Hot in Cleveland

Did You Know?

• Betty White received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role as Elka Ostrovsky and went on to win the award.
• The series premiere drew a total of 4.75 million viewers, making it the most watched show in TV Land history.
• The show was submitted for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in categories including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for all four leading women.

Cast and characters {{anchor|Cast and characters}}

Valerie Bertinelli portrays Melanie Hope Moretti, a writer and mother of two who, after a divorce, decides to stay in Cleveland following an emergency landing. She later works at a PR firm, has a relationship with her boss Alec, and eventually hosts a talk show at a radio station. Jane Leeves plays Rejoyla "Joy" Scroggs, an English beautician who has never married and had a son at 15 whom she put up for adoption. Joy later discovers she has a grandson, Wilbur, and marries her boss Bob in the series finale, adopting a baby girl named Elizabeth. Wendie Malick plays Victoria Chase, a former soap opera star. Betty White portrays Elka Ostrovsky, the sassy elderly caretaker who lives in the guest house of the home the women lease.

Development and production

Hot in Cleveland was TV Land's first attempt at a first-run scripted comedy, produced by Sean Hayes's Hazy Mills Productions and written by Suzanne Martin, who also served as showrunner. The series was shot with a multicamera setup in front of a live studio audience at CBS Studio Center. Martin conceived the idea after seeing clips of The Golden Girls replayed following Estelle Getty's death, thinking about women in their 50s. She initially pitched the series to CBS, which rejected it. TV Land announced a second season on July 7, 2010, and the show was renewed for subsequent seasons. Betty White was originally only meant to appear in the pilot but was asked to stay for the entire series. A season 2 episode featuring Cedric the Entertainer served as a backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off.

Critical reception

The show received positive reviews from critics, with Wendie Malick's performance earning particular praise. The first season scored a 73% based on 30 reviews and a 66 out of 100 on Metacritic. Hot in Cleveland has been described as a modern spin on The Golden Girls, which also featured Betty White. Critics noted similarities to other classic sitcoms, with comparisons drawn between the cast members and those of The Golden Girls. The average age of the Hot in Cleveland cast ranged from 61.5 at the start to 66.5 at the end, while The Golden Girls cast averaged 59.75 to 66.25. Wendie Malick, at 64 during the final season, was a year older than the two oldest actors in the first season of The Golden Girls.

Broadcast

TV Land renewed Hot in Cleveland for a 24-episode fifth season on March 20, 2013, bringing the total episodes to 104. A syndication package premiered in fall 2014, covering 92% of U.S. television markets. The show also aired on the NickMom block from May 23 to September 27, 2015, and on GetTV in 2019 before being pulled. Starting September 1, 2025, it debuted on Catchy Comedy, airing weeknights at 9:00pm ET. Internationally, Endemol distributed the series, with broadcasts in Canada on CTV and The Comedy Network, in Australia on the Nine Network, in the UK and Ireland on Sky Living, in South Africa on M-Net, and in India on Comedy Central. All six seasons have been available for streaming on 10 Play since 2020.