According to Jim

According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children (and then five children, starting with the seventh season finale). It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001, to June 2, 2009.

According to Jim
GenreSitcom
Created by
Starring
Opening theme"Sweet Home Chicago" cover by Jim Belushi
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes182 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Tracy Newman
  • Jonathan Stark
  • Suzanne Bukinik
  • Marc Gurvitz
  • Jim Belushi
  • John D. Beck
  • Ron Hart
  • David Feeney
  • Warren Bell
  • Bob Nickman
  • Howard J. Morris
  • Nastaran Dibai
  • Jeffrey B. Hodes
  • John Peaslee
  • Judd Pillot
Producer(s)
  • Robert Heath
  • Harry Hannigan
  • Christopher J. Nowak
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production company(s)
DistributorBuena Vista Television
Release
Original networkABC
Picture format
Original releaseOctober 3, 2001 (2001-10-03) –
June 2, 2009 (2009-06-02)

Synopsis
The cast of According to Jim.

Jim is a happy-go-lucky suburban father. Much like his real-life counterpart, Jim's character is a fan of blues music, as well as the Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls, and Chicago Blackhawks. Together with his wife Cheryl, they have three children, daughters Ruby and Gracie and son Kyle. In the seventh season they become parents of twin boys Gordon and Jonathan.

Jim often finds himself in difficult situations, because his slacker sensibilities cause him to search for alternative ways to get things done with less effort. While Cheryl's brother Andy is Jim's best friend/brother-in-law, her sister Dana frequently teams up with Cheryl against Jim. He also prefers to lie to Cheryl and Dana to do his own activities but they end up backfiring on him. He hates losing to women, especially if Cheryl or Dana find out. He doesn't like people interrupting him when he talks, so he speaks over them to shut them up. Jim often makes an example of Andy, who for most of the series does not have a steady girlfriend. Dana and Jim argue constantly, but Dana flirts with Jim when she's drunk, discovering after one such event that she respects Jim as a loving father despite his flaws.

Episodes
Main article: List of According to Jim episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 October 3, 2001 May 15, 2002
2 28 October 1, 2002 May 20, 2003
3 29 September 23, 2003 May 25, 2004
4 27 September 21, 2004 May 27, 2005
5 22 September 20, 2005 May 2, 2006
6 18 January 3, 2007 May 16, 2007
7 18 January 1, 2008 May 27, 2008
8 18 December 2, 2008 June 2, 2009

Cast
Actor Character Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Jim Belushi James Orenthal "Jim" Main
Courtney Thorne-Smith Cheryl Mabel Main
Kimberly Williams-Paisley Dana Gibson Main Special Guest
Larry Joe Campbell Andy Main
Taylor Atelian Ruby Main
Billi Bruno Gracie Main
Mitch Rouse Ryan Gibson Does not appear Recurring Main Does not appear Guest
Conner Rayburn Kyle Does not appear Recurring Main

Production

Development

According to Jim was created by Tracy Newman and Jonathan Stark. The sitcom was produced by ABC's in-house production company and Newman/Stark, Suzanne Bukinik Entertainment and Brad Grey Television. The series was filmed at the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles.

Belushi, besides playing Jim, directed 30 episodes and is credited as executive producer.

Belushi's fictional character Jim's band in the series is the real-life House of Blues band The Sacred Hearts, for which Jim Belushi often sings lead.[1]

Influences

Belushi says he set the show's trademark tone back in the show's 2001 pilot.[2]

"The original script called for Jim to go to the wife and apologize," he recalls. "I said to the writers, 'Why do we have to do a show where the guy is going to apologize at the end of every episode? Was he really wrong? He's contrite, sure. But isn't he just being a man?'"

In an interview, Jim Belushi explained that the show many times directly reflected his actual life. Quite a few episodes were experiences taken directly from Belushi's home. Most of the episodes were taken from experiences inside the writers' homes, too. He adds:[3]

"Every show is based in somebody's reality. Whether it's [co-stars] Larry's, or mine, or Courtney's, or the writers'. Because it was a relationship show about a family, everyone would bring in their experiences as a family, and we would do shows around them."

Family names

Last names were never really addressed for the entire run of the show. None of the main characters did get a last name until Season 4 when Kimberly Williams-Paisley's character Dana married Dr. Ryan Gibson (played by Mitch Rouse). She became Dana Gibson with their marriage. Only guest characters had first and last names in most cases.[3]

History

The show first aired following the surprise hit comedy My Wife and Kids and quickly developed an audience of its own. For its second season ABC placed it on its revitalized Tuesday line-up, which also included John Ritter's 8 Simple Rules, Bonnie Hunt's Life with Bonnie and Sara Rue's Less Than Perfect. Week by week, the show attracted more and more viewers, becoming ABC's second most watched sitcom. The show performed so well that the network made a risky move: putting Jim opposite the NBC juggernaut Frasier. Although Jim did not beat the competition, it performed well enough to secure itself that spot on the 2003 fall schedule.

On May 15, 2007, ABC announced that According to Jim would not be renewed for another season. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said, "We are talking to the studio to see if there's something financially, a deal that would make sense for us."[4] But on June 27, 2007, ABC renewed the show for a seventh season with 18 episodes.[5][6]

According to Jim returned to ABC's schedule on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, with two episodes at 9 pm and 9:30 pm. After that, the series moved to its regular time slot at 8 pm. Despite the writer's strike, ABC announced that the show would produce all 18 episodes ordered for this season.[7]

On February 27, 2008, it was reported that ABC was close to renewing According to Jim for an eighth season.[8] On May 13, 2008, ABC officially renewed the series and Season 8 began airing on December 2, 2008.[9] Kimberly Williams-Paisley left the show's regular cast at the beginning of Season 8 and was not in the Season 8 opening credits,[10] to devote her time to motherhood. She made a guest appearance only in the season finale.

In December 2008, co-star Larry Joe Campbell said that the sets had been destroyed, indicating that the series was canceled, but that a series finale had been recorded.[11] After the first six episodes of Season 8 all aired in December, According to Jim returned to ABC's schedule on April 14, 2009, for the final 12 episodes.[12] The series finale of According to Jim aired on June 2, 2009, on ABC, and was titled "Heaven Opposed to Hell."

Home media

Lionsgate Home Entertainment (under license from ABC Studios) has released the first five seasons on DVD in Region 1.

DVD NameEp#Release Date
The Complete First Season22October 21, 2008 (2008-10-21)
The Complete Second Season28May 4, 2010 (2010-05-04)
The Complete Third Season29May 3, 2011
The Complete Fourth Season27July 5, 2011
The Complete Fifth Season22October 4, 2011
The Complete Sixth Season18TBA
The Complete Seventh Season18TBA
The Complete Eighth and Final Season18TBA

Reception

Ratings

The sitcom debuted in 2001 on ABC with an average of 10 million viewers for its first year. The audience grew in the second year to over 10.3 million. The ratings remained consistent for Seasons 3 and 4 as well. Starting with Season 5, the ratings began to decline. The series was often scheduled against the hugely successful American Idol. By Season 6, According to Jim was down to 6.7 million viewers.

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of According to Jim on ABC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Timeslot Premiere Finale TV season Ranking Viewers
(in millions)
1st Wednesday 8:30 p.m. October 3, 2001 May 15, 2002 2001–2002 #55[13] 10.0
2nd Tuesday 8:30 p.m. October 1, 2002 May 20, 2003 2002–2003 #51[14] 10.3
3rd Tuesday 9:00 p.m. September 23, 2003 May 25, 2004 2003–2004 #51[15] 9.9
4th Tuesday 9:00 p.m. September 21, 2004 May 17, 2005 2004–2005 #47[16] 9.9
5th Tuesday 8:00 p.m. September 20, 2005 May 2, 2006 2005–2006 #108[17] 6.7
6th Wednesday 9:00 p.m. January 3, 2007 May 16, 2007 2006–2007 #119[18] 6.7
7th Tuesday 9:00 p.m. January 1, 2008 March 11, 2008 2007–2008 #146[19] 5.3
Tuesday 8:30 p.m. April 15, 2008 May 27, 2008 2007–2008 #171[19] 4.1
8th Tuesday 9:00 p.m. December 2, 2008 December 30, 2008 2008–2009 #104[20] 5.6
Tuesday 9:30 p.m. December 2, 2008 December 30, 2008 2008–2009 #127[20] 4.8
Tuesday 8:00 p.m. April 14, 2009 June 2, 2009 2008–2009 #148[20] 3.8
Tuesday 8:30 p.m. April 14, 2009 June 2, 2009 2008–2009 #149[20] 3.8

Accolades

According to Jim was nominated for 20 awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (all for cinematography).

Association Year[lower-alpha 1] Category Nominee(s) / Work Result Ref(s)
NAACP Image Awards 2007 Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series Lauren Breiting
 Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards 2006 Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series George Mooradian
 Nominated [21]
2007 Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series George Mooradian
 Nominated [21]
2008 Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series George Mooradian
 Nominated [21]
2009 Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series George Mooradian
 Nominated [21]
Young Artist Awards 2002 Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Under Taylor Atelian Nominated
Billi Bruno Nominated
2003 Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Taylor Atelian Nominated
2004 Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Taylor Atelian Nominated
Billi Bruno Nominated
2005 Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Taylor Atelian Nominated
Billi Bruno Nominated
2006 Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger Connor and Garret Sullivan Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Ten or Younger Taylor Atelian Nominated
Billi Bruno Nominated
Best Family Television Series (Comedy) According to Jim Nominated
2007 Best Performance in a TV Series – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Billi Bruno Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actor Austin Majors Nominated
2008 Best Performance in a TV Series – Young Actor Ten or Under Conner Rayburn Nominated [22]
Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actress Taylor Atelian Nominated [22]

Notes
  1. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
gollark: It's 9pm-5am somewhere in the world.
gollark: ↑
gollark: Interesting.
gollark: I am in fact able to cope with this. However, it should be fixed.
gollark: Someone should fix it.

References
  1. "The Sacred Hearts".
  2. "According to Jim wraps his run".
  3. "7 things you didnt know about According to Jim".
  5. "ABC Renews 'According to Jim'". TVWeek. June 27, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  7. "Breaking News - 'Jim' to Finish Out Season for Abc - TheFutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  8. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Wayback.archive.org. October 21, 2012. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  9. "Breaking News - ABC Unveils 2008-09 Primetime Schedule - TheFutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  10. "Breaking News - ABC Sets Return Date for "Jim," End Date for "Boston" - TheFutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  11. Archived January 22, 2009, at Archive.today
  12. "Breaking News - According to Jim to Return to ABC Tuesdays - TheFutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  13. "USATODAY.com - How did your favorite show rate?". usatoday.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. "Rank And File". ew.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  15. "ABC Medianet". abcmedianet.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  16. "ABC Medianet". abcmedianet.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  17. Archived May 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. Archived January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  19. Archived April 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  20. Archived January 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  21. "According to Jim Emmy nominations". emmys.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  22. "Young Artist Awards 2008". famousfix.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
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