Paul Reiser Says Reboot Season of MAD ABOUT YOU Has Given Him Fresh Perspective on How Fans ‘Took It Into Their Lives’

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede The term “finale” doesn’t mean what it used to mean, but Paul Reiser of MAD ABOUT YOU is fine with that. The 12-episode reboot season of MAD ABOUT YOU wraps up Tuesday with back-to-back episodes on CTV Comedy Channel, starting at 10 p.m. ET. So during Reiser’s recent visit to Bell Media Studios in Toronto, we had to ask: Is Tuesday’s finale a REAL finale? “Well, it’s the finale of THIS season … but we don’t have any plans to do more,” Reiser said. Of course, Reiser and co-star Helen Hunt also thought it was over when MAD ABOUT YOU’s original run ended back in 1999 after seven seasons – all of which are available for streaming on CTV Throwback. But the entertainment business is very different now, and many series from previous eras have returned, and thrived. In fact, last month the premiere episode of the new MAD ABOUT YOU was the most-watched series debut in CTV Comedy Channel’s history. “We didn’t aim for (Tuesday’s finale) to be any kind of big wrap-up, like when we did the original seven years,” Reiser explained. “That wasn’t the vibe. We went into this with a specific 12-episode arc. It starts with this couple (Paul and Jamie Buchman) dropping their only child off at college, and then having to rediscover themselves, and how to be a couple again. That was the journey of this season. How do they recapture their mojo?” So in today’s TV language, this was sort of a cable season, or a streaming season, for MAD ABOUT YOU. “Yes, exactly – and that was really nice,” Reiser said. “Obviously this world didn’t exist when we ended back in 1999. It still was a world of three or four networks and you did 24 episodes a year. It’s a much different ball game now, not only with the ability to do a shorter season, but also to have planned to do only one season.” During the original run of MAD ABOUT YOU, which won 12 EMMY® AWARDS and four GOLDEN GLOBES®, Reiser said that he and Hunt were very aware of how magical it was, and how well they were getting along, despite the busy treadmill of 20-plus episodes per season and the pressures of building their own careers. So it wasn’t as if the reboot season gave Reiser a chance to appreciate things more – because he appreciated everything the first time – but he admitted that he had a slightly different perspective on at least one side-effect of making a widely popular TV show. “One thing that did change is, we were so busy doing the show (in the ’90s) that I don’t know if I necessarily registered the impact that it might’ve been having,” Reiser said. “Now, going out and hearing from people – because it’s sort of in the air again – and also when I perform and do stand-up, people come over afterwards and they’ll have stories. They’ll tell me about episodes that meant a lot to them, or running jokes that they’ve been doing for 20 years because of something we did on the show, or they’ll say, ‘we got married to your theme song’ and all these kinds of things. I don’t think I knew that at the time. I don’t think I knew that people took it into their lives as much as they did.” It sounds as if Paul Reiser is very comfortable with the legacy of MAD ABOUT YOU. So, um, how does he feel about rebooting his pre-MAD ABOUT YOU sitcom in which he co-starred with Greg Evigan, MY TWO DADS – all three seasons of which are also available on CTV Throwback? “Well, no, no,” Reiser replied with a laugh. “I think you can rest assured that’s not coming back. If it is, it ain’t with me.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv