Rita Rocks

Last updated
Rita Rocks
Created by James Berg
Stan Zimmerman
Starring Nicole Sullivan
Richard Ruccolo
Tisha Campbell-Martin
Ian Gomez
Natalie Dreyfuss
Kelly Gould
Raviv Ullman
ComposerMatter Music
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJames Berg
Stan Zimmerman
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesZimmerman-Berg
Lifetime Television
Media Rights Capital
Original release
Network Lifetime
ReleaseOctober 20, 2008 (2008-10-20) 
December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

Rita Rocks is a Lifetime original sitcom that ran from 20 October 2008 to 7 December 2009. It was the network's first original comedy in over a decade. The series debuted alongside re-runs of Reba as part of a new comedy hour for Tuesday nights, which later changed to Monday nights. The show stars Nicole Sullivan as Rita, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Richard Ruccolo, Raviv Ullman, and Kelly Gould.

Contents

On 11 January 2010, Lifetime cancelled the series after two seasons due to low ratings. [1]

Plot

A hard-working mom and wife splits her time between a job she doesn’t particularly like, running the kids around and managing the household. She believes that if she can just get a few hours a week to herself, she can figure a few things out. After finding her old guitar in the garage and the prompting of a new friend, they start up a weekly jam session and are joined by a neighbor, the mail-woman and her daughter’s boyfriend for nightly rehearsals. The plot is set in the Metropolitan Detroit area, most likely the Southfield area as Shannon attends Southfield Elementary School, which is shown throughout season 1.

In a February 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell , Sullivan agreed the main character is going through a midlife crisis, but she does not like using the term "midlife". [2]

Characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 20October 20, 2008 (2008-10-20)February 23, 2009 (2009-02-23)
2 20October 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

Season 1: 2008–09

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Pilot" Andrew D. Weyman James Berg & Stan Zimmerman October 20, 2008 (2008-10-20)
22"Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah-ah" Shelley Jensen Diane Burroughs & Joey Gutierrez October 21, 2008 (2008-10-21)
33"You Gotta Have Friends"Shelley JensenJames Berg & Stan ZimmermanOctober 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)
44"Flirting With Disaster" Peter Marc Jacobson Denise MossOctober 23, 2008 (2008-10-23)
55"Nobody Does It Better" Katy Garretson Bob Nickman October 24, 2008 (2008-10-24)
66"Mother's Little Helper"Peter Marc JacobsonSylvia GreenOctober 28, 2008 (2008-10-28)
77"Take This Job and Shove It" Emile Levisetti Nastaran Dibai & Jeffery HodesNovember 11, 2008 (2008-11-11)
88"The Crying Game"Andrew D. WeymanSylvia GreenNovember 18, 2008 (2008-11-18)
99"Under Pressure"Katy GarretsonDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezNovember 25, 2008 (2008-11-25)
1010"Got No Time"Shelley JensenDenise MossDecember 2, 2008 (2008-12-02)
1111"Love on the Rocks"Shelley JensenSylvia GreenDecember 9, 2008 (2008-12-09)
1212"I Write The Songs"Shelley JensenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezDecember 16, 2008 (2008-12-16)
1313"The Girl Is Mine"Shelley JensenBob NickmanJanuary 5, 2009 (2009-01-05)
1414"Old Friends"Shelley JensenDenise MossJanuary 12, 2009 (2009-01-12)
1515"It's My Party"Emile LevisettiBob NickmanJanuary 19, 2009 (2009-01-19)
1616"I Can't Make You Love Me"Jody Margolin HahnBill Fuller & Jim PondJanuary 26, 2009 (2009-01-26)
1717"Get Off of My Cloud"Shelley JensenTeleplay by: Mark Driscoll
Story by: Adam Waring
February 2, 2009 (2009-02-02)
1818"Killer Queen"Shelley JensenEllen Byron & Lissa KapstromFebruary 9, 2009 (2009-02-09)
1919"What's Love Got Do To With It?"Lynn McCrackenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezFebruary 16, 2009 (2009-02-16)
2020"We Can Work It Out" Gerry Cohen James Berg & Stan ZimmermanFebruary 23, 2009 (2009-02-23)

Season 2: 2009

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
211"A Change is Gonna Come" Shelley Jensen Denise MossOctober 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)
222"Breaking Up is Hard to Do"Shelley Jensen Diane Burroughs & Joey Gutierrez October 6, 2009 (2009-10-06)
233"Nothings Gonna Change My World"Shelley JensenSylvia GreenOctober 7, 2009 (2009-10-07)
244"Welcome to the Working Week"Andy CadiffDenise MossOctober 8, 2009 (2009-10-08)
255"Stuck in the Middle with You"UnknownUnknownOctober 9, 2009 (2009-10-09)
266"The Shape of Things To Come"Lynn McCracken Bob Nickman October 13, 2009 (2009-10-13)
277"Mr. Bassman" Mark Cendrowski Jennifer GlickmanOctober 20, 2009 (2009-10-20)
288"Mommy's Alright, Daddy's Alright"Mark CendrowskiUnknownOctober 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
299"Vogue"Lynn McCrackenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezOctober 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
3010"Bad Company"Mark CendrowskiUnknownNovember 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
3111"Why Can't We Be Friends?"Shelley JensenSeth KurlandNovember 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
3212"Mother and Child Reunion"Shelley JensenDenise MossNovember 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
3313"Anchors Aweigh" Leonard R. Garner Jr. Diane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezNovember 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
3414"Shower The People"UnknownUnknownNovember 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
3515"Is She Really Going Out With Him?"Shelley JensenMatt Quezada & Frank WolffNovember 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
3616"Sympathy For The Devil"UnknownUnknownNovember 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
3717"Jingle All The Way"Shelley JensenTeleplay by: Seth Kurland
Story by: Maxine Lapiduss & Seth Kurland
November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
3818"The Jealous Kind"UnknownUnknownNovember 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)
3919"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"Shelley JensenDenise MossNovember 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)
4020"Born In The USA"Shelley JensenBob NickmanDecember 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

Home media

Rita Rocks: The Complete 1st Season was released on a 3-disc combo pack on April 27, 2010. [3]

International broadcasting

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References

  1. Lifetime Cancels "Rita Rocks" Archived 2010-01-14 at the Wayback Machine , Entertainment Weekly, 11 January 2010
  2. "Anytime with Bob Kushell feat. Nicole Sullivan". Anytime with Bob Kushell. Season 1. Episode 12. 2009-02-27.
  3. "Rita Rocks: Season 1". Amazon. 27 April 2010.