Accidentally on Purpose (TV series)

Plot

Accidentally on Purpose follows Billie (Jenna Elfman), a San Francisco movie critic in her 30s. Billie meets Zack (Jon Foster), an aspiring chef in his 20s, at a local bar and they have a one-night stand. She soon finds out that she is pregnant, and decides to keep the baby. She must simultaneously deal with her boss and ex-boyfriend, James (Grant Show), who finds himself jealous of Zack. Before the story began, she had hoped that James would ask her to marry him, but he told her that he was not ready because he was married once before.

Thanks to this unexpected arrival, Billie and Zack have agreed to live together platonically, since the only place that Zack has called home is his van. While Billie receives encouragement and advice from her alcoholic best friend Olivia (Ashley Jensen) and her conventional, younger, married sister Abby (Lennon Parham), she also has to deal with Zack's freeloading friend Davis (Nicolas Wright), among others, when they start turning her place into a frat house, leaving Billie to question whether she is living with a boyfriend, a roommate, or a second child to raise.

Theme song

The theme song for the show is "Birds of a Feather", written by David Fagin of the indie-rock band The Rosenbergs. The song is on their album Department Store Girl.

History

On November 3, 2009, CBS ordered an additional five episodes of the series, bringing the total to 18. In early 2010 CBS moved Accidentally on Purpose to Wednesday nights from Mondays, to accommodate the midseason return of Rules of Engagement and the cancellation of Gary Unmarried. However, after the ratings slipped CBS elected not to renew the series and on May 18, 2010, made the cancellation official; the cancellation was part of CBS' decision to eliminate all of its Wednesday night comedies in favor of trying a Thursday-night block.

Critical reception

Accidentally on Purpose received mixed reviews, scoring a 50/100 on Metacritic, while scoring a 6.2/10 with viewers. The New York Times, in a review of the show's first episode, called Grant Show's performance "graceful" and said Elfman is as "funny as the script allows, in that broad, robo-comic way you may remember from Dharma & Greg."

The series had an average of eight million viewers per episode while airing on Mondays after How I Met Your Mother, but fell to an average of 5.5 million of viewers per episode while airing on Wednesdays after The New Adventures of Old Christine, which was also canceled in 2010.

Cast

Main

• Jenna Elfman as Billie Chase
• Jon Foster as Zachary "Zack" Crawchuck
• Ashley Jensen as Olivia Hollenbeck
• Nicolas Wright as Davis
• Grant Show as James
• Lennon Parham as Abigail "Abby" Chase

Recurring

• Pooch Hall as Ryan
• David Sutcliffe as Brian
• Larry Wilmore as Dr. Roland
• Bryan Cuprill as Nick
• Michael Rapaport as Sullivan "Sully" Boyd
• Matthew Glave as Officer Marion Ravitz

Episodes

||ShortSummary=Billie unintentionally causes Abby and Nick to break up when she asks them to be godparents. However, after a fun night on the town with Davis goes too far, Billie must stop Abby before she does something she will regret. Also, Billie has to work with Sullivan "Sully" Boyd, a fellow worker, which does not please Zack or James, as both think that Sully has a thing for pregnant women. ||ShortSummary= Billie is threatened when James hires another film critic, Max (Ben Schwartz), at the paper and sets out to prove how valuable she is. Meanwhile, Abby tries to make Olivia pay her share of tab.

References

References

1. Matt Mitovich. (June 24, 2009). "Fall TV: CBS Announces Premiere Dates". TV Guide Online.
2. Carter, Bill. (May 18, 2009). "Upfronts: CBS to Add Six Shows". The New York Times.
3. (May 18, 2009). "Breaking News – CBS Confirms Six Newcomers".
4. [http://www.sunherald.com/prnewswire/story/1616196.html]{{dead link. (March 2012)
5. [http://www.therosenbergsband.com/music/deptstoregirl ''Department Store Girl''] {{Webarchive. link. (September 16, 2009 at the Rosenbergs' website)
6. Schneider, Michael. (November 3, 2009). "CBS picks up more 'Purpose'". Variety.
7. "Accidentally on Purpose – Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic".
8. Hale, Mike. (September 20, 2009). "Older Woman, Younger Man and Baby Makes Three". The New York Times.
9. Exton, Emily. (May 18, 2010). "Breaking: CBS cancels 'Ghost Whisperer' and 'Old Christine' | Inside TV | EW.com". Insidetv.ew.com.
10. (September 29, 2009). "CBS wins Premiere week in viewers and adults 25–54". CBS PressExpress.
11. [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/10/06/monday-night-broadcast-national-final-nielsen-numbers/29767 Monday night broadcast national final Nielsen numbers] {{webarchive. link. (October 9, 2009 . Tv by the Numbers October 6, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2010.)
12. (September 2017)
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14. [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/03/monday-broadcast-finals-castle-doesnt-drop-posts-season-highs-with-adults-18-34-and-women-18-34/32518 Monday Broadcast Finals: Castle doesn't drop; Heroes, Trauma do] {{webarchive. link. (November 7, 2009 . Tv by the Numbers November 3, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2010.)
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22. [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/08/wednesday-finals-csi-ny-dips-further-south-park-in-plain-sight-and-more/47783 Wednesday Finals: "CSI: NY" Dips Further + "South Park," "In Plain Sight" and More] {{webarchive. link. (April 14, 2010 . Tv by the Numbers April 8, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2010.)
23. [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/15/wednesday-broadcast-finals-the-middle-modern-family-cougar-town-adjusted-up-ugly-betty-down/48734 Wednesday Broadcast Finals: The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town Adjusted Up; Ugly Betty Down] {{webarchive. link. (April 21, 2010 . Tv by the Numbers April 15, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2010.)
24. [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/22/wednesday-broadcast-finals-idol-l-accidentally-on-purpose-down/49489 Wednesday Broadcast Finals: Idol, L&O: SVU Adjusted Up; Accidentally On Purpose Down] {{webarchive. link. (April 28, 2010 . Tv by the Numbers April 22, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2010.)