| Raising Hope | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Greg Garcia |
| Starring | Lucas Neff Martha Plimpton Garret Dillahunt Shannon Woodward Gregg Binkley Cloris Leachman |
| Narrated by | Lucas Neff |
| Opening theme | "Daddy-O" by the Freelance Economy (Kerry Smith) |
| Composers | Danny Lux Matt Mariano |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 88(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Gregory Thomas Garcia Mike Mariano Joey Gutierrez Mark Stegemann Michael Fresco (pilot only) |
| Producers | Henry J. Lange Jr. Kim Hamberg Elijah Aron Jordan Young Audra Sielaff Becky Mann Dave Holstein |
| Cinematography | Walt Fraser Sharon Meir |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Amigos de Garcia Productions (2010–2013) (seasons 1–3) Slowly I Turned Productions (2013–2014) (season 4) 20th Century Fox Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | September 21, 2010 (2010-09-21) – April 4, 2014 (2014-04-04) |
| Related | |
| My Name Is Earl | |
Raising Hope is an American televisionsitcom created byGreg Garcia that aired onFox from September 21, 2010, to April 4, 2014.[1] Following its first season, the show received two nominations at the63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.Martha Plimpton was nominated forOutstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, andCloris Leachman was nominated forOutstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Plimpton also won the 2011Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.
The fourth season premiered Friday, November 15, 2013, at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central with back-to-back episodes.[2] Greg Garcia leftRaising Hope to work onThe Millers forCBS.[3] On March 10, 2014, Fox cancelled the show after four seasons. The series finale aired on April 4, 2014.[4]
James "Jimmy" Chance is a 23-year-old living in the quirky fictional town of Natesville who impregnates aserial killer during aone-night stand. Earning custody of his unexpected daughter, Hope, after the mother issentenced to death, Jimmy relies on his unorthodox but well-intentioned family for support in raising her.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 22 | September 21, 2010 (2010-09-21) | May 17, 2011 (2011-05-17) | |
| 2 | 22 | September 20, 2011 (2011-09-20) | April 17, 2012 (2012-04-17) | |
| 3 | 22 | October 2, 2012 (2012-10-02) | March 28, 2013 (2013-03-28) | |
| 4 | 22 | November 15, 2013 (2013-11-15) | April 4, 2014 (2014-04-04) | |
In June 2009, Fox announced it had booked aput pilot commitment with show creatorGreg Garcia.[5]
ActressOlesya Rulin was originally cast as Sabrina, the love interest for Jimmy, andKate Micucci was added to the cast as Jimmy’s cousin. The pilot was filmed in December 2009.[6][7] In March 2010, Fox decided to recast two roles from the pilot.Shannon Woodward replaced Rulin as Sabrina.[8] Also recast was the role of Jimmy's cousin, changing from Micucci to male actorSkyler Stone as Mike.[7] With this, Micucci's role changed from Jimmy's cousin to become Shelley, Sabrina's cousin.[9]
Foxgreen-lit the pilot to series with an order in mid-May 2010 for a fall premiere in its 2010–11 television schedule.[10][11]
On January 10, 2011, Fox renewedRaising Hope for a second season.[12] On April 9, 2012,Raising Hope was renewed for a third season.[13] On March 4, 2013,Raising Hope was renewed for a fourth season.[14] On March 10, 2014, Fox announced the cancellation of the show after four seasons.
| Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 87% (38 reviews) | 75 (24 reviews) |
| 2 | 100% (11 reviews) | — |
| 3 | 100% (6 reviews) | — |
| 4 | 100% (8 reviews) | — |
Raising Hope has received positive reviews from critics. On thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the show's first season holds a 87% based on 38 reviews, with an average score of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "Thanks to a talented and well-matched cast,Raising Hope largely manages to balance crude, absurdist humor with moments of charm without languishing in one or exploiting the other."[15] OnMetacritic, the season holds anweighted average score of 75 out of 100 onMetacritic based on 24 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]
Tom Gliatto ofPeople Weekly called the show the best new sitcom of the season, favorably comparing it toMalcolm in the Middle. Mary McNamara of theLos Angeles Times was lukewarm towards the show, stating that "Raising Hope is funny, sweet, occasionally provocative, and occasionally over-the-top in a regrettable way." James Poniewozik ofTime Magazine was upbeat, stating that "Neff is amiably charming, Dillahunt and Plimpton give their characters a realism that belies the pilot's often-contemptuous jokes, and maybe 20% of the first episode shows a sweet-heartedness that rises above the easy white-trash humor." While not all of the reviews were positive, they were mostly positive by the end of the first season. Much of the show's praise went to the performances of Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt.[17]
The second season received critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% based on 11 reviews, with an average score of 7/10. The consensus reads, "Raising Hope nurses a winsome sweetness in an improved second season that shears off the comedic bits that didn't work while expounding upon the blue collar charm and gleaming heart that lured viewers in."[18] Matt Roush ofTV Guide called the show in his season 2 review "A treat for anyone who loves a good call-back to classic sitcoms."[19]
The third and fourth season also received critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% based on 6 reviews for season 3[20] and based on 8 reviews for season 4.[21]
| Season | Timeslot (ET/PT) | Episodes | Premiered | Ended | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date time | Premiere Viewers (in millions) | Date | Finale Viewers (in millions) | ||||||
| 1 | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 22 | September 21, 2010 | 7.31[22] | May 17, 2011 | 5.40[23] | 2010–2011 | #85 | 6.45[24] |
| 2 | Tuesday 9:30 pm (September 20, 2011 – February 21, 2012; April 10–17, 2012) Tuesday 8:00 pm (March 6 – April 3, 2012) | 22 | September 20, 2011 | 6.73[25] | April 17, 2012 | 3.79[26] | 2011–2012 | #106 | 5.64[27] |
| 3 | Tuesday 8:00 pm Thursday 9:00 pm (March 28, 2013) | 22 | October 2, 2012 | 3.90[28] | March 28, 2013 | 3.28[29] | 2012–2013 | #106 | 4.56[30] |
| 4 | Friday 9:00 & 9:30 pm | 22 | November 15, 2013 | 2.35[31] | April 4, 2014 | 1.52[32] | 2013–2014 | #144 | 2.69[33] |
In the United Kingdom,Sky1 picked up the broadcast rights and added the show to its 2010–2011 UK & Ireland autumn schedule, beginning in November 2010.[40]
In Australia,Ten originally broadcast the series before moving it toEleven.
InPortugal, the series premiered on January 29, 2011, onFox Life.[41]
InBrazil, the series premiered on September 22, 2010, onFOX.
In Italy, the series premiered on February 3, 2011, onFox. The Italian title isAiutami Hope!.[42]
In theCentral and Eastern Europe, the series broadcasts onHBO, where it premiered on February 1, 2011. The Czech title isVychovávat Hope.[43]
InLatin America, the series broadcasts onI.Sat, where it premiered in March 2011.[44]
In Canada, the first season aired on theGlobal Television Network[45] at the same time as Fox in the United States. In 2011,City bought rights from the Global Television Network, and began broadcasting the show.[46] On the morning show that City airs,Breakfast Television, they announced on May 29, 2011, that the series will start airing at 8:00 pm on Tuesdays instead of 9:30 pm on Tuesdays due to other Fox seriesGlee moving to Thursdays at 9:00pm. This started on September 18, 2012.
InFinland, the first season aired onSub on January 10, 2013. The Finnish title isIsän Tyttö.[47]
In Germany, the series broadcasts onRTL Nitro, where it on September 10, 2012.[48] Seasons 3 and 4 premiered on NOW!.[49]
In Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, the series was broadcast onFox Adria. In January, 2018RTL 2 picked up series for Croatia.
