This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2014) |
That's Life | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy drama |
Created by | Diane Ruggiero |
Starring | |
Composer | Jay Gruska |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 36 (4 unaired) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producers |
|
Running time | 42 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | October 1, 2000 – January 26, 2002 |
That's Life is an American comedy-drama television series created by Diane Ruggiero, that was broadcast on CBS from October 1, 2000 to January 26, 2002.
The hour-long series follows the life of a young Italian-American woman (Lydia DeLucca, played by Heather Paige Kent), loosely based on Ms. Ruggiero's life, and her family in suburban New Jersey. The show was set in fictional Bellefield, ostensibly a play on the combination of Belleville and Bloomfield, two adjacent older working class suburbs on the north side of Newark, New Jersey.
In the first season, Frank DeLucca works as a toll collector on the New Jersey Turnpike, while Dolly is a housewife. In the second season, Frank retires after suffering a heart attack on the job, and he and Dolly open a restaurant. Kevin Dillon played Paulie, Lydia's younger brother who was a young officer on the Bellefield Police Department who still lived at home. Debi Mazar played Jackie, Lydia's wise-cracking friend who owned a hair salon. The show mixed family situations with situations focusing on Lydia's life as a young single woman looking for both love and stable career, and for more out of life than simply raising children.
The first season revolved around the fallout from Lydia's breaking off her engagement to Lou (Sonny Marinelli, who was written out after a few episodes), enrolling at Montville State University, a local university somewhat resembling nearby Montclair State University, and moving away from home for the first time. Most of the situations were light-hearted, but plots occasionally delved into darker subjects, including Paulie's struggle to resist the temptation to fall into corruption as a police officer. In the second season, Lydia finally selects a major to pursue a career in sports medicine. Her mother Dolly successfully ran for city council of Bellefield. Paulie started dating Plum (Danielle Harris), a classmate whom Lydia befriends in the first season, and marries her.
The show developed a small fan base and received generally positive critical response, but languished in the ratings, despite the presence of well-known names in its cast, in part because it aired during the Friday night death slot for much of its run. It was cancelled at the end of the second season with numerous unresolved plot lines, including the budding romance between Lydia and one of her professors.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Mick Jackson | Diane Ruggiero | October 1, 2000 |
2 | 2 | "The Screw-Up" | Jim Frawley | Diane Ruggiero | October 7, 2000 |
3 | 3 | "Whadda You Want from Life" | Unknown | Unknown | October 14, 2000 |
4 | 4 | "He's Very Heavy, He's My Brother" | Rob Thompson | Story by : Anne McGrail Teleplay by : Bill Grundfest & Diane Ruggiero | October 21, 2000 |
5 | 5 | "Bad Hair Week" | Jack Bender | Anne McGrail | October 28, 2000 |
6 | 6 | "The Tell-Tale Uterus" | David Semel | Anne McGrail | November 4, 2000 |
7 | 7 | "Lydia and the Professor" | Christopher Monger | Bill Grundfest | November 11, 2000 |
8 | 8 | "The Tutor" | Unknown | Unknown | November 18, 2000 |
9 | 9 | "Saint Bernadette" | Unknown | Unknown | November 25, 2000 |
10 | 10 | "When Good Ideas Go Bad" | Unknown | Unknown | December 16, 2000 |
11 | 11 | "Photographs" | Paul Sorvino | Diane Ruggiero | January 6, 2001 |
12 | 12 | "Nomads" | Unknown | Unknown | January 13, 2001 |
13 | 13 | "Heart Problems" | Unknown | Unknown | January 20, 2001 |
14 | 14 | "Touched by a Biker" | Unknown | Unknown | February 3, 2001 |
15 | 15 | "Mr. Wrong" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 2001 |
16 | 16 | "Or What's a Heaven For?" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 2001 |
17 | 17 | "Banister Head" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 2001 |
18 | 18 | "Miracle at the Cucina" | Unknown | Unknown | March 10, 2001 |
19 | 19 | "No Good Deed" | Unknown | Unknown | April 7, 2001 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | 1 | "Larva" | Michael Switzer | Diane Ruggiero | September 28, 2001 |
21 | 2 | "Something Battered, Something Blue" | Joanna Kerns | James Stanley | October 5, 2001 |
22 | 3 | "The Devil and Miss DeLucca" | Michael Switzer | Anne McGrail | October 12, 2001 |
23 | 4 | "M.Y.O.B." | Unknown | Unknown | October 19, 2001 |
24 | 5 | "Bad Chemistry" | Unknown | Unknown | October 26, 2001 |
25 | 6 | "Boo!" | Unknown | Unknown | November 2, 2001 |
26 | 7 | "Plus One" | Unknown | Unknown | November 9, 2001 |
27 | 8 | "Idiots" | Unknown | Unknown | November 16, 2001 |
28 | 9 | "Oh, Baby" | Unknown | Unknown | December 7, 2001 |
29 | 10 | "Sex in the Suburbs" | Unknown | Unknown | December 21, 2001 |
30 | 11 | "All About Lydia" | Unknown | Unknown | January 11, 2002 |
31 | 12 | "What's Family Got to Do With It?" | Unknown | Unknown | January 12, 2002 |
32 | 13 | "Momento" | Unknown | Unknown | January 26, 2002 |
33 | 14 | "Behind Closed Doors" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
34 | 15 | "Love's Labor" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
35 | 16 | "Baum's Thesis" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
36 | 17 | "Gutterball" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Artios Award | Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot | Mary V. Buck and Susan Edelman | Nominated |
2002 | Golden Reel Award | Best Sound Editing in Television – Music, Episodic Live Action | Lisa A. Arpino (for episode "Touched by a Biker") | Nominated |
Debi Mazar Corcos is an American actress and television personality. She began her career with supporting roles in Goodfellas (1990), Little Man Tate (1991), Singles (1992), and Batman Forever (1995), followed by lead roles on the legal drama series Civil Wars and L.A. Law. She portrayed press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage. She starred as Maggie Amato on TV Land's Younger, and alongside her husband Gabriele Corcos in the Cooking Channel series Extra Virgin.
Anthony "Tony" John Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series The Sopranos. He is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey. The character was conceived by Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the series.
Silvio Manfred Dante is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos, portrayed by Steven Van Zandt. He is the consigliere and right-hand man to Tony Soprano in the DiMeo crime family. John Magaro portrays a young Silvio Dante in the 2021 prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark.
Amanda Michael Plummer is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her film roles, including Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), The Fisher King (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). Plummer won a Tony Award in 1982 for her performance in Agnes of God. She most recently appeared in the third season of Star Trek: Picard (2023).
Heather Paige Dubrow is an American actress and television personality. She is best known as a cast member of the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Orange County, starring in eight seasons since her introduction in 2012. Her acting credits include her portrayal of Lydia DeLucca on the CBS television series That's Life from 2000 through 2002.
"Pine Barrens" is an episode of the HBO series The Sopranos; it is the 11th of the show's third season and the 37th overall. The teleplay was written by Terence Winter from a story idea by Winter and Tim Van Patten. It was the first of four episodes for the series directed by Steve Buscemi and originally aired on May 6, 2001. The episode has been widely praised.
"Unidentified Black Males" is the 61st episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the ninth of the show's fifth season. Written by Matthew Weiner and Terence Winter, and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on May 2, 2004.
"Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" is the 27th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the first of the show's third season. It was written by David Chase and directed by Allen Coulter, and originally aired on March 4, 2001.
"The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti" is the eighth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It was written by David Chase and Frank Renzulli, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on February 28, 1999.
"Fortunate Son" is the 29th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the third of the show's third season. It was written by Todd A. Kessler and directed by Henry J. Bronchtein, and originally aired on March 11, 2001.
"Army of One" is the 39th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the finale of the show's third season. It was written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner, and directed by John Patterson, and originally aired on May 20, 2001.
"Toodle-Fucking-Oo" is the sixteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the third of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, directed by Lee Tamahori, and originally aired on January 30, 2000.
"I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" is the 13th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the finale of the show's first season. Written by David Chase and directed by John Patterson, it originally aired on April 4, 1999.
"No-Show" is the 41st episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos and the second episode of the show's fourth season. Written by David Chase and Terence Winter, it was directed by John Patterson and originally aired on September 22, 2002.
"Nobody Knows Anything" is the 11th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. Written by Frank Renzulli and directed by Henry J. Bronchtein, it originally aired on March 21, 1999.
"Moe n' Joe" is the 75th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the 10th of the show's sixth season. Written by Matthew Weiner and directed by Steve Shill, it originally aired on May 14, 2006.
"Remember When" is the 80th episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos, the third episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, and the 15th episode of the season overall. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Phil Abraham, it originally aired on April 22, 2007, and was watched by 6.85 million viewers on its premiere.
"Kennedy and Heidi" is the 83rd episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos, the sixth episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, and the 18th episode of the season overall. Written by Matthew Weiner and series creator and showrunner David Chase and directed by Alan Taylor, it premiered in the United States on May 13, 2007.
Witness to the Mob is a television film which premiered on Sunday, May 10, and concluded on Monday, May 11, 1998.