Did anyone actually watch Hot in Cleveland? It is horribly unfunny

Thx, bitch

They had some great ones just like any other sitcom.

The "Cleveland Indians" one & the live show with Alex Trebeck both made me laugh many times over.

I love anything Wendie Malick does, although she was much better used in [italic]Just Shoot Me[/italic] as Nina Van Horn.

"Elka's Wedding" in the first half of the series where

Max returns made me laugh plenty of times OP.

I tried watching it once, OP, & that was it for me.

[Quote]Sophia was quick in portraying an oldster.

Well Estelle Getty wasn't actually old she was just playing one on TV. Apples and Oranges.

The Mary Tyler Moore reunion show they did on the last half of the series was a blast as well.

They gave Mary & Rhoda some on screen time by themselves with none of the 4 HIC actresses around (nor was Georgia or "Phyllis" there).

That may have been the episode I saw R7. Not only did I not find it funny, but it was depressing to realize that, in reality, Mary was blind by then..

Blind people need to be seen too R8.

It’d be one thing Rose if they were upfront about Mary’s condition, but, instead, they tried to cover it up.

R10 Were you expecting some type of disclaimer before the show aired?

MARY TYLER MOORE IS HAVING VISION TROUBLE NOW.

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

No, R11, but it just made the scene awkward.

Tried to watch it, it was very unfunny

I felt obligated to watch it from time to time, but I never found it to be funny.

[quote]The only good thing about this horribly unfunny series is at least it gave some coin to all these washed up, gross actors/actresses from the past. Like Carl Reiner or Mary Tyler Moore.

At least, with this final sentence, OP let us know right at the beginning that his opinions are worthless.

I went in knowing it wasn't going to be that great. I enjoyed it for what it was. It was a simple, funny show. I enjoyed it.

It ain't no 2 Broke Girls.

It was funny in an ol' school sitcom kind of way. Wendy Malik as self obsessed Victoria was hilarious. As were Elka's putdowns aimed at Joy's man hands.

Interesting cast, but I could never get past the incredibly implausible (fucking dumb and contrived, actually) premise. All of these actresses have done much better work elsewhere.

It would have been better had Sondheim written it.

There are a few fun episodes like the Lady Diaper one. All in all, it is a cute show. If you can enjoy it for what it is, and not treat it as the Golden Girls, you will like it a lot more.

" Cleveland Indians" is much funnier if one understands " The Importance of Being Earnest." Much gay content in the series

Closeted heterosexual

Wendy Malick

HiC was total comfort food and very funny, made even more so with the addition of Georgia Engel's Mamie.

People who don't enjoy it probably kick puppies in their spare time.

It was harmless, not hilarious, but light entertainment. Wendy Malik made it. Elka's jokes about Joy were funny sometimes.

The later seasons, after season 4 got considerably better.

To me the best Betty White episodes were after they brought Georgia Engel on as her sidekick, once again.

Slightly off-topic, but Betty will turn 100 next month.

My coworker used to watch this & loved it, but she was a fundie who had to ask hubby’s permission to watch shows. Desperate Housewives was another, & hubby fell in love with that one, but she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone he watched it.

[quote]There are a few fun episodes like the Lady Diaper one. All in all, it is a cute show. If you can enjoy it for what it is, and not treat it as the Golden Girls, you will like it a lot more.

It's not a diaper!

It's an absorbent pant!

[quote] but she was a fundie who had to ask hubby’s permission to watch shows.

Who are these people? All my life I’ve been surrounded by people who would be considered conservative Christians but they don’t act like the Taliban with crosses. To me they seem to usually be what we would consider middle class. Basically this hyperfudlementalism is just their version of every other middle class obsession like trans, CRT, both for and against, raising chickens, Climate Change, etc… when someone middle class commits to an issue or position they take it too far.

The women of Cleveland couldn't have been too happy about the premise.

now i want to watch this again

Wasn't Rachel Sweet the show runner?

R33 she also had to ask permission to go to lunch, or spend her “allowance” from him at Costco. She also had to ask permission to have Facebook, since everyone knows it’s a hookup site. For kicks, she rented a movie about a woman who is (literally) stoned to death, but complained because the stoning wasn’t “Biblically accurate.” I’ve known tons of fundamentalists (not by choice) but this one took the cake (but only if hubby gave her permission to eat a slice).

And I forgot to add: she barbecued her daughter’s Cabbage Patch doll because her pastor said the toys were mocking the Virgin birth. One of my coworkers wanted to go to the Union & file a complaint about that one, like she was evangelizing on the job or some such.

Forgettable but pleasant show. Some of the humour could make you cringe. Betty White was at best extraneous to the show or at worst a detriment.

R31 and you thought you'd share that because? Religious fucktards deserve whatever hell they get for their inherent stupidity.

Engel's religion forbade her from seeing docs. Sad.

It's fascinating when not unintellegent people have gaping blind spots.

Usually resulting from religion.

At 70 she must have been the world’s youngest Christian Scientist at the time.

I definitely agree with the poster above that if you just take it for what it is - and not buy into the hype as the next Golden Girls (for shame!) it’s a pretty fun, harmless (and occasionally funNY) show.

I definitely noticed Betty struggling a bit - even if she was still funny for the most part. But of course no one reviewing or on social media was going to cop to that.

And Valerie never looked better. She was actually my favorite of the 3 (but I’m really not a fan of Malick or Jane Leeves, so...)

I rather disliked Jane Leeves' character on "Fraser" but liked her on this show.

R3 I loved Just Shoot Me. The whole ensemble of Laura San Giacomo, David Spade, Wendie Malick, Enrico Colantoni and George Segal just worked.

One of the broadcasts they did live. Featuring Alex Trebek who arrives as fugitives hold the women hostage.

I used to watch it sporadically when it was first run, but I missed most of the episodes. I wouldn't mind going back and bingeing it, but it looks l ike it's only available on Paramount+, which is one of the few subscriptions I don't have. I guess I could set my DVR to record it in syndication.

The comparisons to the Golden Girls were absolutely zero. Wendy Malick was supposed to be Dorothy? NOT in a million fucking years. Melanie was supposed to be Rose. She was optimistic but not a total moron. And Joy as Blanche I guess because she has an accent and is slutty. I don't see any resemblance to Golden Girls.

[quote] I don't see any resemblance to Golden Girls.

The resemblance is more the overall premise. Three middle age women, unlucky in love, move in together with an elderly woman, hijinks follow.

R50 That can apply to every show on air. In terms of personalities there is absolutely no resemblance.

There were some decent eps here and there but it was not a classic.

Wendie Malick and Betty were really the only ones worth the price of admission.

Also, when Betty joined on a more regular basis the company producing the show basically just cranked them out for like 3 years (basically to get them made while Betty was still with it) and that shows.

R51 Except, shows focusing on middle aged and older women is not very common. This and GG are about the only two American "hit" shows I can think of, which makes people compare them. They get compared even more because BW was in both.

[quote]it was depressing to realize that, in reality, Mary was blind by then..

The only problem was that it was obvious she was blind and they were trying to hide it, and it didn't work, especially when they were all at the table together. She looked good and I wish they had mentioned it and went on with the show, because it didn't matter. Hiding it made it seemed like it DID matter.

This recurring bit was funny.

From what I understand MTM never went fully blind, but was legally blind by the time of the HIC reunion episode. I could see MTM not wanting to acknowledge that, because it would be sad and not entertaining. It reminds me of when Sarah Cannon aka Minnie Pearl developed breast cancer, she was always sure to say Sarah Cannon had breast cancer but Minnie Pearl did not because she didn't want her medical issues to distract from the character and the joy she brought people. As MTM didn't have a separate character but her characters were just thought of as an extension of her, I could see her not wanting it mentioned on the show, so as to give the fans a more fun nostalgic experience.

Reunion

^^ And all those ladies in that clip are now gone, except for Betty. ^^

You'll LOL several times during this one =

I thought it was funny and I was sad they canceled it. But I have to admit,and I know its sacrilege,but Elka was my least favorite character. I really think the others could have carried the show without Betty.

Agreed. Everyone seemed to agree the show had to end when Betty White was too old to continue but she actually dragged the show down.

R60 R61 I love BW but agree with both of you & wish

they'd reboot the show without her at some future point.

R58 Georgia Engel was the one that surprised me, I thought for sure she would be the last of the main MTM cast to be alive. Also, while I found her annoying when younger, I liked her much better when she got older. She was now less annoying and more endearing. She should've won an Emmy for her work on Everybody Loves Raymond.

I never understood the hype about this show.

R58 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I hope Betty makes it to 100. My friend's dad would have turned 100 this August but died last January after falling which led to heart failure.

[quote]I never understood the hype about this show.

There was hype about this show?

R66 the heart failure is probably what caused the fall, actually.

Sorry to hear, nevertheless.

Sorry, OP, The consensus here seems to indicate that the show was funny. Nice try.

R68 Fuck you. He was fine. Had the fall. Then died from heart or organ failure a couple months later. He would have died from heart failure eventually but the fall hastened it. Stupid fuck.

R69 yes I'm sure a bunch of old ancient washed up queens are the demographic all shows want. NOT.

R70 how was that hostile? Like all of us, I have older relatives and that’s usually the case.

R72 So you think that applies to every fucking oldster on the planet based on that! You sir are a royal turd.

It was a pleasant little chuckle of a show.

It was not as consistent as other shows, or as profound.

Having said THAT, it was also better than a long list of shit that has passed for comedy in the last 20 years on network TV - unfunny shit like Rules of Engagement, 2 Broke Girls and the like.

R74 The worst thing about Rules of Engagement is that the cast is very talented. A show with those people should be better. Instead it just felt like a filler show that CBS was like, "it's good enough, I guess."

2 Broke Girls wasn't great but it is at least somewhat memorable. If you watched a random scene of it you would probably, at least, remember the name or premise of the show. I doubt anyone feels that way about Rules...

[quote]yes I'm sure a bunch of old ancient washed up queens are the demographic all shows want.

It seemed to work for "The Golden Girls," as DL proves day in and day out.

"Hot In Cleveland," which starred White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick, was the network's first original sitcom, and became a major hit when it debuted in 2010.It also helped raise TV Land's profile as a network. - NY Daily News.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The first season of TV Land's critically-acclaimed "Hot in Cleveland" ended on a high note. The series finale, which stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White, averaged over 4 million viewers according to the Nielsen Company. The "Hot in Cleveland" finale delivered a Live +3 rating of 2.1 in Adults 25-54 and 2.8 in Women 25-54 which is more than a +20% increase over the previous week's episode.

Throughout the 10-episode run, "Hot in Cleveland" averaged a 1.5 among Adults 18-49, 2.0 among Adults 25-54 and 2.5 among Women 25-54 and delivered 4.2 million total viewers according to Nielsen's Most Current Ratings. To date, the series has reached 33 million people. Presently, it is the #1 cable sitcom of the year. In its first season, "Hot in Cleveland" out-delivered shows like "Mad Men," "Real Housewives of New Jersey," "Top Chef," "Bethenny Getting Married," "Project Runway," "Army Wives," "Nip/Tuck," "Men of a Certain Age," "Ice Road Truckers" among many others in total viewers. Produced by Hazy Mills Productions, the show will begin production of a second season in November 2010 with 20 new episodes scheduled to air beginning in January 2011.

Only old queens?

Would someone please push R70 R73 down the stairs and out of his misery?

I did like Malick's rivalry with "Susan Lucci". Now I want to see if I can find Just Shoot Me anywhere. It has been out of the syndication schedule of recent or current shows for a few years and is not old enough to make it the "oldie" channels.

The “Cleveland Indians” episode was hilarious. Wendie Malick was my favorite on the show.

[quote]I rather disliked Jane Leeves' character on "Fraser" but liked her on this show.

Are you kidding me?

She looked like a whore with Man Hands.

The show certainly had some highpoints that make it still worth watching. It didn't have an ambitious premise at all, and stories hardly ever reached beyond average.

But what it had going for it were the four very dedicated comedic actresses. For the entire cast you noticed they just had fun playing. Loved cute Melanie/Valerie always trying to be the good girl and regularly making things worse. Wendie Malick (already in Just Short Me) has so much fun playing physical comedy. In all her shows she was the belle/beauty, and was never afraid to make a total ass out of herself. Just for that her shows remain watchable. And Betty White was just let run wild. They just let her do her thing because at that point she was pretty much un-directable. (Who would dare telling her that her acting is off?)

Even the guest stars (so many former comedy legends) seem to just come over to act out on camera again. Basically, the entire show was a sitcom reunion show. Just for that I am probably going back to binge at some point.

Valerie said on her cooking show that this was the favorite acting experience of her career.

Hot Diarrhea

I like the porn parody, "Twat in Cleveland."

Guest star bloopers.

OP, people must have watched.

Bloopers

Joan.

R78 Fuck you. Someone needs to suffocate you in their ancient washed up ole cunt.

[quote]washed up, gross actors/actresses from the past. Like Carl Reiner or Mary Tyler Moore.

OP, maybe the "Fuller House" reboot is more your pace.

R57 That scene was depressing - to see Mary Tyler Moore like that - well, all of them actually

Exactly, most of the repulsive relics from the 60s and 70s were propped up like puppets and having a blind MTM slum it like that! Sad.

Craig Ferguson/Tim Daly blooper is my favorite.

[quote]That scene was depressing - to see Mary Tyler Moore like that - well, all of them actually.

The others looked fine. It's unfortunate that you find real life, and the fact that people age, so disturbing.

^ I was thinking that, too. Those were people at an advanced age. Obviously they don't model for Victoria's Secret. That episode was a reunion, just like a family reunion. Some family members are old and frail, but you're glad you see them one last time.

I thought it was ok. Its one of those shows you half watch while washing up from dinner or folding laundry or shopping online.

Agree with the posters above that “Hot in Cleveland” is the TV equivalent of comfort food. Nothing ground-breaking, but I don’t think it aspired to be anything other than what it was. Plus, they’d have some good-looking guys on sometimes. Jay Harrington had a run as Valerie Bertinelli’s boyfriend, and DW Moffet appeared as a guy with moobs.

And another vote for Wendie Malick as MVP!

Tim Daly and Craig Ferguson? Wow, how do I make that threeway happen?

[quote] DW Moffet appeared as a guy with moobs.

I LOL'd when the kid in the hostage situation replied to something that DW's character said with "It's alright, ma'am."

[quote]Tim Daly and Craig Ferguson? Wow, how do I make that threeway happen?

Speaking of a sitcom that is just some nice comfort food, I have been watching Wings on Hulu. Daly was pretty green at the beginning, but always looked good. I am in the Alex years right now - I can see why she was only around a couple of seasons. Not horrible, but not sure the character is a good fit.

It had its moments of hilarity, but it was the exception and not the rule.

I'd sooner watch HIC than either Raymond or the second W&G

[quote]It had its moments of hilarity, but it was the exception and not the rule.

A lot of sitcoms have no moments of hilarity.

One of the worst fucking shows out there is The Goldbergs. There is no show where I want to stab every character and the creator of the show 50 trillion times at least. The way they move their fucking mouths and show their teeth in every shot is fucking revolting.

[quote]The way they move their fucking mouths and show their teeth in every shot is fucking revolting.

You make "The Goldbergs" sound like "Clutch Cargo."

WTF is Clutch Cargo, cunt.

r108 = ignorant slut

[quote] "Clutch Cargo."

What is that?

What's an "ignorant slut"?

For those curious about "Clutch Cargo," there's a wonderful new invention called the Internet.

the reunion with Mary and Rhoda and everyone was great in one sense that we saw them all one last time but also sad as they were all so old.

No, I never thought, despite the cast, that Hot in Cleveland was that funny; premise never made sense.

[quote]No, I never thought, despite the cast, that Hot in Cleveland was that funny; premise never made sense.

Sitcom premises should always be plausible.

well for example, Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern moving to big cities like Minneapolis to live their lives made more sense than three women opting to relocate to Cleveland with just the clothes on their backs.

As others have said, Hot in Cleveland is totally "comfort food." It was conceived as a nostalgia piece by having the feel of 80s/90s sitcom. I know it has been compared to the Golden Girls but it's not in the same league IMO. It has it moments, but Hot was never consistently well-written and I think a lot of the laughs are purely down to Wendie Malick being hysterical. I love Betty White but towards the end of the show's run it was beyond obvious she was struggling. If you watch the later episodes, Betty is always sitting you never see her walk. It's been rumored that the main reason the show ended when it did was basically because they were concerned about Betty's health and that if they did another season she would feel obligated to do it and they were no longer comfortable having her on set over fears she'd have a fall or something.

R116 If you see Jennifer Aniston's dad John on Days of our Lives, now, he is always sitting as well. Surprisingly Bill Hayes, who is older, still walks and stands in some of his scenes.

Since, we have been discussing older stars making one last appearance. I'll post this here instead of starting a new thread. I'm watching the 1970's Honeymooners specials, and Jackie Gleason over did it tanning in Florida he looked like he was doing them in blackface.

At least Gleason's 1970s "Honeymooners" specials brought back Audrey Meadows as Alice, rather than using Sheila MacRae from the 1960s shows.

But, we're not discussing Jackie Gleason. Stop hijacking.

R120 Shut up. Hot in Cleveland did show some truly revolting final appearances of ancient actors. Relating a story about that is on topic. Dragging out MTM's blind corpse was not tasteful. I hope they paid her a lot of money.

How does someone not know about Clutch Cargo?

Perhaps for the same reason no one wants to go near your 80 year old beaten and battered pussy.

[quote] I'll post this here instead of starting a new thread.

Pretty blatant attempt at hijacking.

R124 it was acknowledging that it wasn't something that warrants a new thread but is connected enough to what has been discussed in this one that it could be posted here.

We aren't all Aspies, conversations grow and evolve.

[quote]If you see Jennifer Aniston's dad John on Days of our Lives, now, he is always sitting as well.

But Jennifer's dad lack of mobility is probably more related to the kidney he had to sell to pay for her bad plastic surgery and the subsequent unsuccessful attempts to repair it....

I always enjoyed the episodes featuring man-candy like

Jay Harrington and Cameron Mathison

(especially when teased us with his low-riders and his lacy thongs)

Cheno.

Carl Reiner

The best ones are the episodes about the horrid tradition of them setting each other up for blind dates. At some point I wondered if these women even like each other if they pick such horrible men for each other.

R130 I forgot about those!

Dates

Betty White is trending on twitter right now because she is almost 100. She better damn well make it.

That's like being mad at a lollipop for not having any nutritional value, OP. Lighten up. It's an empty, sweet confection.

Season 5 ep. 1 the Live show was hysterical.

Funeral episode where Valerie Bertineli's character gets roped into hosting the service of a guy she hardly knew. Wendi Malick was great in that episode.

R134 Kiss my cunt, asswipe. What a stupid thing to say. No one ever gets "angry" on here. Fuckhead.

[quote]Kiss my cunt, asswipe. What a stupid thing to say. No one ever gets "angry" on here. Fuckhead.

Said the very angry poster.

You lost me at “Cleveland.”

Anger is an emotion, fucktard. The only emotion generated by the almost 100% troll postings of DL is disgust.

That doesn't mean you're not an angry person, fucktard, as revealed by your choice of language.

R140 You're sad and clearly have no fucking clue.

Your rants are boring, R141, but blocking you will take care of that.

I watched a few seasons. It's a cute, dumb sitcom, appropriate for TV Land as a bit of nostalgia for the actresses involved in it, all of whom except Betty White are unheralded for their comic talents.

Love the episode in a later season where we find out Elka has written a play about the others.

Because of this thread I am re-watching some episodes on YT. It's actually funnier than I remembered. Wendie Malik is a comedy goddess. It's astonishing how many (former) comedians they were able to get. And you can see how much fun they have on acting it all out. The audience must have had a blast experiencing all that live.

Yes R144 that was a show highlight for me as well.

This thread made me wish that we saw more of MVP Wendie Malick, but a check on IMDB indicates that she actually works a lot. Many guest-star shots (just not on shows I’ve seen!)

I did find Just Shoot Me on Hulu. I might need to watch it. It has been a while since I have seen any episodes.

I found it entertaining. Nothing unforgettable but if its on I usually watch a few epis. And it did well enough in the ratings as far as I remember.

It was okay. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, but I’ve tuned in when nothing else was on.

Mrs. Lady Pants.

More Lady Pants

Some really funny moments, and 5:35 is HILARIOUS!

Betty White's dead but I still wouldn't watch HiC.

R154. Not to speak Ill of the dead, but she was the weakest element of the show.

I did watch it. It wasn't "must-see TV," but it was "cute" TV, in the same way I thought 30 Rock was, even if 30 Rock was subjectively funnier and cleverer.

It was basically a no-stakes showcase for four likable sitcom actresses. There's nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Some of my favorite TV series are The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The OA, but also I Love Lucy and other trifles that get your mind off your worries.

[quote]Betty White's dead but I still wouldn't watch HiC.

Thank you for sharing.

I find it’s funny in small doses but the episodes are too short to have any real character development. Unlike Golden Girls or even Frasier, it’s as if the characters are caricatures who just recite funny lines versus having a real personality. Very one dimensional.

Still, I love that it’s an actual sitcom in the classical sense because not too many are being made today.

Guilty. It was the kind of show that I put on while doing housework.

Sorry, but the " Cleveland Indians" episode ( a take-off of " The Importance of Being Earnest") is much funnier and more clever than anything ever on the dreadful " Seinfeld," or " Friends."

Wendie Malick is a favorite of mine and I am very forgiving of projects that she a part of.

I also enjoy the Georgia Engel episodes.

I saw a few clips and didn't laugh.

Don’t like Georgia Engel at all as she comes off as having an intellectual disability, but I loved Wendie Malick. The goiter episode is iconic!

Entirely understandable, R162, for someone who giggled during "Sophie's Choice," as you did.

What are you talking about, r164?