Rita Rocks

Rita Rocks
Created by James Berg
Stan Zimmerman
Starring Nicole Sullivan
Richard Ruccolo
Tisha Campbell-Martin
Ian Gomez
Natalie Dreyfuss
Kelly Gould
Raviv Ullman
Composer(s) Matter Music
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) James Berg
Stan Zimmerman
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Zimmerman-Berg
Media Rights Capital
Release
Original network Lifetime
Original release October 20, 2008 (2008-10-20) – December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)
External links
Website

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

Plot

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

Main

Recurring

Guest appearances

Guest Star Season Character
Mindy Sterling 1 Mrs. Portman, customer at Rita's workplace, Bed Bath & Max
Tony Danza 1 Jay's boss
Andrew J. West 1 Craiger
Harry Shum Jr. 1 Zach
Craig Gellis 1 Grungy Counter Guy
Brooklyn McLinn 1 Roger
Bayne Gibby 1 Genna, customer at Bed & Bath Max
Deborah Gibson 1 Cindy Schatz (Rita's old band friend)
Melissa Peterman 1, 2 Jennifer
Jessie Pavelka 1 Jessie (himself); Patty's trainer and Kip's temporary replacement
Mimi Kennedy 1 Aunt Mavis (Jay's aunt who has a grudge towards Rita)
Paul Vato 2 Rusty is the bowling alley owner who gives Rita her first big break
G. Hannelius 2 Brianna Boone

Episodes

Series overview

Season Episodes Originally aired
Season premiere Season finale
1 20 October 20, 2008 February 23, 2009
2 20 October 5, 2009 December 7, 2009

Season 1: 2008/09

No in
Series
No in
Season
Title Original air date
11"Pilot"October 20, 2008 (2008-10-20)
22"Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah-ah"October 21, 2008 (2008-10-21)
33"You Gotta Have Friends"October 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)
44"Flirting With Disaster"October 23, 2008 (2008-10-23)
55"Nobody Does It Better"October 24, 2008 (2008-10-24)
66"Mother's Little Helper"October 28, 2008 (2008-10-28)
77"Take This Job and Shove It"November 11, 2008 (2008-11-11)
88"The Crying"November 18, 2008 (2008-11-18)
99"Under Pressure"November 25, 2008 (2008-11-25)
1010"Got No Time"December 2, 2008 (2008-12-02)
1111"Love on the Rocks"December 9, 2008 (2008-12-09)
1212"I Write The Songs"December 16, 2008 (2008-12-16)
1313"The Girl Is Mine"January 5, 2009 (2009-01-05)
1414"Old Friends"January 12, 2009 (2009-01-12)
1515"It's My Party"January 19, 2009 (2009-01-19)
1616"I Can't Make You Love Me"January 26, 2009 (2009-01-26)
1717"Get Off My Cloud"February 2, 2009 (2009-02-02)
1818"Killer Queen"February 9, 2009 (2009-02-09)
1919"What's Love Got Do To With It?"February 16, 2009 (2009-02-16)
2020"We Can Work It Out"February 23, 2009 (2009-02-23)

Season 2: 2009

No in
Series
No in
Season
Title Original air date
211"A Change is Gonna Come"October 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)
222"Breaking Up is Hard to Do"October 6, 2009 (2009-10-06)
233"Nothings Gonna Change My World"October 7, 2009 (2009-10-07)
244"Welcome to the Working Week"October 8, 2009 (2009-10-08)
255"Stuck in the Middle with You"October 9, 2009 (2009-10-09)
266"The Shape of Things To Come"October 13, 2009 (2009-10-13)
277"Mr. Bassman"October 20, 2009 (2009-10-20)
288"Mommy's Alright, Daddy's Alright"October 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
299"Vogue"October 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
3010"Bad Company"November 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
3111"Why Can't We Be Friends?"November 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
3212"Mother and Child Reunion"November 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
3313"Anchors Aweigh"November 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
3414"Shower The People"November 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
3515"Is She Really Going Out With Him?"November 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
3616"Sympathy For The Devil"November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
3717"Jingle All The Way"November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
3818"The Jealous Kind"November 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)
3919"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"November 30, 2009 (2009-11-30)
4020"Born In The USA"December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)

DVD release

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

International broadcasting

References

  1. Lifetime Cancels "Rita Rocks", Entertainment Weekly, January 11, 2010
  2. "Anytime with Bob Kushell feat. Nicole Sullivan". Anytime with Bob Kushell. Season 1. Episode 12. 2009-02-27.
  3. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00366BBSA
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