From Zap2It

"Old Christine" is Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a divorced mom who's got a handle on her career and motherhood and a pretty good relationship with her ex-husband. Until, that is, he introduces her to his new girlfriend, a younger woman also named Christine.

Kari Lizer ("Will & Grace") and Dreyfus' former "Seinfeld" colleague Andy Ackerman are the executive producers.

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Will the Seinfeld curse strike this show or will it do well for Julia? I think the concept sounds pretty cool, but I'm not sure how long I could see it lasting. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

It should be on around March

I saw a promo and I thought it looked funny.

It'll probably eventually get the axe though.


Jason Alexander's "Listen Up" was somewhat decent and got strong ratings and yet CBS cancelled it after one season and refused to comment on why it was cancelled. Sounds like a curse to me.

Will the curse of people talking about the Seinfeld curse ever end? The simple fact is, the vast majority of new shows fail. Acting on a show that becomes a wildly popular cultural phenomenon is truly a once in a billion opportunity. There is no curse on any of the actors from Seinfeld.

Not true. The curse itself is the expectation. The shows fail because people associate the characters with their Seinfeld counterparts, don't like watching the actors in their new roles and change the channel, then the shows get cancelled. So it may not be something 'magical', but the fact that shows starring Seinfeld alumni are more likely to fail is certainly the case.

I thought the curse was broken when Watching Ellie (Julia's first post-Seinfeld sitcom) was renewed for a second season.

Warner Brothers UK has been sending members of its TV panel a questionaire about this series, including the possiblity to watch the whole pilot (I assume) online. I saw it and although it had some okay moments, I don't hink it's anything special. I thought quite a lot it was pretty silly, although it's also true that I'm just the kind of person who generally doesn't like stuff that goes too much to the lowest common denominator with too many jokes about women's body parts and stuff - unless it's done well like by people like Jon Stewart. I also really enjoyed Seinfeld, was never a obsessive fan or anything, but I like watching reruns when it's on and I have time. But I think I agree with CycloneBill on why I don't like JLD in this role.

Shows starring "Seinfeld" alumni that have failed:
Jason Alexander: "Bob Patterson" and "Listen Up"
Michael Richards: "The Michael Richards Show"
Julia Lousis-Dreyfus: "Watching Ellie"
Shows starring "Seinfeld" alumni that have been successful:
Jerry Stiller: "The King of Queens"
Larry David: "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Shows starring "Roseanne" alumni that have failed:
Roseanne: "The Roseanne Show" and "The Real Roseanne Show"
John Goodman: "Now and Again" "Normal, Ohio" and "Center of the Universe"
Sara Gilbert: "Welcome to New York" and probably "Twins"
Laurie Metcalf: "The Norm Show" "God, the Devil and Bob" and "Charlie Lawrence"
Martin Mull: "The Ellen Show"
Shows starring "Roseanne" alumni that have been successful:
Sarah Chalke: "Scrubs"
Why don't I constantly hear about the "Roseanne" curse? Because there's obviously a curse on all those actors. Or it could be that most shows with actors from any other show fail, because most shows fail.

Topic? I like JLD, I realize she is not Elaine Benes. I tried to watch "Watching Ellie" but it just wasn't very funny. I will check out "Old Christine."

It's not the same because although Roseanne was a hit show for many years, it fizzled out big time before it ended. People were already tired of the characters, so seeing them in different roles is no big deal, it doesn't feel strange.

And most of the cast you listed were supporting characters on Roseanne (which had a very large cast anyway), who became supporting characters on X show (except for John Goodman, who's just picked terrible shows to star in). Same with Seinfeld, I'm talking main cast here, doesn't matter that Jerry Stiller's on King of Queens and Larry David is completely irrelevant since most people didn't even know who he was before Curb.

I'm not saying the curse is justified, but the 3 main cast of Seinfeld (excluding Jerry who won't do a sitcom again) have a bigger burden than most other supporting cast on other shows. Seinfeld is pretty much the most popular show of all-time.

I'm yet to see a promo yet, but I'm not a regular CBS watcher. I was, however, a massive Seinfeld fan and an Elaine fan. Although I didn't like Watching Ellie, I've always been a fan of JLD and her performance on Arrested Development proved it.

Hopefully, this show can break the "curse" but it's not a procedural so it definitely won't be safe while it's on The Eye

Does John O'Hurley count for DWTS? Or would he be considered a recurring character as Clooney was on Roseanne?

Yeah, CycloneBill is right on about that, along with the Larry David comparison. The guy voiced Steinbrenner and was visually seen in about four episodes of Seinfeld -- I don't think you could even count him as a recurring character, let alone alumni.

Of the Big Four, Elaine was the character I enjoyed the least, however, I was mildly surprised with Julia's funny performances on Curb and Arrested. But my dislike of her has only grown after watching interviews of her on the Seinfeld DVDs -- maybe it's just me, but it seems like she could be a real bitch at times.

I agree with omityisis though, Peterman's win should count as breaking the curse!

When I saw the title of the show, I thought it starred Christine Baranski.

Do you have a link because CBS.com doesn't have anything yet.

Are you sure the promo wasn't for Courting Alex? Although, that doesn't look all that funny so it probably wasn't.

I'm guessing that CA may be cancelled as I really don't see it doing well, so this hopefully will lead to an open timeslot for Old Christine

I totally loved Jason Alexander as George Costanza and I really thought he was most likely to have another successful sitcom but in my opinion both Listen Up! and Bob Patterson were execrable.

Michael Richards' show was also awful and Watching Ellie was not good. I think the problem with that show was that it was written by her husband and seemed a little worshipful. While Louis-Dreyfus is a very attractive woman, most of her appeal as Elaine centered around the fact that her narcissistic behavior usually resulted in comedic disaster. As Ellie, her edge was gone and the show was not funny.

Also,re Laurie Metcalf- who else was in God,the Devil,and Bob? I don't remember that show.

I think a major problem with The Curse is that the Seinfeld crew worked incredibly well as an ensemble. They played off each other really well and none of them, not even Jerry (IMO), was the Center of the Universe. Too many of their projects since then have tried to build an entire sitcom around one of the actors. I'm not sure that's the best thing.

I did like JLD on Arrested Development, even though a lot of people over in those forums seem to dislike those eps. Again, that was an example of her playing well off of other great comedic talents. Some people just weren't meant to carry their own shows, and I'd venture to say the Seinfeld alum fit in that category.

Still, I might check out this show just for curiosity's sake.

It doesn't have to be that good to defeat "Watching Ellie," a show that was kind of unpleasant to watch plus gimmicky to the extreme.

I saw an ad for this- JLD is trying to squeeeeeeze into her car because someone parked too closely. She can't, and struggles over her shopping/grocery baga. As she settles in, the confining vehicle drives off.

At first, I thought it was either a car ad or some other type of product ad, because I didn't see that it was Julia right off.

When the voice-over came on and said that Old Christine was coming soon/in March, I had a 'oh yeah....I remember reading about this a while back!' It was sorta cute enough that I'll probably give the first ep a try.

I'm not sure why, but for some reason when I heard the name of the show all I could think of was a murderous bright red Plymouth circa 1950.

So far the only promos I've seen have involved some mishap she's having in a supermarket carpark. Aren't there any other scenes they could pull material from?

Is it meta or ironic that early on, Julia had a very public bitch-fight with Roseanne over a carspace at the studio lot? I think she left a photocopy of an ass-print and wrote the c-word on Julia's car.

Phil Morris who (hilariously) played Kramer's lawyer Jackie Chiles, was also going to have his own spin-off, the Jackie Chiles Show. Doesn't look like it took off either since he's only made appearances in shows like Kim Possible, Moesha and the Love Boat since then, sadly.

Sarah Chalke's show Scrubs is very successful critically and modestly successful in the ratings. Sara Gilbert was on ER for a couple of seasons, and that show's not going anywhere. I think the only Roseanne alum to star in his own sitcom that was canceled is John Goodman.

I wouldn't ascribe that failure to a curse, either. Normal, Ohio was so bad John Goodman should be thankful he wasn't run out of town on a rail afterwards.

I didn’t mind “Watching Ellie” at all, probably because I was too busy watching JLD the whole time and lusting after her. I’ll try this one when it starts in March, simply because she’s imprinted on my primitive brain, and I must follow her everywhere. ;)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a timeslot!
I was kinda hoping Courting Alex would bomb in the ratings, but for some strange reason it hasn't so I'm wondering how long this will be around.

John Goodman should not have to try to do sitcoms again. He's not a TV-actor. He should only do movies as far as I'm concerned. Roseanne was lucky to get him in the first place.

Maybe the curse has to do with the fact that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David aren't the writers for these follow-up sitcoms.

I saw the Old Christine ad and wasn't very impressed. It just looked like another dumb, generic sitcom to me.

OT: "The Real Roseanne Show"? Was the other one done by an impostor?

Laurie Metcalf has had a few failed series after "Roseanne" - like Norm and that Nathan Lane sitcom.

I'm a Seinfeld fan, so I have mixed emotions about this one. The print/web ad with JLD and the thong panties gets a thumbs-down from me.

I've probably seen (what feels like) an entire show what with all the different promos they're running. For some reason the scene with Christine looking for a black kid in her son's private school class just rubs me the wrong way. And while I know its a sitcom, would an 8 (or so) year old kid really try to get out of gym by saying he had his period? And a final nail in the coffin of ick has got to be her line about having a bikini wax and feeling like she slid down a bannister of sandpaper. Its likely I just don't have a sense of humor that none of these scenes generated any positive reaction from me. And I try not to pre-hate, but the melodramatics and neuroticism worked much better with a character like Elaine, and here it just seems excessive.

The Pilot: I thought it was alright but it didn't produce major laughs, more like minor chuckles. I don't really see this series lasting long.

Oy. The curse, indeed. I just don't understand how this funny woman can schlep through such bland dialogue. The little kid doesn't even have a personality, for crying out loud! Give us an obnoxious or interesting youngster at least, CBS. Something.

Sheesh. What a waste of time. I won't be watching the next eppy tonight.

I have a different theory on why sitcoms featuring stars tend to fail. It's true that the majority of sitcoms that make it to the air are unsuccessful. But there are even more shows that get axed before they ever make it to the air. I suspect that shows featuring big stars are less likely to get terminated before being shown either because the stars are influential enough to keep their shows alive until the terrible ratings come in or because executives overestimate the value of star power in attracting viewers.

That might explain how this show has survived as long as it has. I didn't like it. Did they actually say that the kids in this upscale private school didn't know the number 7 before hitting third grade? What were they thinking?

Maybe it's a special upscale private school?

I liked this show! I appreciated how different this character is from Elaine. She "channeled" Jennifer Saunders to me -- many of her mannerisms were Edina-esque. It was much better than some of the other sitcom offerings of late.

It might not be Seinfeld, but I thought the pilot alone was better than any of the dreck Jason Alexander has been putting out on the airwaves. It might not be Emmy worthy, but I think it's a bit too soon to judge the show doomed based just on the pilot. Pilots tend to be a bit rough all the way around.

Then again, the networks don't give shows much more than a pilot to gain an audience these days. But in all honesty I didn't think it was better or worse than anything else in the CBS Monday night line up.

Is there something wrong with my tv or is the show supposed to be fuzzy?

Heh. I took that to mean "sevens", and they were working on the times tables.

The second episode gets bonus points for having Andy Richter. I like JLD and the actress playing her employee. This show would at least seem to have some potential.

I thought Wanda Sykes co-starred in this.

Of the three shows that have occupied this time slot this season, I think I liked this one the best.

I liked Clark Gregg but then I like him in anything.

My son is in third grade. They're doing the "sevens" times table. I did like this show. I'll keep my DVR set for it. I thought the ex-husband was good, but I really liked the brother and the gym employee. Calling back mom to update her on the dirty talk - funny. And I really like the moms at the school - sort of a Greek chorus in Talbot's.

I laughed out loud. More than once! I'm cautiously hopeful. JLD was definitely channeling Edina and Elaine. Cool. And I love the actor who plays the husband -- ever since Sports Night -- and the employee. Where is Wanda?

I watched the second episode and barely laughed in the first five minutes. At that point, I changed the channel to catch an airing of last week's RW/RR challenge.

Not feeling this show. JLD is an attractive woman, but the pulled-back hair do is a definite don't. During the office scene with her ex-husband, I couldn't focus on the dialogue because I was looking at the unflattering camera angle that made her neck look, hmmmm, turkey-like? I'll try to dial down the critical and give it another look; Monday night is the worst - I was resigned to watching a Lifetime movie after this, and that's scraping the bottom of the barrel, in my book.

I thought the last scene in the pilot episode was very well played. I have never thought of JLD as a gifted actress (my husband is the Seinfeld fan in our house), but the emotions she displayed as she's asking her son's forgiveness for sending him off to private school, and her palatable relief that he had found new friends, were very well done. I will definitely watch this show again. Besides, the ex is a hottie and that doesn't hurt. I have to agree that the pulled-back 'do was not very flattering. We get it that she's the "Old Christine" but don't make her look OLD.

Couldn't take it. Not a great fan. This felt like a conventional ol' sitcom and, while the last scene in the pilot had some decent emotion in it, it could have been anyone in the Christine role and I would have cared as much. At least Ellie had a gimmick.

Slightly amused that both Ellie and Christine had Toyota Priuses... Prii... whatevers.

I liked it. It's not "must watch" TV but I will set the DVR and catch up on it. I liked the brother. Loved the Whole Foods excursion. JLD looks fab- how old is she? She has to be well into her 40's. Also, was cracking up over the two "mombies" at school.

But I think it's supposed to be a conventional sitcom. If people go into any show with a Seinfeld star expecting another Seinfeld type hit or Seinfeld type originality, of course it's going to fail by those standards. Seinfeld was a one of a kind.

However, I think this being a conventional setup it fits in very well with CBS's other Monday night standard type sitcoms--"King of Queens", "Yes Dear" and "Two and Half Men", which have been fairly successful for them.

I also would certainly watch this over the dreck that is "Yes Dear" and probably over "Two and Half Men" too. I don't think convention is always a bad thing, as long as a show is funny. I don't think this is Emmy worthy, but there is potential for this show if it does well enough and eventually hits its stride.

I do have to agree the tight ponytail look was not flattering on JLD though.

I like her in anything, but I think this is the best thing she's done, other than Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

She's softer in this show, though I suspect that the real JLD has some hard edges that are hard to soften too much. I loved the joke about her laugh in high school, because her real life laugh gives me pause.

The writing and casting in this are much better than in Watching Ellie. The actors in this are more like real people who say funny things, rather than stock characters who don't.

I agree that the Stepford Wives are true-to-life evil.

Man, this is tough. I really want this show to succeed, because I love JLD so much as Elaine, but the first two episodes were rather mediocre. I do believe however, that she brings a lot to the role simply with her gestures, facial expressions, quirkiness & unusual delivery of otherwise standard lines.
The New Christine leaves me believing that the ex-husband could've done better. Just younger is not really that impressive.

I heard the second episode would have Andy Richter, so I decided to watch it. And I figured that if I was going to watch the second episode, I might as well watch the first. That was a mistake.

This wasn't the worst show that I've ever seen, but it was incredibly mediocre. I can't remember a single moment from the first episode that was even vaguely humorous. All the second episode had was Elaine's "sexy dance" and Richter talking about spaghetti. Everything else was just bland and pointless, and seemed to be vaguely ripping off "Seinfeld" jokes. I definitely won't watch this again.