Life in Pieces is an American sitcom television series created by Justin Adler. CBS ordered the series on May 8, 2015. The show debuted on September 21, 2015, and was picked up for a 22-episode full season on October 27, 2015. On May 11, 2016, CBS renewed the show for a second season, which premiered on October 27, 2016.
The series chronicles the lives of three generations of the Short family as they go about their daily lives in Los Angeles County as told from the point of view of each character based on their own version of events. Each episode is told as four short stories, one for each branch of the Short family, with some connections related to the characters' events.
Main cast
Colin Hanks as Greg Short:
Husband of Jen Short; youngest child and younger son of John and Joan Short; younger brother of Matt Short and Heather (Short) Hughes; father of baby daughter Lark Short; worked for a crowd funding website until he quit his job in "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2" (the season 1 finale second half).
Betsy Brandt as Heather (Short) Hughes:
Wife of Tim Hughes; oldest child and only daughter of John and Joan Short; older sister of Matt and Greg Short; mother of Tyler, Samantha, and Sophia Hughes; a stay at home mom
Thomas Sadoski as Matt Short:
Recently divorced; middle child and oldest son of John and Joan Short; brother of Heather and Greg Short; dated Colleen Brandon Ortega until the end of "Hair Recital Rainbow Mom". He and Colleen got back together in "Cinderella Fantasy Prom Dougie, Part 1" (the season 1 finale first half). They got engaged in the second half of the two-part season 1 finale, "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2".
Zoe Lister-Jones as Jennifer "Jen" Short:
A lawyer; mother of baby daughter Lark; wife of Greg Short. She announced that she is pregnant with their second child in season 1 finale, "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2"; however, it was later revealed that she had a miscarriage in the season 2 premiere, "Annulled Roommate Pill Shower".
Dan Bakkedahl as Dr. Timothy "Tim" Hughes, M.D.:
An ENT doctor; husband of Heather (Short) Hughes; father of Tyler, Samantha, and Sophia Hughes
Angelique Cabral as Colleen Brandon Ortega:
Granddaughter of Tonita; owns a male puppy named "Princess"; dated Matt Short until the end of "Hair Recital Rainbow Mom". She and Matt got back together in "Cinderella Fantasy Prom Dougie, Part 1". They got engaged in "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2".
Niall Cunningham as Tyler Hughes:
Oldest child and only son of Tim and Heather Hughes; brother of Samantha and Sophia Hughes; dated Clementine from "Babe Secret Phone Germs" until they married before "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2"
Holly Barrett as Samantha "Sam" Hughes:
Middle child and older daughter of Tim and Heather Hughes; sister of Tyler and Sophia Hughes
Giselle Eisenberg as Sophia Hughes:
Youngest child and younger daughter of Tim and Heather Hughes; sister of Tyler and Samantha Hughes
James Brolin as John Bertram Short:
Retired airline pilot; partner of Joan (Pirkle) Short; father of Heather (Short) Hughes, Matt Short, and Greg Short; owns a female Yorkie named Tank since "Sexting Mall Lemonade Heartbreak".
Dianne Wiest as Dr. Joan (Pirkle) Short:
Partner of John Short; therapist; daughter of GiGi Pirkle; mother of Heather (Short) Hughes, Matt Short, and Greg Short. She and John are still together but, in "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2", they confessed to their kids that they got divorced in 1980 in protest when their best friends, a lesbian couple, couldn't get married.
Hunter King as Clementine Hughes:
Daughter of Mary-Lynn; niece of Spencer (her "uncle-dad"); dated Tyler Hughes from "Babe Secret Phone Germs" until they married before "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2". Recurring, season 1.
Ann Guilbert as Shirley "GiGi" Pirkle: Mother of Dr. Joan (Pirkle) Short; widow (husband was Winston); lived at Hidden Harbor (Retirement Community), then lived at Rocking Hill Nursing Home. Following Guilbert's death in June 2016, the GiGi character's death was written into "Eyebrow Anonymous Trapped Gem" as a tribute, and all four stories of the episode revolved around GiGi.
Jordan Peele as Chad: Ex-fiancé of Colleen. Chad had some legal troubles and hired Jen's law firm to represent him. He rented his share in Colleen's apartment to Dougie, who was part of his legal team (she's currently Colleen's roommate).
Fortune Feimster as Dougie: A coworker of Jen; daughter of Jen's boss; member of legal team hired by Chad; Colleen's roommate since the season 1 finale, "Crytunes Divorce Tablet Ring, Part 2". Dougie is loud, boisterous, uncouth and abrasive physically and emotionally. Despite that, she showed a more vulnerable side when she came out of the closet to Colleen and Matt. She had her very first lesbian kiss with Heather, Tim's wife. When Matt moved in with Colleen and Dougie, it was discovered that Matt wrestled in high school and both he and Dougie went undefeated in their high school careers. In the season 2 premiere, "Annulled Roommate Pill Shower", Dougie challenged Matt to a wrestling match to determine whether or not she has to move out of the apartment. Dougie won the match using her patented "hook, line, and sinker" move to keep her spot in the apartment.
Martin Mull as Gary Timpkins: neighbor and patient of Joan; a recent widower
Susan Park as Dr. Sally Hong: Jen's OB/GYN
Tonita Castro as Tonita: Colleen's grandmother. Tonita was very close to Colleen's ex-fiancée, Chad, and she also is the nanny of Lark, the daughter of Greg and Jen.
Bella Shepard as Lexie: one of Samantha's friends
Ashley Wolff as Jenna: one of Samantha's friends
Andrew McKeough as Jayden
Martin Starr as Oscar: an exterminator; a field worker for "Scram! Trappers" animal control & pest removal
Stephnie Weir as Bernadette
Rhys Darby as Teddy
Megan Mullally as Mary-Lynn: mother of Clementine; sister and partner of Spencer
Nick Offerman as Spencer: brother and partner of Mary-Lynn; parent ("uncle-dad") of Clementine
Josh Groban as Ian: an Irish salesman of guitars at a music store who often hits on his female customers
Russell Peters as Dr. Tak Oh, M.D.:coworker of Tim; widower (wife was Jackie)
Wayne Federman as Dr. Saul Antro
Angela Malhotra as Nurse Silvie: coworker of Tim
The show debuted on September 21, 2015 on CBS. The first five episodes aired on Mondays, before it was moved on November 5, 2015, to a new time slot of 8:30 p.m. ET/PT (7:30 p.m. CT) on Thursdays, directly after CBS finished its NFL broadcasts.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 63% approval rating with an average rating of 6.6/10 based on 38 reviews. The website's consensus reads "Life in Pieces strong cast delivers funny, offbeat stories even if they're not always relatable". On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 64 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
