Man with a Plan (TV series)

Last updated

Man with a Plan
Man With A Plan Logo.png
Genre Sitcom
Created by
Starring
ComposerJohn Kimbrough
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes69 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Jackie Filgo
  • Jeff Filgo
  • Matt LeBlanc
  • James Burrows
  • Gregg Mettler
  • Michael Rotenberg
  • Troy Zien
  • Mark Gross
  • Suzy Mamann-Greenberg
Producers
  • Tommy Johnagin
  • Stewart Halpern-Fingerhut
  • Jamie Lissow
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseOctober 24, 2016 (2016-10-24) 
June 11, 2020 (2020-06-11)

Man with a Plan is an American television sitcom created by Jackie and Jeff Filgo and starring Matt LeBlanc, who also served as an executive producer. [1] The series ran on CBS from October 24, 2016 to June 11, 2020 airing 69 episodes over 4 seasons. [2] [3] The series was a staple on CBS' Monday night comedy lineup for its first three seasons, before being moved to Thursday nights for the fourth and final season. [4]

Contents

LeBlanc stars as Adam Burns, a contractor raising three children (Grace Kaufman, Matthew McCann, Hala Finley) in suburban Pittsburgh with his wife Andi (Liza Snyder), who decides to go back to work as a medical lab technician in the pilot. Kevin Nealon and Matt Cook co-starred through all four seasons as Adam's brother and friend, respectively. Stacy Keach and Kali Rocha recurred as Adam's father and sister-in-law, respectively, and were upgraded to regular cast members in later seasons.

In May 2020, the series was canceled after four seasons. [5]

Summary

When his wife Andi returns to work, old-school father Adam Burns takes on more of the responsibilities of parenting his three rambunctious children (Kate, Teddy and Emme). Adam must learn to balance this challenge with running a contracting business with his brother Don, while at the same time dealing with his overbearing father Joe. The series is set in suburban Pittsburgh.

Burns family tree

FrankAliceJoeBeverly
KellyAndiAdamDonMarcy
KateTeddyEmmeMikey*Unnamed wife*
Parker

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 22October 24, 2016 (2016-10-24)May 15, 2017 (2017-05-15)
2 21November 13, 2017 (2017-11-13)May 21, 2018 (2018-05-21)
3 13February 4, 2019 (2019-02-04)May 6, 2019 (2019-05-06)
4 13April 2, 2020 (2020-04-02)June 11, 2020 (2020-06-11)

Production

Development

On February 3, 2016, the production officially received a pilot order and James Burrows would direct the pilot. [6] The pilot was written by Jackie and Jeff Filgo who was also set to executive produce with Michael Rotenberg and Troy Zien. Production companies involved with the pilot include Double Double Bonus Entertainment, CBS Television Studios, and 3 Arts Entertainment. On May 12, 2016, it was announced that CBS had given the production, now titled Man with a Plan, a series order. [7] A day after that, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 24, 2016, by Monday at 8:30pm. On November 14, 2016, CBS picked up the series for a full season of 19 episodes. [8] On January 6, 2017, CBS ordered three additional episodes, increasing the first season order to 22. [9] On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on November 13, 2017. [10] [11] On November 27, 2017, CBS ordered eight additional episodes for the second season, bringing the total to 21 episodes. [12] On May 12, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a third season which premiered on February 4, 2019. [13] On May 10, 2019, the series was renewed for fourth season, which premiered on April 2, 2020. [14] [4]

Casting

Casting for the main cast started in February 2016 with Matt LeBlanc and ended the next month with Matt Cook and Grace Kaufman. [15] On May 13, 2016, it was reported that Jenna Fischer, who was originally cast to play the female lead opposite LeBlanc in the series, had exited and her role would be recast. [16] In 2021, Fischer asserted on the Office Ladies podcast that her role had been recast because test audiences didn't "believe Pam would marry Joey", referring to Fischer and LeBlanc's respective roles on The Office and Friends . [17]

On August 1, it was announced Liza Snyder would replace Fischer as the female lead. [18] On August 2, 2016, it was reported that Kevin Nealon had joined the cast in a main role. [19] On September 4, 2018, it was announced that Kali Rocha was promoted to series regular for season 3. [20]

Filming

Man with a Plan was filmed at Radford Studio Center in Studio City, California, but it is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Cancellation

On May 6, 2020, CBS announced that Man with a Plan had been cancelled after four seasons. While ratings for the fourth season were satisfactory, the network was reportedly looking to lower costs following the merger of CBS and Viacom that had taken place that same season. The series was expensive to produce for the network, which was a major factor in its decision to cancel the series. [5] The series concluded on June 11, 2020, following a 69-episode run. [21]

Reception

Critical response

Man with a Plan received negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 21%, based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 3.29/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Man with a Plan's flawed, unimaginative writing fails to properly showcase the charm of its unfortunately underperforming lead." [22] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the series has a score 36 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of Man with a Plan
SeasonTimeslot (ET)EpisodesFirst airedLast airedTV seasonViewership
rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
Avg. 18–49
rating
DateViewers
(millions)
DateViewers
(millions)
1 Monday 8:30 pm22October 24, 2016 (2016-10-24)7.42 [23] May 15, 2017 (2017-05-15)5.73 [24] 2016–17 477.411.5 [25]
2 21November 13, 2017 (2017-11-13)5.38 [26] May 21, 2018 (2018-05-21)5.69 [27] 2017–18 616.781.2 [28]
3 13February 4, 2019 (2019-02-04)6.17 [29] May 6, 2019 (2019-05-06)4.87 [30] 2018–19 676.351.1 [31]
4 Thursday 8:30 pm13April 2, 2020 (2020-04-02)7.01 [32] June 11, 2020 (2020-06-11)5.03 [33] 2019–20 457.371.0 [34]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
2017 People's Choice Awards Favorite Actor In A New TV Series Matt LeBlanc Won [35]
Favorite New TV ComedyMan with a PlanWon

International versions

Country/languageLocal titleChannelDate aired/premieredEnd date
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Батько рулить / Father rules
TET
October 26, 2020

Home media

The first season was released in Region 1, via Amazon's Manufacture on Demand (MOD) service, on November 16, 2018. The second season was released on July 8, 2019. The third season was released on September 22, 2020. [36] The fourth season was released on November 26, 2020. [37]

SeasonNo. of
episodes
DVD Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
122November 16, 2018TBATBA
221July 8, 2019TBATBA
313September 22, 2020TBATBA
413November 26, 2020TBATBA

See also

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