The Jim Gaffigan Show

• Jim Gaffigan as a fictionalized version of himself • Ashley Williams as Jeannie Gaffigan, Jim's wife • Michael Ian Black as Daniel Benjamin, Jeannie's confidante • Adam Goldberg as Dave Marks, Jim's best friend, who is a struggling comedian • Tongayi Chirisa as Father Nicholas, the rector at Jim and Jeannie's church • Vanessa Aspillaga as Blanca, the nanny of Jim and Jeannie's kids • Caitlin Moeller as Elizabeth Gaffigan Comedians Dave Attell, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Will Ferrell, Esther Ku, John Mulaney, Jim Norton, and Chris Rock; political personality Joe Scarborough; TV personality Jimmy Fallon; and actors Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, Steve Buscemi, and Nathan Lane make guest appearances as fictionalized versions of themselves. Macaulay Culkin makes multiple cameo appearances as himself holding different low-income jobs and appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. ==Production==

Development cowrote, executive produced, and starred in the semi-autobiographical series. NBC first showed interest in the show, but eventually passed. CBS previously tried twice to develop Jim Gaffigan's semi-autobiographical series. While still in talks with NBC, Jeannie would have played herself in the show, however CBS decided to cast someone—a decision she agreed with—and she joined in casting the role. The network ordered a pilot episode in January 2013, at which time Mira Sorvino was attached to play Gaffigan's wife, with Christian Barillas and Tongayi Chirisa in supporting roles. CBS passed on the series in May 2013 and instead planned to redevelop it for the 2014-15 television season. The series was recast with new cast members Williams, Goldberg and Black. CBS passed on the series in May 2014, and Sony Pictures Television began shopping it to other networks. It was announced in July 2014 that TV Land had ordered the series and, unlike previous networks, granted the Gaffigans full creative control. Other regular topics of Jim Gaffigan's stand-up comedy are part of the series, particularly his love of food. Jeannie said the list of props for the show is "almost 90 percent food ... which I thought was pretty funny". Filming Production on the single-camera series began in 2015. Filming occurred at such New York City locations as Katz's Delicatessen and the Gotham Comedy Club. The set is an exact replica of their former apartment, set on a soundstage. ==Broadcast==

Comedy Central, a cable network owned by TV Land parent company Viacom, aired episodes of the series one week after they debuted. The show debuted on the network on December 1, 2015. ==Reception==

Early critical reviews were largely positive, with mixed comparisons to the show Louie. Grading the show with an "A", Diane Werts with Newsday called the show "This summer's must-see comedy smash," adding, "I can't remember laughing out loud so consistently at a situation comedy maybe, um, ever." In an overall favorable review, The New York Times called the show "quite funny." TV critic Ken Tucker said the show "gets better with each episode." Some critics found the show too sterile. The Hollywood Reporter said "Gaffigan's good-naturedness is pleasant, if not particularly interesting." Entertainment Weekly, giving the show a "B−", said it was mostly "stray one-liners and stilted semi-riffs. Imagine a less nourishing Louie or Curb Your Enthusiasm." The Washington Post remarked that, while "Gaffigan has perfected his shtick...It works as a stage presence, but not so much as a TV character." ==Ending==

Despite an overall positive critical reception, Jim and Jeannie decided not to pursue a third season. In a statement released on Jim Gaffigan's Twitter, he announced that "the time commitment to make the quality of show we wanted was taking us away from our most important project, our five children." ==Episodes==

Series overview Season 1 (2015) Season 2 (2016) ==References==