Imaginary Mary is an American live-action/animated fantasy sitcom television series created by Adam F. Goldberg, David Guarascio and Patrick Osborne that aired on ABC from March 29 to May 30, 2017.[1] The series is executive produced by the creators and was greenlighted to series order on May 12, 2016.[2] A first-look-trailer was released on the same day.[3] ABC reduced the number of episodes from thirteen to nine on September 28, 2016.[4]
| Imaginary Mary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Voices of | Rachel Dratch |
| Composer | Michael Wandmacher |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | March 29 – May 30, 2017 |
On May 11, 2017, the series was cancelled after one season.[5]
Plot
editThe series follows Alice when an imaginary friend being from her childhood, named Mary, reappears when she is now a single public relations executive falling in love with a single father of three children. Mary hopes to guide (or misguide) her.
Cast
edit- Jenna Elfman as Alice
- Stephen Schneider as Ben Cooper, Alice’s love interest
- Nicholas Coombe as Andy Cooper, Ben's son
- Matreya Scarrwener as Dora Cooper, Ben's daughter
- Erica Tremblay as Bunny Cooper, Ben's daughter
- Rachel Dratch as the voice of Mary
Production
editThe series was first announced in 2015 as Imaginary Friend which was then changed to Imaginary Gary. In the original pilot, the main characters were both men and the love interest was a single mom.[6] When the series went into development, the genders of the characters were flipped. Elfman filmed her scenes first with a puppet in order for the animators to have a reference point, and then in a later take without anything to show what she was talking to. Dratch did her voice work separately in New York with the scenes already filmed. She said at the TCA press tour, "I have the freedom to go crazy."[7]
In September 2016, it was reported that the show's crew would make changes with the animation for the character, Mary, after it received a poor reception from ABC.[8] ABC then reduced the original thirteen-episode order for the first season to nine episodes in order to allow the show's crew to make changes with the animation.[8]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Shawn Levy | Story by : Adam F. Goldberg & David Guarascio & Patrick Osborne Teleplay by : Adam F. Goldberg & David Guarascio | March 29, 2017 | 100 | 5.39[9] |
|
Alice falls in love with a divorced dad but she then learns that he has 3 kids. Alice becomes consumed by her fears and contemplates giving up until her old childhood imaginary friend, Mary, comes back. | ||||||
| 2 | "The Mom Seal" | Shawn Levy | Sarah Haskins & Emily Halpern | April 4, 2017 | 101 | 3.45[10] |
|
Alice is tasked in taking care of Bunny. A task she takes too far. Ben pressures Andy to take his driving test. | ||||||
| 3 | "The Parent-y Trap" | Peter Lauer | Margee Magee | April 11, 2017 | 104 | 3.06[11] |
|
Alice learns the emotional highs and lows of being a parent when Andy considers auditioning for the school musical; Dora creates her own feminist musical. | ||||||
| 4 | "Prom-Com" | Richie Keen | Adam F. Goldberg & David Guarascio & Chris Bishop | April 18, 2017 | 108 | 3.15[12] |
|
Andy has a hard time finding a prom date while Dora keeps turning away a guy who persistently asks her, but Alice tries to convince her to go. Meanwhile, Ben struggles to deal with kids growing up and tries to scare away Dora's date. | ||||||
| 5 | "In a World Where Worlds Collide" | Paul Murphy | Brian Gallivan | April 25, 2017 | 103 | 2.88[13] |
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After a hesitant Alice meets Ben's friends, Alice wants to meet Ben's friends, but Ben is hesitant. Later: he makes a startling admission after devising a plan to impress her. | ||||||
| 6 | "Alice the Mole" | Lev L. Spiro | David Guarascio | May 2, 2017 | 102 | 2.63[14] |
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Alice faces the dilemma of whether she should play the role of parent or friend as she tries to connect with Dora; Ben wants Alice to be his personal mole; Bunny infiltrates the one place Andy feels cool. | ||||||
| 7 | "The Ex X Factor" | David Katzenberg | Daniel Libman & Matthew Libman | May 9, 2017 | 105 | 2.83[15] |
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When Ben's ex-wife says she doesn't believe Alice is a good influence on the kids, Alice goes out of her way to prove her wrong; Andy and Dora fake being sick at school. | ||||||
| 8 | "Last Dance with Mary" | Fred Goss | Melody Derloshon & Danielle Uhlarik | May 16, 2017 | 107 | 2.80[16] |
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When Ben and Alice get engaged, Mary disappears, as Alice apparently no longer needs her. However, when Ben begins discussing the realities of marriage, such as living together and possibly having more children, Mary reappears to help Alice cope. | ||||||
| 9 | "Sleep Over" | Luke Greenfield | Adam F. Goldberg & Chris Bishop | May 30, 2017 | 106 | 2.13[17] |
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Alice is ready to sleep over at Ben's when his kids are in the house, but Ben worries the nightly rituals will put her off; when Alice gets rattled, she gets Mary's help in an attempt to fix the situation. | ||||||
Reception
editCritical response
editThe series received a generally negative response from critics. On review aggregator site Metacritic, Imaginary Mary has a score of 39 out of 100 based on 13 critics indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[18] On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a 27% approval rating, based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus: "Imaginary Mary's appealing cast is canceled out by uninspired material and a ridiculous premise whose deficiencies are compounded by an unfunny, ill-advised CGI creature."[19]
Ratings
edit| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | March 29, 2017 | 1.4/5 | 5.39[9] |
| 2 | "The Mom Seal" | April 4, 2017 | 0.9/3 | 3.45[10] |
| 3 | "The Parent-y Trap" | April 11, 2017 | 0.8/3 | 3.06[11] |
| 4 | "Prom-Com" | April 18, 2017 | 0.9/3 | 3.15[12] |
| 5 | "In a World Where Worlds Collide" | April 25, 2017 | 0.8/3 | 2.88[13] |
| 6 | "Alice the Mole" | May 2, 2017 | 0.7/3 | 2.63[14] |
| 7 | "The Ex X Factor" | May 9, 2017 | 0.9/3 | 2.83[15] |
| 8 | "Last Dance with Mary" | May 16, 2017 | 0.8/3 | 2.80[16] |
| 9 | "Sleep Over" | May 30, 2017 | 0.5/2 | 2.13[17] |
See also
edit- Drop Dead Fred, a 1991 British/American dark fantasy black-comedy film with a similar concept.
- Son of Zorn, another live-action/animated hybrid that premiered in the 2016–2017 season.
References
edit- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 10, 2017). "ABC Midseason Schedule: 'Time After Time', 'American Crime', 'The Catch', 'Dirty Dancing', Others Get Premiere Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2016). "Drama 'Notorious', Comedy 'Imaginary Mary' Picked Up To Series At ABC". Deadline.
- ^ Trailer for "Imaginary Mary" from YouTube
- ^ "'Imaginary Mary' Episode Count Cut From 13 to 9". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 September 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (May 11, 2017). "Dr. Ken and two more comedies canceled by ABC". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ "'Imaginary Friend' Live Action-CGI Comedy from 'The Goldbergs' Duo & Top Disney Animator Gets ABC Pilot Order". 6 October 2015.
- ^ Dresch, Cassie. "Beyond imagination: Jenna Elfman, Rachel Dratch star in new ABC comedy". TV Media. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (September 28, 2016). "'Imaginary Mary' Order Trimmed By ABC". Deadline. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (March 30, 2017). "'Modern Family,' 'Survivor' and 'Chicago PD' adjust up: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (April 5, 2017). "'NCIS' and 'The Middle' adjust up: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (April 12, 2017). "'The Middle' adjusts up: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (April 19, 2017). "'The Middle' adjusts up: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (April 26, 2017). "'The Mick' and 'Agents of SHIELD' adjust up, 'iZombie' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 3, 2017). "'NCIS' and 'The Middle' adjust up, 'Prison Break' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 10, 2017). "'The Voice' adjusts up, 'iZombie' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 17, 2017). "'NCIS' finale and 'Bull' adjust up, 'The Middle' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (June 1, 2017). "'America's Got Talent' adjusts up, 'Imaginary Mary' adjusts down: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Imaginary Mary Season 1 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- ^ "Imaginary Mary: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 6, 2019.