One of the Fall TV Season’s big new shows is the comedy “Single Parents”, which debuted to nearly 5 million viewers Wednesday night on ABC. The single-camera sitcom stars Taran Killam (“Saturday Night Live”, “Night School”), Leighton Meester (“Gossip Girl”) and three-time Emmy-winning “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett. They’re three of five single parents who bond over trying to raise their kids. The co-creator of “Single Parents”, and writer of the Pilot episode, is J.J. Philbin, daughter of TV icon Regis Philbin.
The Reege essentially saved the ABC network as host of phenomenon game show “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?”, which had its original, primetime run from 1999-2002. He returned for “Super Millionaire” and 10th Anniversary episodes in 2004 and 2009, respectively. And on top of that, “LIVE” (which Philbin was a part of for 28 years) is a Disney-ABC property. Regis received the honorary Disney Legend distinction in 2011.
J.J. has two children who Regis gushed over on “LIVE” – William, aka “Mr. Trouble”, and Ivy. And she’s been working in TV for two decades. She was a “MAD TV” and “Saturday Night Live” writer before moving into episodic fare with “The OC” and “New Girl”.
J.J.’s husband, Michael Schur, is also a TV head honcho. He wrote episodes of “The Office” before co-creating “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”. And he’s the sole creator of NBC’s cult hit “The Good Place”, starring Ted Danson and Kristen Bell.
“Single Parents” definitely has the chance to become a new network staple. It airs Wednesdays at 9:30pmET, right after “Modern Family”. While that show has been dropping in the ratings in recent years, it’s still not a bad spot for “Single Parents” to be. With a strong cast and a unique, high-potential concept, this could be one that sticks around for a while. And I’m sure J.J. Philbin hopes its current, single season turns into a double.