# Playing House (TV series)

Playing House is an American sitcom that premiered on April 29, 2014, on the USA Network. Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair created and star in the series, which is inspired by their real-life friendship.
On January 14, 2016, the series was renewed for a third season, which aired from June 23 to July 14, 2017 with each episode available via VOD.
On October 30, 2017, series stars and creators Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, announced over an emotional video message that USA Network canceled the show.

## Premise

When mother-to-be Maggie ends her marriage upon discovering her husband's affair with a woman online, she turns to her best friend Emma for support. In order to help Maggie in her time of need, Emma gives up her successful business career in China to return to their hometown of Pinebrook and help her friend raise her newborn baby.

## Cast
### Main

* Lennon Parham as Maggie Caruso – Emma's best friend since childhood, who was pregnant and newly single after a sudden separation from her husband in the first season. She is the mother of Charlotte Emma Caruso.
* Jessica St. Clair as Emma Crawford – Maggie's best friend since childhood. She leaves her overseas job in China to come home and to help Maggie.
* Keegan-Michael Key as Mark Rodriguez – A local cop and childhood friend of Maggie and Emma. Mark and Emma used to date in high school.
* Zach Woods as Zach "Zoo" Harper – Maggie's younger brother.
* Brad Morris as Bruce Caruso – Maggie's ex-husband. He is the father of Charlotte.

### Recurring

* Jane Kaczmarek as Gwen Crawford – Emma's mother.
* Lindsay Sloane as Tina "Bird Bones" Steigerman – Mark's wife and former nemesis to Emma.
* Gerry Bednob as Mr. Nanjiani – a local townsperson, originally from Pakistan.
* Marissa Jaret Winokur as Candy – a bartender at Rosie's, the local restaurant.
* Ian Roberts as Ian – Mark's partner on the police force.
* Sandy Martin as Mary Pat – Bruce's mother.
* Norma Michaels as Ms. Johannsen – a prickly old woman living in the town.
* Kyle Bornheimer as Dan – a Rabbi.
* Ben Willbond as Dr. Clive Ericson, a cold and distant doctor supervising Maggie on clinical rotation.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | April 29, 2014 (2014-04-29) | June 17, 2014 (2014-06-17) |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | August 4, 2015 (2015-08-04) | September 8, 2015 (2015-09-08) |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23) | July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) |

### Season 1 (2014)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Jeffrey Blitz | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | April 29, 2014 (2014-04-29) | 0.847 |
| 2 | 2 | "Bird Bones" | Jamie Babbit | Anthony King | April 29, 2014 (2014-04-29) | 0.766 |
| 3 | 3 | "Unfinished Business" | Fred Savage | Joe Wengert | May 6, 2014 (2014-05-06) | 0.783 |
| 4 | 4 | "Totes Kewl" | Tristram Shapeero | Anthony King | May 13, 2014 (2014-05-13) | 0.864 |
| 5 | 5 | "Drumline" | Fred Savage | Judah Miller | May 20, 2014 (2014-05-20) | 0.802 |
| 6 | 6 | "Bosephus and the Catfish" | Tim Kirkby | John Lutz | May 27, 2014 (2014-05-27) | 0.859 |
| 7 | 7 | "Spaghetti and Meatballs" | Tim Kirkby | Judah Miller | June 3, 2014 (2014-06-03) | 0.983 |
| 8 | 8 | "37 Weeks" | Michael Trim | Vera Santamaria | June 10, 2014 (2014-06-10) | 1.094 |
| 9 | 9 | "Let's Have a Baby" | Jeffrey Blitz | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | June 17, 2014 (2014-06-17) | 0.846 |
| 10 | 10 | "Bugs in Your Eyes" | Tim Kirkby | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | June 17, 2014 (2014-06-17) | 0.648 |

### Season 2 (2015)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 11 | 1 | "Hello, Old Friend" | Stuart McDonald | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | August 4, 2015 (2015-08-04) | 0.413 |
| 12 | 2 | "Sleepless in Pinebrook" | Stuart McDonald | Anthony King | August 4, 2015 (2015-08-04) | 0.321 |
| 13 | 3 | "Cashmere Burka" | Stuart McDonald | Gavin Steckler | August 11, 2015 (2015-08-11) | 0.367 |
| 14 | 4 | "Knotty Pine" | Stuart McDonald | Vera Santamaria | August 18, 2015 (2015-08-18) | 0.440 |
| 15 | 5 | "Employee of the Month" | Stuart McDonald | Anthony King | August 25, 2015 (2015-08-25) | 0.439 |
| 16 | 6 | "Kimmewah Kup" | Stuart McDonald | Christine Nangle | September 1, 2015 (2015-09-01) | 0.484 |
| 17 | 7 | "Officer of the Year" | Stuart McDonald | Vera Santamaria | September 8, 2015 (2015-09-08) | 0.486 |
| 18 | 8 | "Celebrate Me Scones" | Stuart McDonald | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | September 8, 2015 (2015-09-08) | 0.368 |

### Season 3 (2017)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 19 | 1 | "Cookie Jar" | Jessica St. Clair | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23) | 0.381 |
| 20 | 2 | "None of Your Business" | Chris Addison | Vera Santamaria | June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23) | 0.287 |
| 21 | 3 | "Gwen or Lose" | Lennon Parham | Shaun Diston & Andrew Barbot | June 30, 2017 (2017-06-30) | 0.360 |
| 22 | 4 | "Paging Doctor Yes Please" | Chris Addison | Anthony King | June 30, 2017 (2017-06-30) | 0.269 |
| 23 | 5 | "You Wanna Roll With This?" | Jeffrey Blitz | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07) | 0.395 |
| 24 | 6 | "Ride the Dragon" | Ian Roberts | Vera Santamaria | July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07) | 0.294 |
| 25 | 7 | "Game of Tweens" | Bob Roe | Anthony King | July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) | 0.353 |
| 26 | 8 | "Reverse the Curse" | Bob Roe | Lennon Parham & Jessica St. Clair | July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) | 0.245 |

## Production and development

Playing House first appeared on the USA Network development slate in February 2013, under the name Untitled Lennon Parham/Jessica St. Clair Project. The series was created by Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair who also star in the series and executive produce alongside Scot Armstrong and Ravi Nandan, and the production companies Universal Cable Productions and American Work.
Casting announcements began in February 2013, with Parham, St. Clair and Zach Woods announced as starring in the series when USA Network ordered the presentation. Parham and St. Clair signed on to play the lead roles of Maggie, an expectant mother who turns to her career-driven best friend Emma. Keegan-Michael Key and Brad Morris then signed on to the series, with Key playing the role of Mark, a cop who holds resentment towards Emma because she turned down his proposal and left town twelve years earlier, and Morris playing the role of Bruce, Maggie's husband, who cheats on her.
On May 16, 2013, Playing House was ordered to series, making it the second original half-hour comedy series for the USA Network after Sirens.
On December 8, 2014, USA Network renewed Playing House for an eight-episode second season. Through a new model, each of the episodes will be released on video-on-demand platforms before airing a week later on USA. On January 14, 2016, Playing House was renewed for a third season.

## Reception

The first season of Playing House scored 65 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 13 "generally favorable" reviews. On another review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 72% rating with an average rating of 7.1 out of 10, based on 18 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham are a comedy duo worth watching, and their chemistry helps to make Playing House reasonably enjoyable and perceptive."
The second season was met with even more positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an average of 100% with an average of 7 out of 10, based on 6 reviews.

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Outcome |
| 2015 | GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character) | Let's Have a Baby | Nominated |
| 2016 | Critics' Choice Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Keegan-Michael Key | Nominated |