What About Joan?

*What About Joan?*
What About Joan?
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Gwen Macsai
Written by	Paige Bernhardt; Chris Downey
Directed by	Ed Weinberger
Starring	Joan Cusack ; Kyle Chandler ; Jessica Hecht ; Donna Murphy ; Kellie Shanygne Williams ; Wallace Langham ; Jeff Garlin
Composer	James S. Levine
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	21 (10 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	James L. Brooks ; David Richardson ; Richard Sakai
Producers	Josh Greene; Joan Cusack
Editor	Deborah Gavlak
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Gracie Films ; Columbia TriStar Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 27 –; October 9, 2001

Last updated November 13, 2025

What About Joan? is an American sitcom that aired on ABC for two seasons in 2001.^[1] It starred Joan Cusack as Joan Gallagher, a Chicago schoolteacher and the comedy of her day-to-day life.^[2] It co-starred Kyle Chandler. It was produced by James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, David Richardson, and Ed Weinberger.

Synopsis

Joan Cusack played a high school teacher on the verge of a deepening relationship with Chandler. It was filmed before a live studio audience in Chicago and edited in Los Angeles. Joan's apartment was supposed to be located in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago.

Cast

Joan Cusack as Joan Gallagher
Kyle Chandler as Jake Evans
Jessica Hecht as Betsy Morgan (season 1)
Donna Murphy as Dr. Ruby Stern
Kellie Shanygne Williams as Alice Adams
Wallace Langham as Mark Ludlow
Phil Tyler as James

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes	Originally released
Season	Episodes	First released	Last released
1	9	March 27, 2001 (2001-03-27)	May 22, 2001 (2001-05-22)
2	12	October 2, 2001 (2001-10-02)	October 9, 2001 (2001-10-09)

Season 1 (2001)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Michael Lembeck	Gwen Macsai	March 27, 2001 (2001-03-27)	14.92^[3]
2	2	"Sex Talk"	Michael Lembeck	Gwen Macsai	April 3, 2001 (2001-04-03)	13.06^[4]
3	3	"The Proposal"	Lee Shallat Chemel	Story by : Robin Epstein & David Richardson Teleplay by : David Richardson	April 10, 2001 (2001-04-10)	11.05^[5]
4	4	"Joan Meets the Parents"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Jon Vitti	April 17, 2001 (2001-04-17)	11.06^[6]
5	5	"Free Speech"	Ed. Weinberger	Michael Price & Chris Downey	April 24, 2001 (2001-04-24)	11.33^[7]
6	6	"Joan's Sister Visits"	Michael Lembeck	Jon Vitti	May 1, 2001 (2001-05-01)	10.22^[8]
7	7	"Maeve"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Gwen Macsai	May 8, 2001 (2001-05-08)	10.60^[9]
8	8	"Ruby Doobie Doo"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Gwen Macsai & Robin Epstein	May 15, 2001 (2001-05-15)	7.97^[10]
9	9	"Betsy's Wedding"	Ed. Weinberger	Jon Vitti	May 22, 2001 (2001-05-22)	9.22^[11]

Season 2 (2001)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Viewers (millions)
14	1	"My Dinner with Jake"	Terry Hughes	Katherine Green	October 2, 2001 (2001-10-02)	8.70^[12]
15	2	"Quiet Time"	Unknown	Unknown	October 9, 2001 (2001-10-09)	6.72^[13]
16	3	"Testing, Testing"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
17	4	"No Bar Is an Island"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
18	5	"Quid Pro Quo"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
19	6	"Joan Sets Up Alice"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
20	7	"The Curse of the Sweater"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
21	8	"Mr. Roboto"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
22	9	"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Joan"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
23	10	"Green Bay"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
24	11	"You Can't Go Home Again"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A
25	12	"Jake's Dilemma"	N/A	N/A	Unaired	N/A

References

↑ Tucker, Ken (March 27, 2001). "What About Joan". EW.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
↑ Shales, Tom (March 27, 2001). "'What About Joan': A Bouquet of Neuroses". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (March 26-April 1, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 4, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 2–8, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 11, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 9–15, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 18, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 16–22, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 25, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 23–29, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 2, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (April 30-May 6, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 9, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (May 7–13, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 16, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (May 14–20, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 23, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (May 21–27, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . June 1, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 1-7, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . October 10, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 8-14, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . October 17, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

External links

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[1] Tucker, Ken (March 27, 2001). "What About Joan". EW.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.

[2] Shales, Tom (March 27, 2001). "'What About Joan': A Bouquet of Neuroses". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved April 28, 2023.

[3] "National Nielsen Viewership (March 26-April 1, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 4, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[4] "National Nielsen Viewership (April 2–8, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 11, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[5] "National Nielsen Viewership (April 9–15, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 18, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[6] "National Nielsen Viewership (April 16–22, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 25, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[7] "National Nielsen Viewership (April 23–29, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 2, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[8] "National Nielsen Viewership (April 30-May 6, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 9, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[9] "National Nielsen Viewership (May 7–13, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 16, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[10] "National Nielsen Viewership (May 14–20, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 23, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[11] "National Nielsen Viewership (May 21–27, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . June 1, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[12] "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 1-7, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . October 10, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

[13] "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 8-14, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . October 17, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.

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v t e Gracie Films
James L. Brooks
TV series	The Tracey Ullman Show (1987–1990) The Simpsons (1989–present) Sibs (1991–1992) Phenom (1993–1994) The Critic (1994–1995) What About Joan? (2001–2002)
Feature films	Broadcast News (1987) Big (1988) Say Anything... (1989) The War of the Roses (1989) I'll Do Anything (1994) Jerry Maguire (1996) Bottle Rocket (1996) As Good as It Gets (1997) Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) Spanglish (2004) The Simpsons Movie (2007) How Do You Know (2010) The Edge of Seventeen (2016) Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
Short films	The Longest Daycare (2012) Playdate with Destiny (2020) The Force Awakens from Its Nap (2021) The Good, the Bart, and the Loki (2021) The Simpsons \| Balenciaga (2021) Plusaversary (2021) Te Deseo Lo Mejor (2021) When Billie Met Lisa (2022) Welcome to the Club (2022) The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in "Feliz Navidad" (2022) Rogue Not Quite One (2023) May the 12th Be with You (2024) The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2024)
20th Television Sony Pictures