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Rita Rocks

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Rita Rocks
Created byJames Berg
Stan Zimmerman
StarringNicole Sullivan
Richard Ruccolo
Tisha Campbell-Martin
Ian Gomez
Natalie Dreyfuss
Kelly Gould
Raviv Ullman
ComposerMatter Music
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJames Berg
Stan Zimmerman
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesZimmerman-Berg
Lifetime Television
Media Rights Capital
Original release
NetworkLifetime
ReleaseOctober 20, 2008 (2008-10-20) –
December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

Rita Rocks is a Lifetime original sitcom that ran from October 20, 2008 to December 7, 2009. It was the network's first original comedy in over a decade. The series debuted alongside re-runs of Reba as part of a new comedy hour for Tuesday nights, which later changed to Monday nights. The show stars Nicole Sullivan as Rita, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Richard Ruccolo, Raviv Ullman, and Kelly Gould.

On 11 January 2010, Lifetime cancelled the series after two seasons due to low ratings.[1]

Plot

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A hard-working mom and wife splits her time between a job she doesn't particularly like, running the kids around and managing the household. She believes that if she can just get a few hours a week to herself, she can figure a few things out. After finding her old guitar in the garage and the prompting of a new friend, they start up a weekly jam session and are joined by a neighbor, the mail-woman and her daughter's boyfriend for nightly rehearsals. The plot is set in the Metropolitan Detroit area, most likely the Southfield area as Shannon attends Southfield Elementary School, which is shown throughout season 1.

In a February 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Sullivan agreed the main character is going through a midlife crisis, but she does not like using the term "midlife".[2]

Characters

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Main

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  • Rita Clemens (Nicole Sullivan): a working mom with a busy life. She is the leader of a garage band and also the assistant manager of Bed Bath & Max. She was formerly training assistant before her boss learned of her pregnancy.
  • Jay Clemens (Richard Ruccolo): Rita’s husband who tries his best to support her band. He sometimes takes care of the household, getting himself into funny situations in the process.
  • Patty Mannix (Tisha Campbell-Martin): a postal worker and Rita's best friend who convinces her to take down her guitar and start the band.
  • Hallie Clemens (Natalie Dreyfuss): Rita's absent minded and rebellious teenage daughter.
  • Shannon Clemens (Kelly Gould): Rita's nine-year-old daughter. She goes to a school for gifted children and is interested in space camp and astronauts.
  • Kip (Raviv Ullman): Full name is Skip; Hallie's goofy and likable boyfriend/ex-boyfriend is the drummer in Rita's band. His parents are separated and he spends all of his time at the Clemens' household.
  • Max: Rita & Jay's new baby. Rita gave birth to him in the Season 2 finale.
  • Owen Delgado Jr. (Ian Gomez): Rita's unemployed neighbor who joins her garage band. He has two kids with wife Audrey. (left in 2009 to join Cougar Town).

Recurring

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  • Audrey (Lauren Bowles): Owen's wife and mother of his two children who seems to love her job more than her own husband.
  • Chuck (Duane Martin): Rita's new neighbor, a former baseball player who is a huge annoyance to Rita and Jay. He and Patty (played by Duane Martin's wife Tisha Campbell-Martin) begin dating in late Season 2.
  • Marilyn (Swoosie Kurtz): Rita's mother, who visits and stays for four episodes before leaving at Rita's request to talk to her father.
  • Allison (Allie Gonino): Hallie's friend.
  • Rusty (Paul Vato): the owner of the bowling alley where Rita's band performs publicly for the first time.

Episodes

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Series overview

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
120October 20, 2008 (2008-10-20)February 23, 2009 (2009-02-23)
220October 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

Season 1: 2008–09

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Pilot"Andrew D. WeymanJames Berg & Stan ZimmermanOctober 20, 2008 (2008-10-20)
22"Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah-ah"Shelley JensenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezOctober 21, 2008 (2008-10-21)
33"You Gotta Have Friends"Shelley JensenJames Berg & Stan ZimmermanOctober 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)
44"Flirting With Disaster"Peter Marc JacobsonDenise MossOctober 23, 2008 (2008-10-23)
55"Nobody Does It Better"Katy GarretsonBob NickmanOctober 24, 2008 (2008-10-24)
66"Mother's Little Helper"Peter Marc JacobsonSylvia GreenOctober 28, 2008 (2008-10-28)
77"Take This Job and Shove It"Emile LevisettiNastaran Dibai & Jeffery HodesNovember 11, 2008 (2008-11-11)
88"The Crying Game"Andrew D. WeymanSylvia GreenNovember 18, 2008 (2008-11-18)
99"Under Pressure"Katy GarretsonDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezNovember 25, 2008 (2008-11-25)
1010"Got No Time"Shelley JensenDenise MossDecember 2, 2008 (2008-12-02)
1111"Love on the Rocks"Shelley JensenSylvia GreenDecember 9, 2008 (2008-12-09)
1212"I Write The Songs"Shelley JensenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezDecember 16, 2008 (2008-12-16)
1313"The Girl Is Mine"Shelley JensenBob NickmanJanuary 5, 2009 (2009-01-05)
1414"Old Friends"Shelley JensenDenise MossJanuary 12, 2009 (2009-01-12)
1515"It's My Party"Emile LevisettiBob NickmanJanuary 19, 2009 (2009-01-19)
1616"I Can't Make You Love Me"Jody Margolin HahnBill Fuller & Jim PondJanuary 26, 2009 (2009-01-26)
1717"Get Off of My Cloud"Shelley JensenTeleplay by : Mark Driscoll
Story by : Adam Waring
February 2, 2009 (2009-02-02)
1818"Killer Queen"Shelley JensenEllen Byron & Lissa KapstromFebruary 9, 2009 (2009-02-09)
1919"What's Love Got Do To With It?"Lynn McCrackenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezFebruary 16, 2009 (2009-02-16)
2020"We Can Work It Out"Gerry CohenJames Berg & Stan ZimmermanFebruary 23, 2009 (2009-02-23)

Season 2: 2009

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
211"A Change is Gonna Come"Shelley JensenDenise MossOctober 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)
222"Breaking Up is Hard to Do"Shelley JensenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezOctober 6, 2009 (2009-10-06)
233"Nothing's Gonna Change My World"Shelley JensenSylvia GreenOctober 7, 2009 (2009-10-07)
244"Welcome to the Working Week"Andy CadiffDenise MossOctober 8, 2009 (2009-10-08)
255"Stuck in the Middle with You"Andy CadiffBob NickmanOctober 9, 2009 (2009-10-09)
266"The Shape of Things To Come"Lynn McCrackenBob NickmanOctober 13, 2009 (2009-10-13)
277"Mr. Bassman"Andy CadiffSeth KurlandOctober 20, 2009 (2009-10-20)
288"Mommy's Alright, Daddy's Alright"Mark CendrowskiJennifer GlickmanOctober 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
299"Vogue"Lynn McCrackenDiane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezOctober 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
3010"Bad Company"Shelley JensenSylvia GreenNovember 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
3111"Why Can't We Be Friends?"Shelley JensenSeth KurlandNovember 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
3212"Mother and Child Reunion"Shelley JensenDenise MossNovember 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
3313"Anchors Aweigh"Leonard R. Garner Jr.Diane Burroughs & Joey GutierrezNovember 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
3414"Shower The People"Shelley JensenJennifer GlickmanNovember 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
3515"Is She Really Going Out With Him?"Shelley JensenMatt Quezada & Frank WolffNovember 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
3616"Sympathy For The Devil"Leonard R. Garner Jr.Bob NickmanNovember 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
3717"Jingle All The Way"Shelley JensenTeleplay by : Seth Kurland
Story by : Maxine Lapiduss & Seth Kurland
November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
3818"The Jealous Kind"Shelley JensenSylvia GreenNovember 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)
3919"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"Shelley JensenDenise MossNovember 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)
4020"Born In The USA"Shelley JensenBob NickmanDecember 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

Home media

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Rita Rocks: The Complete 1st Season was released on a 3-disc combo pack on April 27, 2010.[3]

International broadcasting

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References

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  1. ^ Lifetime Cancels "Rita Rocks" Archived 2010-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, Entertainment Weekly, 11 January 2010
  2. ^ "Anytime with Bob Kushell feat. Nicole Sullivan". Anytime with Bob Kushell. Season 1. Episode 12. 2009-02-27.
  3. ^ "Rita Rocks: Season 1". Amazon. 27 April 2010.
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