NBC’s Newlyweds: Jamie Lee Curtis Stars in Comedy That Upends TV’s Long-Standing Formula, Earning 89% RT Score
A shift in comedy styles
Over the past two decades, television comedies have moved toward dramedy. The spread of single-camera sitcoms in the mid-2000s brought more cinematic visuals and greater freedom in camera work than traditional multi-camera shows.
Friends became a defining multi-camera sitcom through its writing and performances on familiar sets. New Girl, which debuted seven years after the Friends finale, used single-camera filming for more mobile camerawork and visual jokes.
A return to familiar conventions
The 2010s saw comedies such as Girls, Atlanta and Fleabag take on more dramatic and transgressive material. Network shows including Community and The Good Place also experimented with visual style and storytelling.
Newlyweds instead uses a multi-camera format, a live studio audience and a laugh track. Its premise treats the challenges of a blended family as the basis for a sitcom, offering a more traditional approach.
Curtis plays the disruptive ex
Curtis portrays Claudia, James’ ex-wife, who resents his new wife, Jeanie, and makes their marriage uncomfortable. She lets herself into their home, takes over a couples massage Jeanie arranged, and repeatedly ignores boundaries.
Unlike many modern sitcom antagonists, Claudia is not presented as someone seeking personal growth or redemption. Her purpose is to provoke the protagonists, and she seems to enjoy being unwelcome.
The newlyweds and their families
In the first three episodes, James and Jeanie have little conflict with each other. Much of the tension comes from their struggles to set limits with those around them, including Jeanie’s adult children and James’ ex-wife.
Téa Leoni and Tim Daly, who are married in real life, bring natural chemistry to the couple. Their relationship gives the surrounding family chaos a steady foundation, while James’ Norwegian assistant Arvid is another promising supporting character.
Key points
- Newlyweds is an NBC multi-camera sitcom produced by and starring Jamie Lee Curtis.
- The show has an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Curtis plays Claudia, an antagonistic ex-wife who repeatedly disrupts James and Jeanie’s marriage.
- Much of the early conflict comes from family members and boundary problems, not the couple’s relationship.