Playing House (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The third season episodes were each made available via VOD.
• The show was canceled after an emotional video message from St. Clair and Parham on October 30, 2017.

Cast

Lennon Parham portrays Maggie Caruso, Emma's best friend since childhood, who becomes pregnant and newly single after a sudden separation from her husband in the first season; she is the mother of Charlotte Emma Caruso. Jessica St. Clair plays Emma Crawford, Maggie's best friend who leaves her overseas job in China to help Maggie. Keegan-Michael Key appears as Mark Rodriguez, a local cop and childhood friend who once dated Emma in high school. Zach Woods plays Zach "Zoo" Harper, Maggie's younger brother. Brad Morris is Bruce Caruso, Maggie's ex-husband and father of Charlotte. Jane Kaczmarek portrays Gwen Crawford, Emma's mother. Lindsay Sloane plays Tina "Bird Bones" Steigerman, Mark's wife and former nemesis to Emma. Gerry Bednob appears as Mr. Nanjiani, a local townsperson originally from Pakistan. Marissa Jaret Winokur plays Candy, a bartender at Rosie's. Ian Roberts portrays Ian, Mark's police partner. Sandy Martin is Mary Pat, Bruce's mother. Norma Michaels plays Ms. Johannsen, a prickly old woman. Kyle Bornheimer appears as Dan, a Rabbi. Ben Willbond portrays Dr. Clive Ericson, a cold doctor supervising Maggie on clinical rotation.

Production and development

The comedy series now known as Playing House was initially pitched to USA Network in February 2013 under a working title that simply credited its creators. Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair not only created the show but also star in it and serve as executive producers alongside Scot Armstrong and Ravi Nandan, with Universal Cable Productions and American Work handling production. Casting got underway that same month, with Parham, St. Clair, and Zach Woods attached when the network ordered a presentation. Parham and St. Clair play the leads: Maggie, a pregnant woman who relies on her ambitious best friend Emma. Keegan-Michael Key later joined as Mark, a police officer still bitter that Emma rejected his marriage proposal and fled town twelve years prior, while Brad Morris took the role of Bruce, Maggie’s unfaithful husband. On May 16, 2013, USA Network gave the series a full order, making it only the second original half-hour comedy on the channel after Sirens. A second season of eight episodes was greenlit on December 8, 2014, debuting on video-on-demand platforms a week before their cable broadcast. A third season was ordered on January 14, 2016.

Reception

The first season of Playing House scored 65 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 13 reviews, labeled "generally favorable." On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 72% rating with an average rating of 7.1 out of 10 from 18 reviews; the critical consensus states that St. Clair and Parham are a comedy duo worth watching and their chemistry makes the show reasonably enjoyable and perceptive. The second season received even more positive reviews, holding a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average of 7 out of 10 based on 6 reviews.