Help Me Help You (TV series)

Help Me Help You is an American sitcom television series created by Jennifer Konner and Alexandra Rushfield that aired on ABC from September 26 to December 12, 2006. It was a comedy about a collection of eccentric individuals in group psychotherapy with a respected therapist, who may quite possibly have more problems than his patients. The series was pulled from the schedule on December 14, 2006,[1] and ABC canceled the series after one season on May 15, 2007.[2]

Help Me Help You
GenreSitcom
Created by
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (4 unaired)
Production
Executive producers
  • Alex Reid
  • Jennifer Konner
  • Alexandra Rushfield
Producers
  • Victor Hsu
  • Jimmy Simons
Camera setupSingle-camera
Production companies
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 26 (2006-09-26) –
December 12, 2006 (2006-12-12)

Cast

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Main

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  • Ted Danson as Dr. Bill Hoffman, a brilliant therapist with a huge ego and a failed marriage.
  • Jere Burns as Michael, a high-powered executive with anger issues, in court-ordered therapy.
  • Darlene Hunt as Darlene, a woman with constant need of approval, secretly in an affair with Michael but obsessed with Dr. Hoffman.
  • Charlie Finn as Dave, a man who tried to kill himself in his office because no one likes him.
  • Suzy Nakamura as Inger, a deeply lonely woman with a complete lack of social skills.
  • Jim Rash as Jonathan, a married gay man in denial.
  • Jane Kaczmarek as Anne Hoffman, Bill's estranged wife. (6 episodes)

Recurring

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  • Jane Lynch as Raquel Janes, a therapist, part of Dr. Hoffman's "therapy for therapists" group.
  • Philip Rosenthal as Phil, a therapist, part of Dr. Hoffman's "therapy for therapists" group.
  • Judd Apatow as Judd, a therapist, part of Dr. Hoffman's "therapy for therapists" group.
  • Larry Wilmore as Larry, a therapist, part of Dr. Hoffman's "therapy for therapists" group.
  • Lindsay Sloane as Sasha, Bill's daughter with deep-rooted daddy issues.
  • Brenda Strong as Linda, Dr. Hoffman's new neighbor and romantic interest.
  • Thomas F. Wilson as Kenny, a car salesman and Anne's new boyfriend.
  • Meredith Roberts as Francesca, the girl at work Dave is in love with.
  • Kathleen Rose Perkins as Jocelyn, Jonathan's Wife.
  • Bruce Altman as Ira, Sasha's much, bada boyfriend and a huge fan of Dr. Bill Hoffman's.
  • Mykel Shannon Jenkins as Shannon, a coffee barista Jonathan seems to find attractive.
  • Tim Meadows as Petey, a colleague of Dr. Hoffman's who he shares a practice with.
  • Toby Huss as Lenny, a patient of Petey's.
  • Michael Cotter as Glen, a young man Inger meets on JDate and whom she becomes obsessed over.

Notable guests

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  • Kevin Hart as Kevin, a boxer who has trouble finding the anger to fight (episode "Raging Bill").
  • Seth Rogen as Seth (episode "Working Women").

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Pilot"Brian DannellyJennifer Konner & Alexandra RushfieldSeptember 26, 2006 (2006-09-26)
2"The Mattress"Peter LauerAlex ReidOctober 3, 2006 (2006-10-03)
3"Fun Run"Peter LauerRodney RothmanOctober 10, 2006 (2006-10-10)
4"Pink Freud"Jason EnslerRon WeinerOctober 17, 2006 (2006-10-17)
5"Sasha's Birthday BBQ"Linwood BoomerJennifer Konner & Alexandra RushfieldOctober 24, 2006 (2006-10-24)
6"Inger Management"Peter LauerDaley HaggarOctober 31, 2006 (2006-10-31)
7"Raging Bill"Bryan GordonChester TamNovember 28, 2006 (2006-11-28)
8"Perverse Psychology"Victor Nelli, Jr.Joel MadisonDecember 5, 2006 (2006-12-05)
9"Perseverance"David SteinbergCraig DiGregorioDecember 12, 2006 (2006-12-12)
10"The Sheriff"Matthew DiamondRodney RothmanUnaired
11"Working Women"Linwood BoomerRon WeinerUnaired
12"Boxer"Linwood BoomerLinda WallemUnaired
13"Moving On"Linda MendozaJennifer Konner & Alexandra RushfieldUnaired

Production

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Ted Danson signed on to star in the pilot for Help Me Help You in late February 2006.[3] ABC greenlit it to series on May 10, 2006, for the 2006–07 television season.[4] After its premiere, ABC ordered extra scripts of the series in late October 2006,[5] but it was pulled from the schedule on December 14, 2006,[1] and additional episodes were never produced. The series was cancelled by ABC on May 15, 2007.[2]

Broadcast

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The series was first broadcast on ABC on September 26, 2006, at 9:30pm Tuesdays in the United States. It aired on Global in Canada.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b Trevor Kimball (December 14, 2006). "Help Me Help You: ABC Says Goodbye to Group Therapy". TV Series Finale. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  2. ^ a b "The Futon's Upfront Notes: ABC". The Futon Critic. May 15, 2007. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  3. ^ Michael Schneider (February 28, 2006). "'Help' is on the way". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  4. ^ Michael Schneider; Josef Adalian (May 10, 2006). "ABC shines greenlight on six-pack". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  5. ^ Josef Adalian (October 26, 2006). "Nets order 2nd helping". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  • Brian Lowry (September 24, 2006). "Help Me Help You". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-23. – Variety review of series
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