What I Like About You (TV series)

What I Like About You is an American television sitcom co-created by Wil Calhoun and Dan Schneider.[1] It is set mainly in New York City, following the lives of two sisters: responsible older sister Val (Jennie Garth) and her vivacious teenaged sister Holly (Amanda Bynes). The series ran on The WB from September 20, 2002, to March 24, 2006, with a total of 86 episodes produced. With the exception of a brief period early in the second season, What I Like About You was a headline on The WB's Friday night comedy block.[2]

What I Like About You
Season 1 intertitle
GenreSitcom
Created by
Starring
Theme music composerPhilip Steir (remix; seasons 2–4)
Opening theme"What I Like About You" by Lillix
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes86 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Drew Brown
  • Shelley Zimmerman
  • Rich Kaplan
Production locationCalifornia
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time20–22 min.
Production companies
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkThe WB
Picture format
Audio formatDolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Original releaseSeptember 20, 2002 (2002-09-20) –
March 24, 2006 (2006-03-24)
External links
Website

Cast and characters
Main article: List of What I Like About You characters

Throughout their time on the series, two main characters—Vince and Lauren—were never given last names. Jeff was also never given a last name, although in the artwork for the season 1 DVDs, he is listed as "Jeff Campbell".

Main characters
Actor Character Seasons
1 2 3 4
Amanda Bynes Holly Tyler Main
Jennie Garth Val Tyler Main
Simon Rex Jeff Campbell Main
Wesley Jonathan Gary Thorpe Main
Leslie Grossman Lauren Recurring Main
Michael McMillian Henry Gibson Recurring Main Guest
Nick Zano Vince Main
Allison Munn Tina Haven Main

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Episodes
Main article: List of What I Like About You episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
122September 20, 2002May 9, 2003
222September 11, 2003May 7, 2004
324September 17, 2004May 20, 2005
418September 16, 2005March 24, 2006

Production

Theme song and opening sequences

The series takes its title from the song of the same name, which was originally released on a hit record by The Romantics in 1980; it was written by the group's members Wally Palmar, Mike Skill, Rich Cole, and Jimmy Marinos. A cover version of the song, performed by the Canadian all-female rock group Lillix, was used as the theme song for the show. Lillix's cover version was also heard on the soundtrack of the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday and the soundtrack of the film 13 Going on 30. The theme was remixed into a techno/dance style theme for the second season by Philip Steir (who composed all the music for remainder of the series).

The pilot episode had a short opening sequence and the cast members' names were only shown over the cold open. The first season's opening sequence featured intercut scenes (as from home movies) of two girls portraying younger versions of Holly and Val, with shots of Bynes and Garth sticking their tongues out at the camera, mixed with footage excerpted from the first four episodes. The opening title sequence used for the rest of the series featured the show's cast in front of digitally inserted scenes of New York at night. Different versions of the sequence were used for SD and HD broadcasts.

Syndication

From April to September 2006, The WB aired a daily hour of reruns of the series during its Daytime WB afternoon programming block alongside 8 Simple Rules. When The CW launched in September 2006, reruns of the series moved to the new network's CW Daytime block, airing for a full hour at 3/2c alongside Reba, before moving to 3:30/2:30c for a half hour in September 2007, alongside All Of Us remaining until September 2008. Following the series' departure from The CW, the show began airing on ABC Family (now Freeform) in various timeslots during the daytime.

Streaming

In January 2021, What I Like About You began streaming on HBO Max for all four seasons.[3]

Home media

On May 1, 2007, Warner Home Video released the complete first season on DVD in region 1. The 3-disc set included a gag reel as the set's only bonus feature. Because of music licensing issues along, Lillix's cover of the theme song was removed and replaced with a generic pop-rock song produced specifically for the set. Due to low DVD sales and high music licensing costs, no further seasons were given a general retail release.

On March 7, 2017 Warner Archive released the complete second season on DVD in region 1. The 3-disc set is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available only from online sellers such as Amazon.com and their CreateSpace MOD program.[4] Despite being a Manufacture-on-Demand release, the theme song is still replaced with the same song used for the season 1 DVD set, and although it was originally broadcast in widescreen high definition (the first season of the series to do so), the episodes are presented on the DVD in fullscreen format.

The complete third season was released on November 27, 2018.[5] The complete fourth and final season was released on February 26, 2019.[6]

DVD NameRelease DateEp #Additional Information
The Complete First SeasonMay 1, 200722Bonus features include a Gag Reel.
The Complete Second SeasonMarch 7, 201722None.
The Complete Third SeasonNovember 27, 201824None.
The Complete Fourth SeasonFebruary 26, 201918None.

Awards and nominations

GLAAD Media Award

  • 2006 - Outstanding Individual Episode (In a Series Without a Regular Gay Character) for "Someone's In the Kitchen with Daddy" (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

Young Artist Awards

  • 2004 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Leading Young Actress for Amanda Bynes (Nominated)
  • 2003 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Guest Starring Young Actress for Chelsea Brummet (Nominated)

References
  1. "Let the Shows Begin". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 2002.
  2. Hidek, Jeff. "`What I Like' a fun treat". Wilmington Star News.
  3. "HBO Max". HBO Max. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  4. "DVD Calendar Feature Articles - Metacritic". www.metacritic.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017.
  5. "What I Like About You: The Complete Third Season (2003) (MOD)". WB Shop.
  6. "What I Like About You: The Complete Fourth Season (MOD)". WB Shop.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.