Joey | |
---|---|
Created by |
Scott Silveri Shana Goldberg-Meehan |
Starring |
Matt LeBlanc Andrea Anders Paulo Costanzo Jennifer Coolidge Drea de Matteo Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. |
Opening theme | "Sunny Hours" by Long Beach Dub Allstars (featuring will.i.am) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 46 (8 unaired) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 20–24 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Bright-San Productions Silver & Gold Productions Warner Bros. Television |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | September 9, 2004 | – March 7, 2006
Chronology | |
Preceded by | Friends (1994–2004) |
Website |
Joey is an American sitcom and a spin-off of Friends starring Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani. It premiered on the NBC television network, on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m.
Midway through the second season, the show was placed on a hiatus by NBC but returned on March 7, 2006, in a new timeslot of Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. One episode, "Joey and the Snowball Fight", was shown on a Tuesday at 8:30 p.m, but was pulled by NBC when it was overshadowed in ratings by American Idol. NBC canceled the series due to poor ratings in May 2006 and did not broadcast the remaining episodes.
The pilot episode was released in screener for test audiences and members of the entertainment industry to preview the show and drum up business. The screener was subsequently leaked on the Internet and thus has received a much wider critical review process than initially conceived. There were few differences between the unbroadcast pilot and the version that was broadcast. Ashley Scott played the role of Allison in the unbroadcast pilot, but was replaced by Andrea Anders and the character name changed to Alex.
The series did well in the Nielsen ratings in its first season (2004–2005) and was subsequently renewed for a second season (2005–2006). In the second season, Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. was added to the show as a series regular. Also, Jennifer Coolidge had a more prominent role. The show was pulled from its Thursday-night timeslot in December 2005, and NBC returned the show in a new timeslot (Tuesdays at 8pm) on March 7, 2006. Due in part to being in competition with American Idol, Joey was the lowest-rated prime time program of the week for NBC. The network pulled the series after the first Tuesday broadcast and its cancellation was announced on May 15, 2006. The remaining episodes have never been broadcast by NBC, but have been shown on various other networks around the world. Episode 5 and Episode 13 of season 1 were directed by David Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller in Friends.