The Jim Gaffigan Show

Did You Know?

• Comedy Central aired episodes of the series one week after they debuted on TV Land.
• New episodes were simulcast on Nick at Nite.
• In Canada, the show aired on The Comedy Network, debuting December 1, 2015.

Cast

Jim Gaffigan plays a fictionalized version of himself. Ashley Williams portrays his wife Jeannie Gaffigan. Michael Ian Black appears as Daniel Benjamin, Jeannie's confidante. Adam Goldberg plays Dave Marks, Jim's best friend and a struggling comedian. Tongayi Chirisa is Father Nicholas, the rector at the couple's church. Vanessa Aspillaga plays Blanca, the nanny. Caitlin Moeller appears as Elizabeth Gaffigan. Numerous comedians and celebrities make guest appearances as fictionalized versions of themselves, including Dave Attell, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Will Ferrell, John Mulaney, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, Steve Buscemi, and Nathan Lane. Macaulay Culkin makes multiple cameo appearances as himself in various low-income jobs.

Production

Before landing on TV Land, the show had a winding path. NBC was initially interested but ultimately passed. CBS had already tried twice to develop a semi-autobiographical series based on Jim Gaffigan. During early talks with NBC, Jeannie Gaffigan was set to play herself, but when CBS got involved, they decided to hire an actress instead. Jeannie agreed with this choice and helped cast the role. CBS ordered a pilot in January 2013, with Mira Sorvino attached to play Jim's wife and Christian Barillas and Tongayi Chirisa in supporting roles. CBS passed on the series in May 2013 but planned to redevelop it for the following season. The show was recast with new actors Williams, Goldberg, and Black. CBS passed again in May 2014, and Sony Pictures Television started shopping it elsewhere. In July 2014, TV Land picked up the series and gave the Gaffigans full creative control. TV Land's president said the show was a perfect fit for Generation Xers raising families. The series is loosely based on the real lives of Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan, who have five children and once lived in a two-bedroom New York City apartment. The children's ages were compressed for the show, and episodes are built around real incidents they experienced. Jim's love of food, a staple of his stand-up, is a major part of the series—Jeannie noted that nearly 90 percent of the props are food. Unlike shows like Seinfeld or Louie, the series does not regularly feature Jim's stand-up routines. The decision was made to focus on what happens offstage. Jim and Peter Tolan wrote the pilot together, and Jim and Jeannie wrote the rest of the series.

Reception

When the show first aired, critics generally liked it, though many compared it to Louie in ways that didn't always flatter. Newsday's Diane Werts gave it an A, calling it the funniest comedy of the summer and saying she couldn't remember laughing so hard at a sitcom. The New York Times found it quite funny, and Ken Tucker felt it improved with each episode. Others were less impressed. The Hollywood Reporter described Gaffigan's pleasantness as uninteresting, while Entertainment Weekly gave a B−, noting the show relied on weak one-liners and awkward riffs, like a watered-down Louie or Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Washington Post argued that Gaffigan's stage persona works live but not as a TV character.