Taccone, has appeared on the show in "Working Late and Working It".[30][31] The "Daddy Daughter Time" featured a cameo by Sharon Osbourne as Ava's rival over a parking space and Ava's father is played by Henry Winkler.[32]

Episodes

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Reception

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Broadcast

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Up All Night premiered in the 10:00 pm timeslot behind America's Got Talent with Free Agents following it.[1] The following week it was moved to its regular timeslot at 8:00 pm, and was eventually the only comedy after Free Agents was cancelled.[1][33] Starting January 12, the series was moved behind NBC's hit series, The Office, switching timeslots with Whitney.[34] Some media critics have said that the goal for moving the series was in order to make it more of a ratings success, like The Office.[35][36]

Reviews

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The performances are spot-on, the jokes are great, if a bit understated, and the situation in this situation comedy actually feels credible. In a year when a large number of new sitcoms passed off hackneyed conventions as hip cultural satire, Up All Night rang surprisingly true.

Phillp Maciak, Slant Magazine[37]

Up All Night has received mostly positive reviews from critics. The first season currently holds a score of 64 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating generally positive reviews.[38]

Many critics said that the series felt like two different shows in one.[39][40] HitFix reviewer Daniel Feinberg gave the series pilot a positive review, but disliked the office settings and the writing for Rudolph's character commenting that "Will Arnett and Christina Applegate are playing parents, but Maya Rudolph is playing a sitcom character".[39] Despite this, the performance of the main cast members has received praise from critics.[37][41][42]

Some critics compared Rudolph's role to her impersonation of Oprah Winfrey while she was on SNL, which Rudolph firmly denied saying "I have yet to see the similarities between my character and Oprah".[7] Some publications declared it among the best TV shows of 2011, new or old, including Slant Magazine[37] and Hulu.[43]

Slate writer Hanna Rosin has praised the show in particular for slowly subverting the sitcom archetype of the father incompetent at managing the household.

Chris started out as an idiot who stayed home with the baby because he had nothing better to do. In early episodes, he propped up the infant on the couch so he could play his video games or watch hockey, and didn't really notice when she tipped over. But over time he has morphed into the sane, sensible parent we all want to be. Now his role is to check his wife's crazy competitive instincts and to never renege on a promise made to his daughter. In fact, the show's main innovation is creating a reliable stay-at-home dad whose wife still wants to sleep with him.

The show then went further, she recalled, by then assigning the usual role of a sitcom dad to Reagan. "[She] turned into a version of Ralph Kramden, prone to tantrums and meddling," Rosin writes. "Like the classic doltish dad, she creates elaborate schemes to fix domestic problems but only winds up making everything worse. And then Chris swoops in, Alice-style, to make it all better."[44]

Ratings

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During its first season, Up All Night was a moderate success in the ratings by network's standards (at the time, NBC was the fourth highest-rated network out of five networks). The series had ranked [when?] as NBC's fourth highest rated scripted series after The Office, Smash and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[45] The series also ranked as one of the most digitally recorded series of the season.[which?][46] Due to the moderate success, the series was given a full season pick up alongside Whitney.[8] The cost for an ad for the series was approximately $82,617 per 30-second commercial.[47]

Season Timeslot (ET) # Ep. Premiered Ended TV Season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
Date Premiere
Viewers
(in millions)
Date Finale
Viewers
(in millions)
1
Wednesday 10:00 pm (Premiere)
Wednesday 8:00 pm (2011)
Thursday 9:30 pm (2012)
24
September 14, 2011
10.95[48]
April 12, 2012
3.12[49] 2011–2012 #112 5.29[50]
2
Thursday 8:30 pm
11
September 20, 2012
3.11[51]
December 13, 2012
2.68[52] 2012–2013 #122[53] 3.64[53]

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations for Up All Night
Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Outcome
2011 Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie Maya Rudolph Nominated
2012 Casting Society of America Awards Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Comedy Pilot Shani Ginsberg, Allen Hooper & Jeff Greenberg Nominated
Gracie Allen Awards Outstanding Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate Won
People's Choice Awards Favorite New TV Comedy Nominated
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nick Cannon Won
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Maya Rudolph Nominated
NAMIC Vision Award Best Comedy Performance Maya Rudolph Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Series Will Arnett Nominated
Best Actress in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate Nominated
Best Comedy Series Nominated
Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie Maya Rudolph Nominated
Women's Image Network Awards Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate Nominated
Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated
Outstanding Female Producer Emily Spivey Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b c Seidman, Robert (July 6, 2011). "NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates – 'Chuck,' 'Grimm' Premiere October 21; Early Premiere for 'Parenthood'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "Up All Night – About – NBC Official site". NBC.com. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Dorothy Pomerantz (September 13, 2011). "Emily Spivey Knows About Being 'Up All Night'". Forbes. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  4. ^ "Breaking News – Development Update: Tuesday, February 1". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  5. ^ "NBC 2011–12 Primetime Schedule Announced – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. May 15, 2011. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c "TCA: Comedy 'Up All Night' Takes Oprah Route With Workplace Change –". Deadline Hollywood. August 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Maya Rudolph Firmly Denies Comparisons Between Her 'Up All Night' Character and Oprah Winfrey". The Hollywood Reporter. October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "NBC Gives Full-Season Pickups to 'Up All Night' and 'Whitney' – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
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  10. ^ a b c d e "Up All Night HOME". NBCUniversal Media. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  11. ^ Snierson, Dan (October 30, 2012). "'Community': Season 4 gets premiere date". CNN. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 29, 2012). "NBC's 'Up All Night' To Switch To Multi-Cam Format, 2nd-Season Order Upped To 16 Eps". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 5, 2013). "'Up All Night' Creator Emily Spivey Departs Series Ahead Of Revamp". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  14. ^ "'Up All Night' Creator Emily Spivey Exits Series". The Hollywood Reporter. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 8, 2013). "Christina Applegate Departing 'Up All Night'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  16. ^ "Christina Applegate Exits NBC's 'Up All Night'". The Hollywood Reporter. February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  17. ^ Snierson, Dan (February 20, 2013). "Will Arnett to star in Greg Garcia's CBS comedy pilot". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 16, 2013). "Is NBC's 'Up All Night' Experiment Over?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  19. ^ "Inside the Demise of NBC's Once-Promising Comedy Up All Night". TV Guide.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 9, 2013). "UPDATE: NBC's 'Whitney' & '1600 Penn' Cancelled, 'Parks & Recreation' Renewed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
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  22. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 30, 2011). "Will Arnett to Co-Star in NBC's Emily Spivey Comedy Pilot –". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  23. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 30, 2011). "Will Arnett to Co-Star in NBC's Emily Spivey Comedy Pilot –". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  24. ^ Published Tuesday, Aug 16, 2011, 8:46 pm EST (August 16, 2011). "Nick Cannon, Jennifer Hall sign up for 'Up All Night' roles – US TV News". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 20, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Up All Night Casts Luka Jones — Season 2 - TVLine
  26. ^ Abrams, Natalie (September 30, 2011). "Jason Lee Cast as Maya Rudolph's Love Interest on Up All Night – Today's News: Our Take". TV Guide. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  27. ^ a b c "Keck's Exclusives: Molly Shannon Returning to Up All Night – Today's News: Our Take". TV Guide. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  28. ^ "Up All Night Episodes". NBCumv.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
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  31. ^ Porter, Rick (September 1, 2011). "'Up All Night' scoop: 'SNL's' Jorma Taccone gives Maya Rudolph flashbacks – From Inside the Box – Zap2it". Zap2it. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  32. ^ stanhope, kate (March 20, 2012). "Exclusive Sneak Peek: Henry Winkler and Sharon Osbourne Crash Up All Night". TV Guide. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  33. ^ NBC Cancels 'Free Agents', The Hollywood Reporter, October 6, 2011
  34. ^ "NBC Mid-Season Schedule: 'Harry's Law' To Sunday, 'Grimm' Stays Put, 'Up All Night' Moves Later, 'Whitney' To Wednesday, 'Chuck' Series Finale Set & More – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. November 14, 2011. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  35. ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (November 13, 2011). "Ratings roundup: Five reasons Community could see season four | Newswire". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
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  37. ^ a b c "The 25 Best TV Shows of 2011". Slant Magazine. December 12, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  38. ^ "Up All Night – Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
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  41. ^ "Up All Night Review: "Hiring and Firing" (Episode 1.09) :: TV :: Reviews :: Paste". Paste. November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
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  43. ^ "Best Comedies of 2011: 5 – Up All Night « Hulu Blog". Hulu. December 19, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  44. ^ Rosin, Hanna (June 15, 2012). "The Evolution of the Doltish Dad". Slate. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  45. ^ "Up All Night ratings". TV Series Finale. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  46. ^ Adalian, Josef (November 17, 2011). "Which TV Show Rich People Hate the Most, and 27 Other Unexpected Ratings Facts – Vulture". New York. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
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  49. ^ Bibel, Sara (April 13, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Office' and 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  50. ^ Complete List Of 2011-12 Season TV Show Viewership: ‘Sunday Night Football’ Tops, Followed By ‘American Idol,’ ‘NCIS’ & ‘Dancing With The Stars’ - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers
  51. ^ Bibel, Sara (September 21, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings:'The X Factor' Adjusted Up; 'Wipeout', 'The Next' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  52. ^ Bibel, Sara (December 14, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Vampire Diaries' Adjusted Up; 'Last Resort', Two and a Half Men', 'Person of Interest', 'Greys Anatomy' & 'Scandal' Adjusted Down". Archived from the original on December 17, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  53. ^ a b Patten, Dominic (May 23, 2013). "Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
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