According to Jim

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According to Jim
According to Jim intertitle.jpg
Format Sitcom
Created by Tracy Newman
Jonathan Stark
Starring Jim Belushi
Courtney Thorne-Smith
Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Larry Joe Campbell
Taylor Atelian
Billi Bruno
Conner Rayburn
Narrated by Jim Belushi
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 182 (List of episodes)
Production
Camera setup Multi-camera setup
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Newman-Stark Productions
Brad Grey Television
ABC Studios (as Touchstone Television (2001–2007))
Distributor Disney–ABC Domestic Television (as Buena Vista Television)
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Picture format 480i (SDTV),
720p (HDTV)
Original run October 3, 2001 (2001-10-03) – June 2, 2009 (2009-06-02)

According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children (five children starting with the season-seven finale). It originally ran on ABC from October 1, 2001 to June 2, 2009.

Synopsis[edit]

The cast of According to Jim.

Jim is a lovable suburban father. Much like his real-life counterpart, Jim's character is noted as a fan of blues music, as well as the Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks. Together with his wife Cheryl, they have three children, daughters Ruby and Gracie and son Kyle. In the seventh season they become parents of twins Jonathan and Gordon.

Jim often finds himself in messy situations because his laziness inclines him to search for alternative ways of doing things with least effort. While Cheryl's brother Andy may be Jim's best friend, her sister Dana frequently teams up with Cheryl against Jim. He also prefers to lie to Cheryl and Dana to do his own activities but they end up backfiring on him. He hates losing to women, especially if Cheryl or Dana find out. He doesn't like people interrupting him when he talks, so he speaks over them to shut them up. Jim often makes an example of Andy, who doesn't have a girlfriend. Dana and Jim bicker constantly, but Dana flirts with Jim when she's drunk.

History[edit]

The show first aired following the surprise hit comedy My Wife and Kids and quickly developed an audience of its own. For its second season ABC placed it on its revitalized Tuesday line-up, which also included John Ritter's 8 Simple Rules, Bonnie Hunt's Life with Bonnie and Sara Rue's Less Than Perfect. Week by week, the show attracted more and more viewers, becoming ABC's second most watched sitcom. The show performed so well that the network made a risky move: putting Jim opposite the NBC juggernaut Frasier. Although Jim did not beat the competition, it performed well enough to secure itself that spot on the 2003 fall schedule.

On May 15, 2007, it was announced that According to Jim would not be renewed for another season. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said, "We are talking to the studio to see if there's something financially, a deal that would make sense for us".[1] But on June 27, 2007, ABC renewed the show for a seventh season with 18 episodes.[2][3]

According to Jim returned to ABC's schedule on Tuesday January 1, 2008 with two episodes at 9 pm and 9:30 pm. After that, the series moved to its regular time slot at 8 pm. Despite the writer's strike, ABC announced that the show would produce all 18 episodes ordered for this season.[4]

On February 27, 2008, it was reported that ABC was close to renewing According to Jim for an eighth season.[5] On May 13, 2008, ABC officially renewed the series and season eight began airing on December 2, 2008.[6] Kimberly Williams-Paisley left the show's regular cast at the beginning of season eight,[7] making only a guest appearance in the season finale.

In December 2008, co-star Larry Joe Campbell said that the sets had been destroyed, indicating that the series was cancelled, but that a series finale had been recorded.[8] After the first six episodes of Season 8 all aired in December, According to Jim returned to ABC's schedule on April 14, 2009 for the final 12 episodes.[9] The series finale of According to Jim aired on June 2, 2009 on ABC, and was titled "Heaven Opposed to Hell".

Cast and characters[edit]

Co-starring
  • Mitch Rouse – Ryan Gibson (Seasons 4–6, guest season 8)
  • Mo Collins – Emily (Seasons 7–8)
  • Jackie Debatin – Mandy (Season 8)
  • Tim Bagley – Tim Devlin (Recurring)
  • Cynthia Stevenson – Cindy Devlin (Recurring)
  • Carmena Katova - (Recurring)

Episodes[edit]

Main article: List of According to Jim episodes

DVD releases[edit]

Lionsgate Home Entertainment (under license from ABC Studios) has released the first five seasons on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name Ep# Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 October 21, 2008 (2008-10-21)
The Complete Second Season 28 May 4, 2010 (2010-05-04)
The Complete Third Season 29 May 3, 2011
The Complete Fourth Season 27 July 5, 2011
The Complete Fifth Season 22 October 4, 2011
The Complete Sixth Season 18 TBA 2014
The Complete Seventh Season TBA 2014
The Complete Eighth and Final Season TBA

U.S. television ratings[edit]

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of According to Jim on ABC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Timeslot Premiere Finale TV season Ranking Viewers (in millions)
1st Wednesday 8:30 p.m. October 3, 2001 May 15, 2002 2001–2002 #55[10] 10.0
2nd Tuesday 8:30 p.m. October 1, 2002 May 20, 2003 2002–2003 #51[11] 10.3
3rd Tuesday 9:00 p.m. September 23, 2003 May 25, 2004 2003–2004 #51[12] 9.9
4th Tuesday 9:00 p.m. September 21, 2004 May 17, 2005 2004–2005 #47[13] 9.9
5th Tuesday 8:00 p.m. September 20, 2005 May 2, 2006 2005–2006 #108[14] 6.7
6th Wednesday 9:00 p.m. January 3, 2007 May 16, 2007 2006–2007 #119[15] 6.7
7th Tuesday 9:00 p.m. January 1, 2008 March 11, 2008 2007–2008 #146[16] 5.3
Tuesday 8:30 p.m. April 15, 2008 May 27, 2008 2007–2008 #171[17] 4.1
8th Tuesday 9:00 p.m. December 2, 2008 December 30, 2008 2008–2009 #104[18] 5.6
Tuesday 9:30 p.m. December 2, 2008 December 30, 2008 2008–2009 #127[19] 4.8
Tuesday 8:00 p.m. April 14, 2009 June 2, 2009 2008–2009 #148[20] 3.8
Tuesday 8:30 p.m. April 14, 2009 June 2, 2009 2008–2009 #149[21] 3.8

Syndication[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ 2007 Cancelled Shows: ABC Cuts Some Beloved Series[dead link], TV Series Finale, May 15, 2007
  2. ^ ABC Renews "According to Jim", TV Week, June 27, 2007
  3. ^ ABC renews "According to Jim"[dead link], Yahoo!, June 28, 2007
  4. ^ Breaking News – 'Jim' to Finish Out Season for ABC | TheFutonCritic.com
  5. ^ Ausiello on Heroes, "Bubble Show" Mystery, Lost and More! – Ask Ausiello | TVGuide.com[dead link]
  6. ^ Breaking News – ABC UNVEILS 2008–09 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE | TheFutonCritic.com
  7. ^ Breaking News – ABC Sets Return Date for "Jim," End Date for "Boston" | TheFutonCritic.com
  8. ^ According to Jim: ABC Sitcom Ending After Eight Years, No Season Nine | TV Series Finale
  9. ^ Breaking News – According to Jim to Return to ABC Tuesdays | TheFutonCritic.com
  10. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/2002/2002-05-28-year-end-chart.htm
  11. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,455439,00.html
  12. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070930171419/http://www.abcmedianet.com/Web/progcal/dispDNR.aspx?id=060204_11
  13. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070310210208/http://www.abcmedianet.com/pressrel/dispDNR.html?id=060105_05
  14. ^ http://www.abcmedianet.com/Web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052306_07
  15. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=060507_05
  16. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052808_06
  17. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052808_06
  18. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05
  19. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05
  20. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05
  21. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05

External links[edit]

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