Hello Ladies (sitcom)
| Hello Ladies | |
| TBD Stephen Merchant in Hello Ladies | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Creator(s) | Stephen Merchant, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky |
| Writer(s) | Stephen Merchant, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky |
| Starring | Stephen Merchant, Christine Woods, Nate Torrence, Kevin Weisman and Kyle Mooney |
| Country | US |
| Network | HBO |
| Original runs | September 29, 2013 – Present |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| IMDB Profile | |
Hello Ladies is an American television sitcom based on Stephen Merchant's stand-up comedy tour of the same name. The show is created and written by Stephen Merchant, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and stars Stephen Merchant as Stuart. The show primarily centers around Stuart's exploits in Los Angeles as he awkwardly searches for love however most episodes will also contain subplots that address the experiences of Stuart's various friends, particularly his roommate Jessica (Christine Woods).
Hello Ladies is notable as the first major TV project that Steve has worked on without longtime collaborator Ricky Gervais.
The first episode of Hello Ladies premiered on HBO on September 29, 2013.
Genesis
HBO executives first approached Stephen Merchant about making a sitcom based on his stand-up show when he performed in Los Angeles[1]. He agreed and he decided to collaborate with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky who had previously worked on the U.S. version of The Office.[2] Steve says he admired their work and had become friends with them prior to working together on Hello Ladies.[3]
Merchant has described his goal as "making it feel real and I wanted to tap into something human..."[4] and that "I wanted the idea of loneliness in the city"[5]. Specifically, the show is set in Los Angeles because "[w]e wanted that sense that [Stuart is] out of place... He is like an existential fish out of water."[6] Aside from the thematic goals of the series, Steve also adds that "I do some falling over." He's said that many of the physical gags are homages to British comedians who may be less well known in America.[7]
In terms of being apart from usual collaborator Ricky Gervais, Steve describes Hello Ladies as his "ambitious jazz-funk solo album." [8]
Music
The theme song for Hello Ladies is "Alone Too Long" by Hall and Oates from their self-titled album released in 1975.
The music for the series is composed by Vik Sharma who had previously written music for An Idiot Abroad. Steve has said that the music of the show is meant to have a "cool", "glamorous", "80s" feel in order to represent Stuart's childhood fantasy of what living in L.A. would be like.[9]
Cast
- Stephen Merchant - Stuart Pritchard
- Christine Woods - Jessica Vanderhoff
- Nate Torrence - Wade
- Kevin Weisman - Kives
- Kyle Mooney - Rory
- Jenny Slate - Amelia Gordon
- Sean Wing - Glenn
Episodes
Series One
| Title | Series | Original Airdate | Buy | # | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Series 1 | 29th September 2013 | N/A | 1 | ||
| Stuart and his friend, the newly separated Wade, attempt to pick up women with no success. Eventually they are joined by Kives who has no trouble. Jessica becomes convinced that Glenn doesn't really care for her. | ||||||
| The Limo | Series 1 | 6th October 2013 | N/A | 2 | ||
| Stuart and his friends have access to a limousine for a "night on the town". The limo helps them in picking up women but doesn't gain them entry into an expensive restaurant. Jessica's attempts to raise the level of intellectual discourse among her own group of friends include a viewing of "Battleship Potemkin". Her friends are uninterested and they eventually join Stuart in his limo. | ||||||
| The Date | Series 1 | 13th October 2013 | N/A | 3 | ||
| Stuart manages to arrange a date with Annie, an employee at his gym. Things go well initially but when she seems to be obsessively "texting" someone named "Alex", he suspects the worst. Jessica goes on an audition for a commercial but tries to fool her hated rival into thinking it's for something much more prestigious. Wade and Rory exchange text messages to continuously affirm that they're each alive and safe. | ||||||
| The Dinner | Series 1 | 20th October 2013 | N/A | 4 | ||
| Convinced that it's a good place to meet women, Stuart goes with Jessica to a gay club and they manage to get themselves invited to an elite dinner party. At the party, Stuart tries to get a date with a supermodel while Jessica attempts to get into the pages of Vanity Fair. Meanwhile, back at Stuart's apartment, Wade and Kives explore Stuart's belongings. | ||||||
| Pool Party | Series 1 | 27th October 2013 | N/A | 5 | ||
| Stuart and Rory plan a swanky pool party and Stuart invites the model he's been fantasizing about. But when Stuart changes the location of the party to Wade's new apartment, things don't go as planned. Meanwhile, Jessica takes in a homeless girl whom she met at a soup kitchen. | ||||||
| Long Beach | Series 1 | 3rd November 2013 | N/A | 6 | ||
| Stuart befriends the workmen fixing his roof and decides to go with them for a night out. He soon finds that he's in way over his head. Wade surprises his wife at work in an effort to be more exciting and spontaneous. Jessica babysits Wade's daughter and once again questions the nature of her relationship with Glenn. | ||||||
| The Wedding | Series 1 | 10th November 2013 | N/A | 7 | ||
| Stuart, Jessica and Glenn attend the wedding of a mutual friend. While Jessica tries to schmooze a playwright to further her career, Stuart tries to chat up a model and finds himself in competition with her male model friend. | ||||||
| The Drive | Series 1 | 17th November 2013 | N/A | 8 | ||
| TBD | ||||||