The Single Guy
The Single Guy is an American sitcom television series that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 21, 1995 to April 14, 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot and followed several of his close friends (some of whom came and left as the show was re-tooled between seasons). The series also starred Joey Slotnick as Eliot's best friend Sam Sloan, Ming-Na Wen as Sam's wife Trudy and Ernest Borgnine as doorman Manny, throughout its entire run. The Single Guy was created by Brad Hall.
| The Single Guy | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Brad Hall |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 43 (+1 Unaired Pilot) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Richard Doctorow |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Distributor | Columbia TriStar Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 21, 1995 – April 14, 1997 |
Cast
Main
- Jonathan Silverman as Jonathan Eliot
- Joey Slotnick as Sam Sloan
- Ernest Borgnine as Manny Cordoba
- Ming-Na Wen as Trudy Sloan
- Mark Moses as Matt Parker (season 1)
- Jessica Hecht as Janeane Percy-Parker (season 1)
- Shawn Michael Howard as Russell (season 2)
- Olivia d'Abo as Marie Blake (season 2)
Recurring
- Jensen Daggett as Charlie McCarthy (season 2)
- Seth MacFarlane as Dan Montgomery (season 2)
Episodes
Season 1 (1995–96)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Sam Weisman | Brad Hall | September 21, 1995 |
| 2 | 2 | "Tennis" | Sam Weisman | Brad Hall | September 28, 1995 |
| 3 | 3 | "Gift" | Sam Weisman | Richard Doctorow | October 5, 1995 |
| 4 | 4 | "Babysitting" | TBA | John Masius | October 12, 1995 |
| 5 | 5 | "Charity" | TBA | Andrew Gottlieb & Jay Kogen & Steve Paymer | October 19, 1995 |
| 6 | 6 | "Neighbors" | TBA | David Kohan & Max Mutchnik | November 2, 1995 |
| 7 | 7 | "Mugging" | Sam Weisman | David Kohan & Max Mutchnik & Richard Doctorow | November 9, 1995 |
| 8 | 8 | "Sister" | TBA | Steve Paymer | November 16, 1995 |
| 9 | 9 | "Attraction" | TBA | Jay Kogen | December 7, 1995 |
| 10 | 10 | "Midnight" | TBA | Jay Kogen | December 14, 1995 |
| 11 | 11 | "Communication" | Sam Weisman | Richard Doctorow | January 4, 1996 |
| 12 | 12 | "Nineteen" | TBA | Jim McCoulf | January 11, 1996 |
| 13 | 13 | "Distance" | TBA | Steve Paymer | January 18, 1996 |
| 14 | 14 | "Rival" | TBA | Richard Doctorow | February 1, 1996 |
| 15 | 15 | "Pudding" | Sam Weisman | David Kohan & Max Mutchnik | February 8, 1996 |
| 16 | 16 | "Affair" | TBA | Andrew Gottlieb | February 15, 1996 |
| 17 | 17 | "Wedding" | TBA | Brad Hall | February 22, 1996 |
| 18 | 18 | "Poetry" | Craig Zisk | Paul Barrose | March 7, 1996 |
| 19 | 19 | "Lovenest" | Craig Zisk | Brad Hall & Richard Doctorow | March 14, 1996 |
| 20 | 20 | "Kids" | Craig Zisk | Andrew Gottlieb & John Masius | May 2, 1996 |
| 21 | 21 | "Pop" | Craig Zisk | Andrew Gottlieb | May 9, 1996 |
| 22 | 22 | "Moving" | David Trainer | Richard Doctorow & Jay Kogen | May 16, 1996 |
Season 2 (1996–97)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Mounted Cop" | Craig Zisk | Rachel Sweet | September 19, 1996 |
| 24 | 2 | "Best Man" | Craig Zisk | Gayle Abrams | September 26, 1996 |
| 25 | 3 | "Good God" | Craig Zisk | Bill Rosenthal | October 3, 1996 |
| 26 | 4 | "Kept Man" | Craig Zisk | Gayle Abrams | October 10, 1996 |
| 27 | 5 | "Strip Club" | Craig Zisk | Andrew Gottlieb | October 17, 1996 |
| 28 | 6 | "Love Train" | Craig Zisk | Stephen Godchaux & Rachel Sweet | October 31, 1996 |
| 29 | 7 | "The Virgin" | Craig Zisk | Bill Rosenthal | November 7, 1996 |
| 30 | 8 | "Double Date" | Max Tash | Richard Doctorow | November 14, 1996 |
| 31 | 9 | "Davy Jones" | Alan Myerson | Andrew Gottlieb | November 21, 1996 |
| 32 | 10 | "Deepest Cut" | Kim Friedman | Stephen Godchaux | December 12, 1996 |
| 33 | 11 | "New Year" | Craig Zisk | Bill Rosenthal | January 9, 1997 |
| 34 | 12 | "Like Father..." | Max Tash | Stephen Godchaux & Rachel Sweet | January 16, 1997 |
| 35 | 13 | "Starting Over" | Craig Zisk | Story by : Andrew Gottlieb & John Masius Teleplay by : John Masius | January 23, 1997 |
| 36 | 14 | "Just Friends?" | Pamela Fryman | Gayle Abrams | January 30, 1997 |
| 37 | 15 | "Macho Men" | Craig Zisk | Richard Doctorow | February 6, 1997 |
| 38 | 16 | "Mother Love" | Andrew Tsao | Suzanne Myers & Cody Farley | February 13, 1997 |
| 39 | 17 | "Big Baby" | Andrew Tsao | Rachel Sweet | February 20, 1997 |
| 40 | 18 | "Grandfather Clause" | Craig Zisk | Story by : Barbara Hobart Teleplay by : Will Gluck | March 26, 1997 |
| 41 | 19 | "Jonathan Hollywood" | Linda Day | Rob Cornick & Cory Jachnuk | April 2, 1997 |
| 42 | 20 | "Au Pair" | Michael Zinberg | Peter Schneider & Ben Cardinale | April 9, 1997 |
| 43 | 21 | "Vegas Finale" | Gail Mancuso | Karen Russell | April 16, 1997 |
Beginning and reception
While the series was favored enough by NBC to earn a timeslot in its coveted "Must-See-TV" Thursday night line-up, it ultimately failed to generate enthusiasm with critics and viewers. It was largely written-off as one in a long line of "singles in the city" sitcoms that emerged in the mid-1990s, following the success of Seinfeld. Many of that hit show's calling cards were emulated in The Single Guy, from the neurotic best friend who occasionally does reprehensible things, to its main character's rotating cast of flawed girlfriends. Jonathan and friends would also regularly hang out at a local coffee shop, The Bagel Cafe.
Ending
Perhaps aware of its impending cancellation, the series ended its second and final season with Jonathan Eliot married in Las Vegas, thus ending his single status.
Ultimately, it was one of the highest rated shows to ever get canceled, consistently attaining 4th or 5th place in the Nielsen ratings.[1] Most attribute this to the fact that it was hammocked in the coveted 8:30pm EST slot, between Friends and Seinfeld.[2] According to Entertainment Weekly, when the show was moved to a different time slot, its position in the ratings plummeted.
Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer), a character from the sitcom Friends, appeared on the show.
References
- "TrivialTV's Nielsen Ratings archive". TrivialTV.
Ratings for the week of November 11–17, 1996 (data: weekly ratings, Nielsen Media Research):
- ER
- Seinfeld
- Suddenly Susan
- Friends
- The Single Guy
- Pandora's Clock (Part 2)
- Home Improvement
- Frasier
- Mad About You
- Touched by an Angel
- Ken Tucker (October 6, 1995). "The Single Guy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 16, 2017.