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That's Life
Genre	Comedy drama
Created by	Diane Ruggiero
Starring	Heather Paige Kent Kristin Bauer Peter Firth Kevin Dillon Danielle Harris Debi Mazar Paul Sorvino Ellen Burstyn
Composers	Jay Gruska Danny Pelfrey
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	36 (4 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	Anita W. Addison Maddy Horne Lynn Marie Latham Frank Renzulli
Producers	Peter Dunne W. Mark McNair Peter Woronov
Running time	42 minutes
Production companies	Film Noir Productions (Season 1) Paramount Network Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	October 1, 2000 (2000-10-01) – January 26, 2002 (2002-01-26)

That's Life is an Americancomedy-drama television series created byDiane Ruggiero, that was broadcast onCBS from October 1, 2000 to January 26, 2002.

The hour-long series follows the life of a youngItalian-American woman (Lydia DeLucca, played byHeather Paige Kent), loosely based on Ms. Ruggiero's life, and her family in suburbanNew Jersey. The show was set in fictional Bellefield, ostensibly a play on the combination ofBelleville andBloomfield, two adjacent olderworking class suburbs on the north side ofNewark, New Jersey.

In the first season, Frank DeLucca works as atoll collector on theNew Jersey Turnpike, while Dolly is a housewife. In the second season, Frank retires after suffering aheart attack on the job, and he and Dolly open a restaurant.Kevin Dillon played Paulie, Lydia's younger brother who was a young officer on the Bellefield Police Department who still lived at home.Debi Mazar played Jackie, Lydia's wise-cracking friend who owned a hair salon. The show mixed family situations with situations focusing on Lydia's life as a young single woman looking for both love and stable career, and for more out of life than simply raising children.

The first season revolved around the fallout from Lydia's breaking off her engagement to Lou (Sonny Marinelli, who was written out after a few episodes), enrolling atMontville State University, a local university somewhat resembling nearbyMontclair State University, and moving away from home for the first time. Most of the situations were light-hearted, but plots occasionally delved into darker subjects, including Paulie's struggle to resist the temptation to fall into corruption as a police officer. In the second season, Lydia finally selects a major to pursue a career insports medicine. Her mother Dolly successfully ran for city council of Bellefield. Paulie started dating Plum (Danielle Harris), a classmate whom Lydia befriends in the first season, and marries her.

The show developed a small fan base and received generally positive critical response, but languished in the ratings, despite the presence of well-known names in its cast, in part because it aired during theFriday night death slot for much of its run. It was cancelled at the end of the second season with numerous unresolved plot lines, including the budding romance between Lydia and one of her professors.

• Heather Paige Kent as Lydia DeLucca
• Debi Mazar as Jackie O'Grady
• Ellen Burstyn as Dolly DeLucca
• Paul Sorvino as Frank DeLucca
• Kevin Dillon as Paulie DeLucca
• Danielle Harris as Plum Wilkinson (later: DeLucca)
• Titus Welliver as Eric Hackett (Season 2)
• Gregory Jbara as Jo Jo Regosi

• Highest rated: 12.1 million/9.1 household rating [series debut againstSummer Olympics Closing Ceremony]
• 2000 to 2001:
• 2001 to 2002: 6.9 million viewers^[1]

• That's Life atIMDb
• That's Life atepguides.com

• CBS comedy-dramas
• 2000 American television series debuts
• 2002 American television series endings
• 2000s American comedy-drama television series
• Serial drama television series
• Television series by CBS Studios
• Television shows set in New Jersey

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