Ned and Stacey

Premise

Ned Dorsey (Church) and Stacey Colbert (Messing) are brought together in a marriage of convenience — Ned needs to be married to get a promotion, while Stacey desperately needs to move out of her parents' house, and Ned has a very good apartment.

Ned and Stacey often socialize with Stacey's sister, Amanda (Nadia Dajani) and her husband, Eric (Greg Germann). Other recurring characters include Stacey's parents and Ned's boss.

Ned and Stacey's constant bickering slowly evolves into something resembling a romance. However, the show was cancelled before this plot could be developed further.

Main characters

Thomas Haden Church – Ned Dorsey

An uptight advertising executive. He marries Stacey in order to get a promotion. Ned is initially portrayed as a self-absorbed egomaniac who uses anyone to get ahead. However, Ned starts developing compassion and empathy for his friends, especially Stacey. Eventually, Ned falls in love with Stacey, but the series was cancelled before this was further developed.

Debra Messing – Stacey Colbert Dorsey

A beautiful, red-haired journalist with a degree from Brandeis. She marries Ned to get out of her parents' house and live in his apartment, which has a nice view of Central Park. She begins the show as a freelance journalist, but eventually lands a job writing for an airline magazine. Messy and neurotic, she often plays as a counter-balance for Ned's more uptight nature. Eventually, Stacey falls in love with Ned, but the series was cancelled before this was further developed.

Greg Germann – Eric "Rico" Moyer

Stacey's brother-in-law, Amanda's husband, and Ned's best friend. He is an accountant at Ned's advertising firm. Called Rico by Ned, he is slightly nerdy in a good natured way, and his straight down-the-middle persona is often used to counter Ned's antics. Eric is a mellow person, who is always being used by Ned in his personal schemes. He doesn't mind it since he idolizes his friend. He seldom stands up for himself, and Amanda often steps in when things threaten to get out of hand.

Nadia Dajani – Amanda Colbert Moyer

Stacey's sister, and Eric's wife. She is openly critical of the fake marriage in general and Ned in particular. During Season 1, Amanda was working as a high-end real estate agent. After a property investment with Ned goes wrong, she finds herself running a muffin store, "Amanda's Amuffins," during Season 2. She and Eric have one son, named Howard. As opposed to Stacey, Amanda is strong, well-organized, and cynical. She loves Eric, and often pushes him around, but most often she does this to make him stand up for himself or act on otherwise lost opportunities.

Supporting and recurring characters

Harry Goz – Saul Colbert, father of Stacey and Amanda

Dori Brenner – Ellen Colbert, mother of Stacey and Amanda

James Karen – Patrick Kirkland, Ned's boss

John Getz – Les McDowell, Ned's colleague at the agency

Natalia Nogulich – Bernadette McDowell, Les' alcoholic wife

Marcia Cross – Diana Huntley, Ned's Girlfriend in the second season

Intro dialogue

(Spoken during the opening theme)
Ned: Why Stacey?
Stacey: Why Ned?
Ned: It was business.
Stacey: Strictly business.
Ned: Here's the deal – to get a promotion, I needed a wife.
Stacey: To get a life, I needed his apartment.
Ned: So what the hell, we up and got married.
Stacey: The only thing we have in common? We irritate each other.
Ned: Right! Enjoy the show.

This intro did not appear for the first episodes.

Syndication

The series has been aired in the United Kingdom on channel Sony TV, which began airing the show on April 7, 2011, the same day as the channel's launch. After its cancellation the show reran on the USA Network from 1999-2001. The show later reran on WE: Women's Entertainment from 2003-2005. TV Guide Network began airing reruns of the show on September 12, 2011. Oxygen also occasionally airs the show, usually on Thursday at 6am EST. In Australia digital channel 7mate has been showing reruns of the series in 2011. In the United States, Rural TV began airing reruns on occasion. The show was last seen in 2015 on FamilyNet.

DVD release

In September 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of Ned and Stacey on DVD in Region 1. Due to low sales, season two's DVD release was canceled.

In 2014 Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series, and released two compilation discs of the show.