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Created by former Saturday Night Live writer Emily Spivey, Up All Night is an amusing sitcom about parenthood, as married couple Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Christopher (Will Arnett) Brinkley becomes a family of three with newborn baby daughter Amy. The series takes the basic sitcom template and gives it a modern twist. As we learn in the “Pilot,” Reagan is the more sensible of the two, which isn’t saying a lot, as Chris is a bit goofy. She is just returning to her job as producer of daytime TV show starring her friend and former pop star Ava (Maya Rudolph), who fills the wacky neighbor role. Chris has given up his law practice to be a sat-at-home dad.
Throughout the season, viewers find the Brinkleys adjusting to their new lives by seeking a “New Car” that’s practical and attending a wedding with Amy in “Travel Day.” They also strive to maintain their relationship as couple, whether it’s trying to be sexy for each other in “Working Late & Working It,” or taking their “First Night Away.” Season-ender “The Proposals” has a sweetness not usually found it sitcoms as Chris gets a second chance to ask Reagan to marry him since the first time didn’t go according to plan.
This season features a number of SNL alumni. Will Forte has a recurring role as Reed, a cool, surfer dad Chris idolizes. In “Hiring and Firing” Molly Shannon plays Nancy, a terrible employee whose sob story makes it tough for Reagan to fire her. Jorma Taccone appears as Ava’s old boyfriend/ R&B artist B-Ro, who she regrets letting slip away.
Up All Night is not a must-see comedy but it does offer enough laughs to make the time investment worthwhile. My favorite episode is “Rivals” where Chris and his fellow stay-at-home parent Laura (Emily Rutherford) “cheat” on their spouses by watching episodes of Friday Night Lights together on DVD. Any couple that watches a TV series on DVD together will surely identify and laugh.
The Season One three-DVD set features all 24 episodes. Bonus features include deleted and extended scenes from six episodes and the “Basically” music video by B-Ro and Ava.
