The Odd Couple (2015 TV series)

Plot

Felix Unger and Oscar Madison meet at college in the late 1980s, and fate puts them together as roommates: while Felix is extremely neurotic and fussy in contrast to the slovenly and easy-going Oscar, they both become friends quickly. They eventually marry two women very different from themselves (Felix gets hitched to the calm but feisty Ashley, and Oscar settles down with the insecure Gaby).

Years later, Felix, now a neat-freak news writer and photographer, is kicked out by Ashley after twenty years of marriage (having spent eight of them in marriage counseling, with Felix going alone for the last two years) and moves in with Oscar, now a sports talk show host, whose ex-wife Gaby has left him because he was a thoughtless slob.

Felix and Oscar attempt to date Casey and Emily, two sisters who are roommates in the same building, and who both have recently exited their own unhealthy relationships. Felix is pretty insecure as he still has feelings for Ashley, which contrasts with Oscar who claims to be better off away from his ex. However, Oscar later confesses to Felix that he is not over Gaby.

Oscar holds poker games regularly, with two of the players being Teddy, his agent, and Roy, one of his best friends.

Main

Recurring

Development and filming

Matthew Perry is a self-confessed fan of The Odd Couple, particularly the 1968 film version, which served as the main source of inspiration for the revived series. Perry had been pitching the idea to the networks since the late 2000s, expecting the show for 2010. However, executives passed on it, and Perry turned into another production, NBC's Go On which was canceled after one season. Thereafter, Perry began concentrating on his pet project once again, being finally picked up by CBS in late 2013.

Perry and Danny Jacobson began developing the updated take on Neil Simon's classic as a multi-camera comedy at the network. Perry and Jacobson are co-writing the CBS Television Studios-based half-hour, with Perry attached to play the Oscar role. Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman of Timberman-Beverly Productions and Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum of The Tannenbaum Co. will also serve as executive producers on the project, which has a penalty attached. On February 25, 2014, CBS ordered a pilot co-written by Perry and Joe Keenan. On May 9, 2014, CBS ordered the pilot to series for a 13-episode season scheduled for a mid-season premiere.

On May 11, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season of 13 episodes which premiered on April 7, 2016 and concluded on May 23, 2016.

On October 31, 2016, CBS announced that the fourth episode of the third season would pay tribute to the late Garry Marshall, creator of the original TV version in 1970. Marshall previously guest starred in the second season of the current series as Oscar's father, Walter.

Casting

On February 28, 2014, Sarah Baker who previously worked with Perry on Go On was cast for a role for the pilot playing Oscar's assistant. On March 13, 2014, Thomas Lennon was cast opposite Perry as Felix. The Michael J. Fox Show star Wendell Pierce was cast as Teddy, a buddy partner for Oscar for the pilot on March 14, 2014. Georgia King was cast as a female lead on March 17, 2014. Lindsay Sloane was cast for the pilot on March 21, 2014. Following the series order, both Baker and King dropped out and subsequently the network was recasting the roles as of May 13, 2014. On August 8, 2014, it was announced that Yvette Nicole Brown was cast to succeed Baker as Oscar's assistant Dani – though the role had been downgraded to recurring to allow for her role on the upcoming season of Community. However shortly after announcing on August 30, 2014 that she was leaving Community due to a family emergency, she was upgraded to a series regular role on October 6, 2014. On September 10, 2015, it was announced that Teri Hatcher was cast as a recurring character named Charlotte, who's a new love interest for Oscar.

Broadcast

The series debuted simultaneously in Canada on CTV. In Australia, Network Ten acquired the rights to air the series and premiered it at 7:30pm on March 23, 2015.

Critical reception

The Odd Couple has received mixed reviews from critics. On Metacritic, season one has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the season 1 received 24% "rotten" ratings with consensus, "Stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon make a fine Oscar and Felix, but The Odd Couple's flat jokes and canned laughter are pretty old hat."

Controversy

The third episode of the second season: "From Here to Maturity" was criticized by many Bosniaks in Bosniak communities in Europe and North America. In the episode, Felix Unger (Thomas Lennon) asks Emily (Lindsay Sloane) on a date by making a joke referencing the Srebrenica massacre, in which 8000 young Bosniak men and boys were systematically rounded up and killed by the Bosnian Serb Army. In an open letter, Eldin Elezovic, President of the Congress of North American Bosniaks stated that the Congress felt "very disturbed and disappointed" by the joke. He further said "Saying 'Let’s go visit that new Serbian restaurant, The taste of Srebrenica' is analogous to saying something as horrendous as 'Let's go visit that new German restaurant, The taste of Auschwitz'." Almir Seckanovic of Faktor said the joke was "the most primitive way" to insult Srebrenica victims; Branka Antic Stauber, who runs a non-governmental organization that works with Bosniak women who were raped during the war, called the joke "inhumane"; and the Ontario-based research organization The Institute of Research of Genocide Canada, called the joke a "terrible humiliation of the victims of Srebrenica". On May 10, 2016 executive producer, Bob Daily apologized for the joke saying: "We were unaware of any connection to the terrible tragedy in Srebrenica. We would never intentionally disrespect or make light of such an event and sincerely apologize to anyone we may have offended."