2 Broke Girls
| 2 Broke Girl$ | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "Second Chance" by Peter Bjorn and John (also transitions) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 24 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | 1080i 16:9 (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original run | September 19, 2011 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
2 Broke Girls (stylized as 2 BROKE GIRL$) is an American television sitcom that debuted on CBS during the 2011–12 television season. The series follows the misadventures of roommates Max and Caroline, both financially poor, and their efforts to start a cupcake business in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York. The first episode aired at 9:30 pm (E/P) after Two and a Half Men on September 19, 2011. Later episodes followed How I Met Your Mother on Monday nights at 8:30 pm (E/P).[1] The series was created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings for Warner Bros. Television. On October 5, 2011 CBS gave a full-season order to the freshman comedy.[2]
On March 14, 2012, CBS announced that 2 Broke Girls would return for a second season during the 2012–2013 television season.[3]
Series synopsis
Set in the Williamsburg neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the series chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their mid twenties—Max (Kat Dennings), who comes from a poor working-class family, and Caroline (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now disgraced and penniless due to her father, Martin Channing, getting caught operating a Bernard Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme—working together at a Brooklyn restaurant. The two become friends and build toward their dream of one day opening a cupcake shop. Among those working with them at the restaurant are their boss, Han Lee (Matthew Moy); Oleg (Jonathan Kite), an upbeat but perverted Ukrainian cook; and Earl (Garrett Morris), a 75-year-old African-American cashier. Also featured starting late in the first season is their neighbor and part time boss Sophie (Jennifer Coolidge), a Polish immigrant who runs the cleaning company Sophie's Choice. During most of the first season Max is also a part-time nanny for the twin babies of Peach Landis, who during the season adopts Caroline's horse Chestnut. At the start of each episode Max is shown serving a table and at the end of each episode, a tally shows how much they have made toward their goal of $250,000 needed to open their business.
Cast
Main cast
- Kat Dennings as Max Black
- Beth Behrs as Caroline Wesbox Channing
- Garrett Morris as Earl
- Jonathan Kite as Oleg
- Matthew Moy as Han Lee
Recurring cast
- Jennifer Coolidge as Sophie Kerchinsky
- Brooke Lyons as Peach Landis
- Nick Zano as Johnny
Special guest stars
- Martha Stewart as herself [4]
Development and production
Even before it went to series, the then-undeveloped pilot was the subject of a bidding war, with CBS landing the deal on December 10, 2010,[5] and ordering it to series on May 13, 2011.[6] It is one of two shows commissioned for the 2011–12 TV season in which Whitney Cummings is serving as producer and co-creator, the other being Whitney, which was picked up by NBC.[7]
Dennings was the first to be cast in role of Max on February 18, 2011.[8] A week later on February 25, 2011, Behrs won an audition to land the role of Caroline, beating out other established actresses.[9] Moy, Morris and Kite were the last three to be cast on March 16, 2011.[10]
Broadcast
Reception
The show has received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with pronounced criticism for its racially charged humor. It received a C from The Washington Post.[11] Hank Stuever found the series to be dull, and claimed it as ultimately "a lukewarm revamp of 'The Odd Couple'" with a few "cheap laughs." The series received a B+ from The Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert, who was impressed with the casting and production: "The actresses—especially the Gwen Stefani-esque Dennings—transcend their types, and the pop-savvy humor has spirit thanks to producer Michael Patrick King from Sex and the City. After the forced opening minutes, it’s the best multi-cam-com of the season."[12]
Alan Pergament, former critic for The Buffalo News, initially gave the show three stars out of four, but warned "This comedy—which has made many TV critics Top 10 lists—is a taste test really. If raunchy and stereotypes aren't your thing, you will run away from it."[13] By January 2012, Pergament had soured on the series, stating "I was never a fan of [the show] and now find it unwatchable."[14]
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said the show had potential but "squandered it away every week on cheap, predictable and unfunny jokes" and noted that many jokes were of a racist or sexual nature.[15]
Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker wrote that while the way the supporting characters are written is "so racist it is less offensive than baffling", she noted that the show has "so much potential", and compared it favorably to Cummings' other show Whitney.[16]
TV Club editor Todd VanDerWerff said that the show relies on “racial humor [that] consists entirely of having a stereotype show up, portraying it in the most obnoxious way possible, then having everybody make fun of it.”[17] Andrew Ti, writing for Grantland, singled out the portrayal of Han Lee as "a fairly regressive portrayal" of the stereotypical Asian male: "a tiny, greedy, sexless man-child with infantilized speech patterns."[18] When asked about the Asian stereotypes at a January 2012 press conference, Michael Patrick King said "I don’t find it offensive, any of this".[19][20] He added that "'2 Broke Girls' is based on extreme wit... the show is nothing but fun for the audience."[21]
The series received fairly positive reviews from Entertainment Weekly, praising Dennings and Behrs on their acting and chemistry.[22] The series drew a similarly positive response from Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times, who stated, "But meat-and-potatoes remain popular for a reason, and amid the parade of bunnies, angels, stewardesses and princesses tromping across the screen this season, a couple of smart, sassy waitresses from the opposite sides of the tracks are as welcome as a cup of hot coffee in a white diner cup."[23]
Elliot B. Gertel at Jewish World Review [24] posits that the show deliberately mishandles an episode dealing with "Orthodox" Jews in order to push an anti-religious and anti-family message, claiming that the only "redeeming" feature is that it is as misogynistic and cynical towards everyone else as it is towards Judaism in that episode.
Recently syndicated to Australia and New Zealand, 2 Broke Girls has received a poor reception from critics, including a very critical video review by the Sydney Morning Herald's TV and Movie reviewer Michael Idato and his co-host, fellow critic and TV writer, Doug Anderson, who is quoted as saying: "This is pretty bloody awful. In fact this is one of the worst shows I've ever seen." The review panned the show as "creatively bankrupt.".[25] New Zealand critic Chris Philpott called it the worst new show of 2012, stating "perhaps its biggest sin, the main reason I'm abandoning the show, is those two rape jokes in the first three episodes. I don't think the subject of rape is funny in the slightest" and "It's my opinion that when rape is used as the punch line to a throwaway gag on a third-rate sitcom like 2 Broke Girls, it shows a complete disregard for those who have suffered through an attack, dismisses and minimises their suffering, and displays a lack of understanding and creativity on the part of the comedy writer"[26]
On January 11, 2012, 2 Broke Girls won the award for Favorite New TV Comedy at the 38th People's Choice Awards.[27]
Ratings
The series premiere was watched by 19.2 million viewers after its lead-in, the first episode of Two and a Half Men without Charlie Sheen. This marked the highest rating for a fall premiere of a comedy series since Fall 2001.[28] It scored a 7.1 rating in Adults 18–49.[29]
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | # Ep. | Premiered | Ended | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
18–49 viewers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Premiere Viewers (in millions) |
Date | Finale Viewers (in millions) |
|||||||
| 1st |
Monday 8:30PM |
24[30] |
|
19.37[31] |
|
8.99[32] | 2011–2012 | #15 | 11.96 to date[33] | 5.4/13[34] |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Comedy Awards | Comedy Series | 2 Broke Girls | Won |
| Favorite Couple | Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs | Won | ||
| 2012 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite New TV Comedy | 2 Broke Girls | Won |
International broadcasts
 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012) |
The series has been picked up in these following countries:
References
 |
This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (April 2012) |
- ^ Seidman, Robert (June 29, 2011). "CBS Announces Fall 2011 Premiere Dates". TV By the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/06/29/cbs-announces-fall-2011-premiere-dates/96883/. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ "CBS 2 Broke Girls' Gets Full-Season Order" from The Hollywood Reporter (October 5, 2011)
- ^ Hibberd, James (March 14, 2012). "CBS renews 18 shows including 'Good Wife,' 'Person of Interest'". http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/03/14/cbs-renews-good-wife/. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/2-broke-girls-martha-stewart-298202
- ^ "CBS Nabs Michael Patrick King/Whitney Cummings Multi-Camera Comedy" from Deadline.com (December 10, 2010)
- ^ ""Person of Interest," "Two Broke Girls" First to Series at CBS; Sarah Michelle Gellar-Led "Ringer" Shifts to The CW" from the Futon Critic (May 13, 2011)
- ^ Updated: NBC Picks Up "Smash", "Prime Suspects" and Two More Sitcoms to Series, TV By the Numbers, May 11, 2011
- ^ "Kat Dennings To Star In CBS' Whitney Cummings/Michael Patrick King Comedy" from Deadline.com (February 18, 2011)
- ^ "NBC's 'S.I.L.A.' & CBS' 'Girls' Find Leads" from Deadline.com (February 25, 2011)
- ^ "Scott Porter To Star In CW's 'Hart Of Dixie', More Actors Board Pilots" from Deadline.com (March 16, 2011)
- ^ New fall TV: CBS’s ‘2 Broke Girls’; NBC’s ‘Playboy Club’ from The Washington Post (September 18, 2011)
- ^ "Which new fall series make the grade?" from The Boston Globe (September 4, 2011)
- ^ Pergament, Alan (September 19, 2011). Emmy Forgiven; “Broke” Sells, “Playboy” Disappoints. Still Talkin' TV. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ Pergament, Alan (January 3, 2012). Shows to look forward to in the New Year. Still Talkin' TV. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ Goodman, Tim (October 24, 2011). "The Sorry State Of '2 Broke Girls': Racism and Lame Sex Jokes". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/sorry-state-2-broke-girls-252579. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ Nussbaum, Emily (28 November 2011). "Crass Warfare". The New Yorker: 72–74.
- ^ "Rude, crude and lewd: The disappointment behind 2 Broke Girls". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. http://theutscmessenger.com/?p=5601. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ "Yo, Is This Racist? 2 Broke Girls and the New Long Duk Dong We Never Asked For". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/41440/yo-is-this-racist-2-broke-girls-and-the-new-long-duk-dong-we-never-asked-for. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ "Michael Patrick King Defends ’2 Broke Girls’ Stereotypes: “I Don’t Find It Offensive, Any Of This”". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/01/11/402684/michael-patrick-king-defends-2-broke-girls-stereotypes-i-dont-find-it-offensive-any-of-this/. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ '2 Broke Girls' creator fights critics, denies racism charge, during riveting debate
- ^ "Confronted about racism, '2 Broke Girls' producer comes unglued". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogstv/53285163-63/king-broke-girls-fun.html.csp. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ "'2 Broke Girls': Promising series nailed twentysomething poverty. NYC, not so much." from Entertainment Weekly (September 20, 2011)
- ^ "Television review: 2 Broke Girls" from The Los Angeles Times (September 19, 2011)
- ^ "Move over intact Christian families, TV has decided Orthodox Jews ripe for mockery". http://www.jewishworldreview.com/elliot/gertel_2_broke_girls.php3.
- ^ Idato, Michael (March 01, 2012). "2 Broke Girls:Creatively Bankrupt". SMH. http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-guide/broke-girls-creatively-bankrupt-3086125.html?&exc_from=strap. Retrieved March 01, 2012.
- ^ Philpott, Chris (February 23, 2012). "2 Broke Girls: the worst new show of 2012". Stuff.co.nz. http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/on-the-box/6464413/2-Broke-Girls-the-worst-new-show-of-2012. Retrieved March 04, 2012.
- ^ Schillaci, Sophie A. (January 11, 2012). "People's Choice Awards: The Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peoples-choice-awards-winners-list-kayle-cuoco-280817. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (2011-09-20). "Charlie Sheen-less ‘Two and a Half Men’ season debut draws record audience". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/charlie-sheen-less-two-and-a-half-men-season-debut-draws-record-audience/2011/09/20/gIQAH3CFjK_story.html. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
- ^ TV Ratings Opening Monday: 'Two and a Half Men' Soars, CBS Wins; 'Playboy Club Gloomy + 'Castle,' 'Hawaii Five-0' and More, By Robert Seidman TV by the Numbers (September 20, 2011)
- ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/10/05/cbs-picks-up-2-broke-girls-for-a-full-season/106237
- ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/20/monday-broadcast-final-ratings-two-and-a-half-men-2-broke-girls-dwts-adjusted-up-castle-adjusted-down/104333/
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (May 8, 2012). "Monday Final Ratings: 'DWTS', 'Two and a Half Men', 'The Voice', and '2 Broke Girls' Adjusted Up; 'Castle' and 'Smash' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/05/08/monday-final-ratings-dwts-two-and-a-half-men-the-voice-and-2-broke-girls-adjusted-up-castle-and-smash-adjusted-down/132867/. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
- ^ http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-season-ratings,0,1937498.htmlstory
- ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/12/21/cbs-presents-televisions-year-end-lists-of-top-rated-shows-in-a-variety-of-categories/114455/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tvbythenumbers+%28TVbytheNumbers%29
- ^ Citytv Fall lineup from Channel Canada
- ^ Warner antecipa estreia da temporada 2011/12 para outubro co – TV Magazine / TalkTV Fórum
- ^ ‘Friends with Benefits’ and ‘Broke Girls’ premiere on ETC The Manila Times.net Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- ^ From M-Net
- ^ Krannich, Bernd Michael (March 1, 2012). "2 Broke Girls und mehr: ProSiebenSat.1 kündigt Comedys an" (in German). Serienjunkies.de. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. http://www.serienjunkies.de/news/broke-girls-prosiebensat1-kuendigt-38381.html. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
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