NBC has another hit on its hands, as the network’s newest sitcom is taking off. Following a creative shakeup, Newlyweds is rising up the streaming charts.
According to FlixPatrol, the series is No. 7 on Peacock as of Oct. 25 and No. 9 on HBO Max Australia. Newlyweds only premiered on Oct. 23, following the third season premiere of Happy’s Place, but fans are already rushing to see it.
Newlyweds Suffered a Big Loss Before Premiere
Created by Jamie Lee Curtis and Gail Lerner, Newlyweds stars real-life spouses Téa Leoni and Tim Daly. It’s a “later-in-life love story about Jeanie (Leoni), a free-spirited woman, and James (Daly), a buttoned-up professor, who marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship. James only has eyes for Jeanie, but quickly learns that loving her means learning to love her sprawling, eccentric world of friends and family and vice versa.”
Ahead of the premiere, Lerner announced on Instagram that she had been fired from Newlyweds, with the reason she was given being “creative differences.” She wrote, “I’m so sad to be separated from the most joyous TV experience of my life. The cast, crew, and writers are unparalleled. The silver lining: the first six episodes were made under my leadership, and I wouldn’t change a thing. No one knows what’s going to happen in our meshuganah business, but I predict this show’s gonna be a barn burner.”
Lerner’s sudden firing came just before filming began on the eighth episode of the show’s 13-episode first season. Newlyweds was also going on a pre-planned hiatus the following week, with NBC and studio Universal Television expected to find a new showrunner during that time. On Oct. 15, Deadline reported that sitcom veteran Bruce Helford was tapped to helm the series, with production set to resume in November to give him time to settle into his new position.
Newlyweds is a ‘Dream’ for Jamie Lee Curtis
Tim Daly as James and Jamie Lee Curtis as Claudia standing next to each other on Newlyweds.Image via Nicole Weingart/NBC
Meanwhile, Lerner’s creative partner Jamie Lee Curtis had much praise about the new series as well. The Oscar winner has done a handful of projects on the small screen, including single-camera hits The Bear and New Girl. However, Curtis’ experience on New Girl was not pleasant, as she “begged” her agents for a multi-camera show instead.
“I did a single-camera, which I hate. I mean, great show, New Girl, very funny,” Curtis said during a panel for Newlyweds. “It’s a good show, but doing it is just like doing a movie. You’ve got a camera crew, and nobody laughs. They are silent, and it’s awful, for me, awful. Single-camera comedy is not fun.”
After starring in the half-hour multi-cam sitcom Anything But Love on ABC in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Curtis has been wanting to go back to the format. “It was my favorite job I’ve ever had,” she shared. “And I’m 68 years old, and every single year, all I’ve ever said to my agents is ‘I want to do a sitcom, all I want to do is a sitcom.’ It’s my favorite job; I love the whole part of it, every aspect of it, the dance with the cameras, the idea that you actually get to rehearse something and work it and learn a joke and play it.”
Curtis had pitched the idea for Newlyweds to Lerner, and NBC ultimately jumped on it. “I just never got to do it, and so I just decided to basically kind of create my own job,” Curtis revealed. “I met Gail, and that’s why we are all here.”
New episodes of Newlyweds air on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock.
Release Date
October 23, 2026
Showrunner
Bruce Helford
Directors
Pamela Fryman
Writers
Jamie Lee Curtis, Gail Lerner
Cast
Ignacio Diaz-Silverio
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