Joey Information

Joey is an American sitcom, a spin-off from Friends, which stars Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani. It premiered on the NBC television network, on September 9, 2004, in the former time slot of its parent series, Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m.

Midway through the second season, the show was placed on a hiatus by NBC but returned on March 7, 2006, in a new timeslot of Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. One episode, "Joey and the Snowball Fight", was shown on a Tuesday at 8:30 p.m, but was pulled by NBC when it was overshadowed in ratings by American Idol. NBC canceled the series due to poor ratings in May 2006 and did not broadcast the remaining episodes.

Friends characters like Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Chandler Bing and Ross Geller did not guest star.

Development

The pilot episode was released in screener for test audiences and members of the entertainment industry to preview the show and drum up business. The screener was subsequently leaked on the Internet and thus has received a much wider critical review process than initially conceived. There were few differences between the unbroadcast pilot and the version that was broadcast. Ashley Scott played the role of Allison in the unbroadcast pilot, she was replaced by Andrea Anders and the character name changed to Alex.

The series did well in the Nielsen ratings in its first season (2004"2005) and was subsequently renewed for a second season (2005"2006). In the second season, Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. was added to the show as a series regular. Also, Jennifer Coolidge had a more prominent role.

The show was pulled from its Thursday-night timeslot in December 2005, and NBC returned the show in a new timeslot (Tuesdays at 8pm) on March 7, 2006. Due in part to being in competition with American Idol, Joey was the lowest-rated prime time program of the week for NBC. The network pulled the series after the first Tuesday broadcast and its cancellation was announced on May 15, 2006. The remaining episodes have never been broadcast by NBC, but have been shown on various other networks around the world.

Episode 5 and Episode 13 of season 1 were directed by David Schwimmer.

After the series finale of Friends in 2004, LeBlanc signed on for the spin-off series, Joey, following Joey's move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Friends producers Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off, although Bright agreed to executive produce the series with Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. NBC heavily promoted Joey and gave it Friends' Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot. The pilot was watched by 18.6 million American viewers, but ratings continually decreased throughout the series' two seasons, averaging 10.20 million viewers in the first season and 7.10 million in the second. The final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006 was watched by 4.1 million viewers; NBC canceled the series on May 15, 2006 after two seasons. Bright blamed the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio and other producers for quickly ruining the series:

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Main characters

• Matt LeBlanc portrays Joey Tribbiani, a struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on Days of our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey is a womanizer with many girlfriends throughout the series, in keeping with his character on Friends. The series roughly picks up where Friends left off, with Joey at the beginning of the show making a move from New York to Los Angeles to proceed with his acting career. He is constantly talking about food or eating sandwiches or pizza.
• Drea de Matteo as Joey's attractive older sister Gina Tribbiani, who is temperamental and promiscuous. Not particularly bright but very street-wise, Gina is a caring but over-protective and domineering mother. For years she convinced her genius son Michael that he was born when she was 22 instead of 16 years old, and always says he is the one thing she has done really well. She and Joey are friends in addition to being siblings, both having the gift of being extremely appealing to the opposite sex, with numerous lovers. Initially working as hairdresser, by season two she works as a secretary for Joey's agent Bobbie, having impressed Bobbie with her brash manner. In season two she starts dating Michael's father Jimmy once again. In the Season 2 episode "Joey and the Holding Hands", it is implied that Gina may be bisexual.
• Andrea Anders as Alexis "Alex" Garrett, the next door neighbor, landlord and friend. She is an educated, but slightly ditzy, blonde lawyer who graduated from Northwestern University and Pepperdine University School of Law. Initially intimidated, but also intrigued by Joey's tough street-wise older sister Gina, the two women eventually become friends, and she becomes more bold in the way she dresses and acts, thanks to Gina's influence. She is puzzled but impressed by Joey's intuitive gift at being able to know when she is wearing thong panties, and spends most of her time hanging out at Joey and Michael's apartment. She and Joey bond and become close friends. Her husband is a professional orchestra musician and is away from home most of the time, and she confides her problems with her marriage in Joey. At the end of season one, she and Joey become romantically involved during her separation from her husband. In season two she becomes romantically interested in Joey and has a crush on him for a long period. Gina tries to help her to get over Joey, but once Alex starts dating Joey's friend Dean, Joey soon realizes that he is also in love with Alex. Coincidentally the actors portraying Joey and Alex also fell for each other in real life.
• Paulo Costanzo as Joey's nephew Michael Tribbiani who idolises his Uncle Joey's ability to date many women, and who himself is sheltered and nervous around girls. He is self-conscious that he has been so sheltered and that his mother Gina breast fed him until he was seven. Early in the second season it is revealed that Michael has Asperger syndrome. He is a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Wars fan. He is extremely intelligent, an aerospace engineer, attends Caltech and specialises in applied thermodynamics, works with his rival Seth frequently on engineering projects, and is an obvious direct opposite from his more street-wise mother and uncle. He turns to Joey as a big brother and substitute father figure, even after his biological father Jimmy re-enters mother Gina's love life.
• Jennifer Coolidge as Joey's oversexed agent Roberta "Bobbie" Morganstern, and reportedly the twelfth most powerful woman in Hollywood. She has an enormous crush on Joey's nephew Michael. She often entertains herself by making her office assistant do funny tricks, or shocking herself with a stun-gun. She is brash, forward, aggressive, highly entertaining and slightly ditzy, laughing at everything and at anyone's expense, including her client Joey's. She was once sued by Phil Collins.
• Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. joined the cast at the start of season two as the character Zach Miller. He soon became one of Joey's best friends. Zach has an interesting career, going from playing extras on TV, to directing amateur plays. Zach does not appear to have a home; he was seen at one time living in Joey's trailer while working on a major blockbuster movie. In one episode, Zach and Joey, both drunk, married in Tijuana, possibly a parody of Ross and Rachel marrying each other in the season five finale of Friends. As a tribute to Joey and Chandler, Joey and Zach argued like a married couple, Zach playing the part of the wife. Zach's final appearance was in "Joey and the Big Move". Núñez was absent from the last five episodes, including the finale of the series, because he found another job. Zach's absence within the show was not mentioned, nor was the character at all.

Two cast members had previously appeared as different characters in Friends; Coolidge appeared as Amanda, an old friend of Monica and Phoebe, in a tenth season episode. Adam Goldberg appeared in Friends second season in the recurring role of Eddie, who moves in with Chandler after Joey moves out. Additionally, Robert Costanzo reprised his role as Joey's father, a character originated in the first season of Friends, in "Joey and the Dad". Costanzo was the only actor besides LeBlanc to play the same character in this series as in Friends (Gina appeared in a third season episode of Friends, but was not played by Drea de Matteo; Joey's sister Mary Theresa also appeared in a third season Friends episode, but was played by a different actress than on Joey).

Episodes

Season 1: 2004"05

No. in Series	No. in Season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original U.S. air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
Aux4 = 18.55	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = When Joey's new TV show is cancelled and the show he turned down is a big hit, it leaves Joey kicking himself and in search of work. Joey's nephew wants to leave his mother's house and live with his cool uncle but is afraid to tell her. }}	Aux4 = 15.37	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = When Joey plans to teach Michael how to pick up women, Gina invites herself along, even though the guys don't want her to come. Joey finds out that Alex is the one who has been placing complaint notes about everything he does and that everyone hates her because of this. }}	Aux4 = 14.87	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey and Michael plan a party, with the hopes that Joey makes a new friend. Michael's college rival announces he'll be showing up with his girlfriend, Michael tries to compete by enlisting the help of Alex to play his fake girlfriend. Guest Star:Jayma Mays As Molly }}	Aux4 = 13.59	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = To woo a girl in his book club, Michael assigns a romantic novel to the group. However, when he tries to make his move, he finds out that she is already in love with Joey. Gina makes a deal with Alex in order to get more work. }}	Aux4 = 12.83	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = When Joey gets the job of understudying in three different plays, it leaves him in a tight spot when all three main actors call in sick. Meanwhile, there is a vacant apartment in the complex, and Joey, Michael, and Alex try to hide it from Gina. }}	Aux4 = 13.37	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = An actor named Brian Michael David Scott repeatedly tricks Joey into missing auditions. When Michael gets sick, Gina moves into Joey's place to take care of him, and Joey moves to Gina's place to get away from them. However, when staying at Gina's, her secret boyfriend mistakes Joey for her, and snuggles up to him. }}	Aux4 = 11.69	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey finally meets Alex's husband, Eric, and is stunned when Eric is not threatened by him. Joey decides to donate his savings to Gina so she can open up her own salon, but she has second thoughts. }}	Aux4 = 12.56	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Gina's high school friend Donna, who Joey used to have a huge crush on, visits. Joey promises Gina he won't do anything with Donna but cannot resist. Michael learns he used to be a great baseball player when he was younger. }}	Aux4 = 11.69	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey tries to plan the perfect week for Donna, so she chooses him over her husband, who is attempting to reconcile with her. Alex discovers that she can get free stuff because she is a "hot girl". }}	Aux4 = 11.92	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = At Alex's Northwestern alumni party, he is mistaken as a fellow alum by a movie producer. This helps him get an audition for a showed called Deep Powder, or "Baywatch on skis". However, Joey soon finds out the audition is not for the lead character, but for the lead's father. }}	Aux4 = 11.44	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey gets a job as a celebrity judge for the Miss Southwestern U.S.A. pageant in Las Vegas. There, Joey accidentally sleeps with a contestant, while Alex goes to a Celine Dion concert and Michael teaches Gina how to count cards. }}	Aux4 = 10.20	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = At a press conference for Deep Powder, Joey accidentally reveals the plot twist leading him to believe his character may get killed off. Meanwhile, Gina, Michael, and Alex decorate Joey's apartment for Christmas. }}	Aux4 = 12.51	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = After Gina teaches Alex how to make lasagna, Joey and Michael are forced to partake in a taste test. Joey's relationship with his costar Katie gets him in trouble with the executive producer. }}	Aux4 = 12.26	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey brings Gina, Michael, and Alex to the premiere of Deep Powder. Gina's date is Lauren's ex-boyfriend and Alex's is a lesbian. Michael must decide between a girl and Star Trek actor Brent Spiner, and Joey kisses Lauren. }}	Aux4 = 12.55	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey hires an assistant named Glenn (Richard Ruccolo), who turns out to be perfect. However, after he starts dating Gina, things start to go downhill. Meanwhile, Alex holds a mediation between Michael and his friend Seth over a patent dispute. }}	Aux4 = 9.96	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey is supposed to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno but gets stuck in heavy traffic. In traffic, Michael ends up stuck next to a guy he gave the finger to, and Gina meets two guys. }}	Aux4 = 11.40	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey unintentionally makes a date with a People magazine reporter on Valentine's Day, which causes her to believe Joey is looking for a serious relationship. A drunken Alex reveals sexual secrets to Gina, and Michael becomes one of the girls after an attempt to hit on a group of girls. }}	Aux4 = 9.84	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey is nominated for a Daytime Soap Award, and he is also presenting an award but ends up announcing the wrong name. He brings Gina, who is uncomfortable because she is forced by Joey to dressed unlike herself. }}	Aux4 = 9.96	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey's sister Mary Theresa comes to visit, who Gina dislikes. When Mary Theresa discovers her engagement ring is fake, she decides to call off her wedding and stay in LA, causing Joey and Gina to try to find a way to get her to move back to New York. Meanwhile, Michael is oblivious that a girl likes him. }}	Aux4 = 8.76	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey starts to date his new, hot next door neighbor Sara (Mädchen Amick), but Joey forgets to cancel his backup date on the same day. Eric is back for the first time in two months but Alex and him have problems after being apart for so long. }}	Aux4 = 7.51	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Even though Joey and Sara agreed to see other people, Joey realizes he cares too much about her. Alex and Eric separate, leading Eric to move into the apartment next door. Alex sees Eric with another woman and spies on him. Gina wants to break up with Glenn and tells him the reason is because Michael doesn't like him, causing Glenn to try to become closer with him. }}	Aux4 = 7.46	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey and Sara become exclusive, but Joey has a love scene with Carmen Electra for Deep Powder. Joey brings Michael along to help him resist her. Alex finds out Eric kissed another woman. }}	Aux4 = 8.56	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey helps Sara get an interview with Newsweek, but she gets offered a job in Washington, D.C. Gina meets Michael's new girlfriend, who turns out to be a much older woman. Meanwhile, Alex struggles with her divorce, and Gina tries to cheer her up. }}	Aux4 = 8.56	LineColor = FDEE00	ShortSummary = Joey freaks out after asking Sara to move in with him. Alex doesn't know how to act on her first date after her divorce. Bobbie gives Michael tickets to a Star Wars preview but shows up as well, which leads Gina to confronts Bobbie about her behavior around Michael. }}

Season 2: 2005"06

No. in Series	No. in Season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (in millions)
Aux4 = 7.80	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Things become awkward between Joey and Alex after having sex. Due to Joey's popularity on Deep Powder, Bobbie makes some outrageous demands leading to him being fired. Gina starts working for Bobbie. A young aspiring actress moves in the complex and thinks Michael is Joey. Hearing voices in his head causes Joey to blow a couple of auditions. Gina gets to tell everyone bad news for Bobbie, Michael wants Joey to go on a double date with him, and Alex wants Joey to take her on a romantic date so she feels better about sleeping with him. Notes The intro has been changed the executive producer credits has been removed from the intro and Shana Goldberg-Meehan is no longer working on the show and Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. is now part of the main cast. }}	Aux4 = 7.45	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey has to deal with an unruly child actor on the set of his new movie. In order to discipline him, Joey spanks him. Gina helps Alex meet a guy so she can get over Joey. }}	Aux4 = 7.18	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey's stuntman shadows him to learn his mannerisms. Abby, the script supervisor at the movie set, who nags Joey to memorize his lines, dates Michael. A photo of Joey and Alex appears in a US Magazine, and Joey lets her the tell magazine what their relationship status is. }}	Aux4 = 7.35	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey thinks about buying a new house because of the amount of money he is making from his new movie. After helping Bobbie with anger management, Alex learns that she too has anger because of her relationship with Joey. }}	Aux4 = 7.60	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey follows a girl into an English as a second language class. After losing a client for Bobbie, Gina tries to sign Joey's costar Benjamin Lockwood, which irritates Joey. }}	Aux4 = 7.70	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey and Alex play poker, but Alex lets Joey win so he'll continue to play with her. Because of this, he decides to play in Celebrity Poker Showdown. Zach tries to get Joey to donate to a children's rec center. }}	Aux4 = 8.08	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey tries to prevent a woman from releasing a sex tape of him. Gina discovers Bobbie has no plans for her 40th birthday. }}	Aux4 = 8.02	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey and Zach direct a musical starring Gloria, Joey's girlfriend's grandmother. Alex writes a letter to Joey as a way to vent her anger, but Joey reads it and thinks it's about Eric. Bobbie's mother wants a part in the musical. }}	Aux4 = 5.46	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Despite Gina spending a lot of time planning Thanksgiving dinner, Joey decides to go to his bachelor neighbor Dean's party instead. Joey find ancient Native American artifacts in his backyard and accidentally gives them away. }}	Aux4 = 7.77	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey's best friend, Jimmy, from high school visits. It turns out their friendship abruptly ended because Gina was secretly sleeping with him. The crew from Joey's movie use chocolate milk as code for marijuana, but Joey thinks they are actually talking about chocolate milk. }}	Aux4 = 7.99	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey and the guys go to Tijuana after Michael breaks up with Abby. After Dean criticizes Alex's lifestyle, she and Gina go to a party to have fun. }}	Aux4 = 7.99	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey finds out Alex is in love with him. Joey throws a Christmas party. }}	Aux4 = 4.09	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey wants to be with Alex, but she is dating Dean. The action figure of Joey's character has problems. Gina thinks she is pregnant, and Jimmy must deal with the prospects of being a father. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey flies his dad in for his movie premiere, who disapproves of Joey's career, which is oblivious to him until Alex tells him. Joey's billboard is right next to Carmen Electra's, which is getting a lot more attention than his. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey's feelings for Alex grow stronger. Dean throws a party for Alex's 30th birthday and plans to propose. Meanwhile, Gina and Jimmy decide to get tattoos together. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey finally moves into his house, but a fire destroys it. Jimmy learns that he is Michael's father, and he and Joey try to get Michael's DNA without him knowing so they can conduct a paternity test. Meanwhile, Michael gets new roommates. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey dates a famous actress Edie but doesn't know she only needs him as a beard. Jimmy moves in with Gina. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey's movie is getting great reviews except one critic gives it a 0%. The critic turns out to be an 11-year-old girl. Joey starts his own production company and hires Jimmy, but things do not go well. Alex breaks up with Dean but needs Joey to be her friend. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey appears on Inside the Actors Studio. There, Alex learns that how badly Joey has treated some women in the past and is unsure if she wants to go out with Joey. Joey and Jimmy sign up for a clinical trial for testing new medicine so Jimmy can afford a ring to propose to Gina. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = Joey's sexual relationship with Alex is great, but he wants a deeper connection. Michael meets a woman online named sexysteve87. After Gina accepts Jimmy's proposal, she learns he is already married. }}	Aux4 = N/A	LineColor = 92DBDB	ShortSummary = After Alex gets really excited about planning the wedding, Joey thinks she wants to get married. However, it turns out she doesn't want to get married ever. Michael thinks he's the best man even though Jimmy asked Joey. Jimmy and Gina both get cold feet right before the wedding. }}

* The original air dates from April 18, 2006 and onward refers to the UK broadcasts. The series was pulled from the schedule in the United States on March 7, 2006 and ultimately canceled.

Reception and cancellation

Joey premiered on NBC on September 9, 2004 as a part of the network's Thursday night comedy lineup. Although the series was not well received by critics, the premiere episode attracted 18.6 million viewers. As the first season progressed, ratings fell but remained average (10.1 million viewers). NBC renewed the series for a second season and moved it to Tuesday nights opposite Fox's highly rated series American Idol.

As a result, ratings for the second season fell to an all time low (4.1 million viewers) and NBC put the show on hiatus in March 2006. NBC officially canceled the series in May 2006 citing low ratings.

Nielsen ratings

Based on average total viewers per episode of Joey on NBC:

Season	Timeslot (ET)	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)	18-49 rating/share (rank)	Season high (in millions)	Season low (in millions)
1	Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 9, 2004 - May 12, 2005)	September 9, 2004	May 12, 2005	2004-2005	#35	10.7	4.2/12 (#32)	18.6	7.5
2	Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 22, 2005 - December 15, 2005) Tuesday 8:30 P.M. (March 7, 2006)	September 22, 2005	March 7, 2006	2005-2006	#86	7.0	2.8/8 (#74)	8.4	4.1

Awards

Joey won the People's Choice Award of Favorite New Television Comedy and Matt LeBlanc won Favorite Male Television Star. LeBlanc was also nominated for the Golden Globe of Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical.

International airings

In the United Kingdom the show was broadcast by Channel Five. All episodes were broadcast.

In Greece the show started airing by Star Channel. It is unknown if all episodes will air.

DVD releases

The Complete First Season was released on DVD on May 30, 2006 with all 24 episodes and French and Spanish subtitles. The Complete Second Season was released on April 29, 2008 in Canada (Region 1) and on September 10, 2008 in the Netherlands and September 11, 2008 in Portugal (both Region 2).

The show is rated PG in Australia and New Zealand for sexual references.