“I couldn’t get a job on a sitcom, and now I can because I created one,” Jamie Lee Curtis told PEOPLE ahead of the premiere of Newlyweds.
The 67-year-old actress co-created the NBC comedy with Gail Lerner, whose credits include Will & Grace, Black-ish and Happy Endings. Curtis also serves as an executive producer and plays Claudia, the ex-wife of Tim Daly’s character, in a recurring role.
Her favorite television job had been Anything But Love, she told TV Insider. The ABC sitcom paired her with Richard Lewis from 1989 to 1992 and earned her a Golden Globe. She had repeatedly asked her representatives to find her another sitcom.
Newlyweds premiered Friday, October 23, following Happy’s Place. Its 13-episode first season airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET, with episodes streaming on Peacock the next day, according to NBC Insider.
A Driver’s New Wife Sparked the Idea in 2019
Curtis dates the idea to April 25, 2019, when she was riding in a limousine in New York. Speaking with UPI, she recalled a driver mentioning that he was divorced before referring to his new wife.
Hearing a man in his 60s talk about a new wife, Curtis immediately imagined a comedy about people in their 60s and 70s who married impulsively, then had to work out how to live together.
Curtis compared the premise with her marriage to filmmaker Christopher Guest, recalling in her PEOPLE interview that she saw his photograph in a magazine, decided she would marry him and did so four months later.
A Postponed Film Freed Curtis to Play Claudia
Curtis wasn’t originally cast as Claudia. She told UPI that a movie she expected to make had moved to the following year, opening up her fall schedule. With the time available, she offered to take the part herself.
In an upcoming episode, Curtis and Téa Leoni carry a large painting down a staircase, with Curtis above and Leoni backing down below. Leoni said the prop weighed only about four pounds, but they played up the struggle and argued over who was carrying the heavier end.
Curtis also emphasized that viewers can watch the show on broadcast television without a streaming subscription. She told UPI she wanted comedy to offer a break from the politics and pressures of daily life.
Téa Leoni and Tim Daly Play Newly Married Opposites
Leoni plays Jeanie, a free-spirited woman, while Daly portrays James, a reserved professor. After a whirlwind courtship, they marry and begin combining lives that already include children, friends and former partners.
The actors married in real life in July 2025 after meeting on Madam Secretary, where they also played spouses. In a separate PEOPLE interview, Leoni said they had just married when Curtis approached them about the project, and that Curtis’s promise to participate helped persuade them.
Both have experience in television comedy: Leoni starred in The Naked Truth, while Daly was a lead on Wings. Leoni told TV Insider that Lucille Ball had inspired her interest in performing. The supporting cast includes Emma Meisel as Jeanie’s daughter, Poppy, and Ignacio Diaz-Silverio as her adopted son, Lolo, alongside Bill O’Neill and Al Madrigal.
Gail Lerner Was Fired Two Weeks Before the Premiere
On October 9, Lerner announced on Instagram that she had been fired as showrunner. She said the explanation she received was “creative differences.” NBC confirmed that reason to TheWrap and declined to elaborate.
Lerner said the first six episodes had been made under her leadership. She praised the cast, crew and writers, expressed sadness about leaving and encouraged viewers to watch. TheWrap reported that filming on Episode 8 was underway and that a scheduled hiatus would be used to find her replacement.
Bruce Helford was named showrunner and executive producer on October 15, TVLine reported. His credits include Roseanne, The Drew Carey Show and The Conners. Curtis told the Los Angeles Times that Helford was her first call about the idea.
