The New Adventures of Old Christine (often shortened to simply Old Christine) is an American sitcom created by Kari Lizer that aired on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010. The series stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell, a single mother balancing her work and personal life while maintaining a close relationship with her ex-husband, Richard, played by Clark Gregg. The show also features Hamish Linklater as Christine’s brother Matthew, Wanda Sykes as her best friend Barb, and Trevor Gagnon as her son Ritchie.
The sitcom revolves around Christine's humorous and often chaotic attempts to keep pace with the changing world around her, especially as she navigates life as a divorcée, while her ex-husband moves on with a younger girlfriend, also named Christine, referred to as "New Christine." Filming primarily took place in Los Angeles, California, with Andy Ackerman directing all 88 episodes.
The New Adventures of Old Christine received positive reviews from critics. Throughout its run, the series received 9 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with Louis-Dreyfus winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2006.
CBS canceled The New Adventures of Old Christine after five seasons on May 18, 2010.
Background Christine Campbell (portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a neurotic and often self-absorbed single mother. She owns a women’s gym and grapples with her insecurities, while striving to maintain some semblance of control over her chaotic life. She shares a complicated yet cordial relationship with her ex-husband, Richard (Clark Gregg), whose younger girlfriend—also named Christine—is referred to as "New Christine," much to her chagrin. This leads to Christine being called "Old Christine," a source of ongoing humor in the series.
Christine lives with her son, Ritchie (Trevor Gagnon), and her brother, Matthew (Hamish Linklater), a therapist who often provides sarcastic yet supportive advice. Christine's best friend and business partner, Barb (Wanda Sykes), frequently acts as her confidante, offering both comic relief and level-headed counsel amidst Christine's many personal dilemmas.
Throughout the series, Christine’s life is marked by her competitive, and often disastrous, attempts to keep up with the societal pressures around her. This includes her ongoing rivalry with the wealthy and condescending "meanie moms" at her son’s private school, Marly Ehrhardt (Tricia O'Kelley) and Lindsay (Alex Kapp Horner), who often exacerbate her feelings of inadequacy.
The series humorously explores Christine's journey through motherhood, friendship, and self-discovery, while highlighting her struggles with modern life and her efforts to rebuild post-divorce.
There are guest appearances from actors including Blair Underwood, Dave Foley, Eric McCormack, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Tambor, Megan Mullally, Scott Bakula, Ed Begley Jr., Kristen Johnston, Molly Shannon, Andy Richter, Amy Sedaris, Lee Tergesen, Jane Lynch, and Marion Ross.
History Synopsis
The first season consists of 13 episodes and premiered on March 13, 2006. In this season Christine has only just enrolled her son, Ritchie, at a new posh private school, where she is constantly being humiliated by Marly and Lindsay, some non-working mothers at the school. On top of all this, she has just discovered her ex-husband, Richard, has started dating a much younger woman who is also named Christine. Christine has a brief fling with Burton Schaefer, her on-and-off romantic interest, but they soon break up due to Christine not being able to commit to the relationship. In the season finale, Christine kisses Richard, causing him to tell New Christine, who promptly breaks up with him.
The second season consists of 22 episodes and premiered on September 18, 2006. Due to Richard and Christine spending more time together after his breakup with New Christine, Ritchie believes that his parents have gotten back together, much to his parents' dismay. Christine starts dating an older man, who she later discovers is New Christine's father. Richard and New Christine rekindle their romance once again. Barb decides to start working at the gym with Christine, while Christine falls hard for Ritchie's new teacher, Mr. Harris. The season finale included Richard sleeping with Christine after breaking up with New Christine yet again. This causes a pregnancy scare for Christine, which is soon avoided. Eventually, New Christine takes Richard back and Mr. Harris takes a new teaching job at another school, allowing him and Christine to start dating.
The third season was scheduled as a midseason replacement on CBS with 13 episodes scheduled. Due to the 2007 writer's strike, the third season consists of only 10 episodes. The third season premiered on February 4, 2008. Christine and Mr. Harris have a good relationship, until Christine's schedule becomes too hectic midway through the season; so they eventually break up. Meanwhile, Richard and New Christine buy a house together, which coincidentally is Christine's dream house, leaving her feeling jealous and confused. Barb leaves her husband and she has a short-lived fling with Matthew, much to Christine's horror.
The fourth season, consisting of 22 episodes, premiered on September 24, 2008. As she is Bahamian, Barb faces deportation from the U.S. after her divorce, so Christine decides to marry her in a sham lesbian marriage in order to keep her best friend in the country. Richard and New Christine become engaged while Matthew finds love with one of his clients. Christine has a brief relationship with a man named Patrick, while Christine and Barb decide to turn their gym into a spa which they later discover has turned into a brothel. On the day of Richard and New Christine's wedding, Christine briefly gets back together with New Christine's father, but is later left heartbroken when she discovers that he is engaged. This causes Richard to rush to Christine's side, provoking the jealous New Christine to leave him at the altar. Meanwhile, Barb and Christine's sham marriage is discovered by Dave, an INS officer, leaving Barb imprisoned.
The fifth and final season, consisting of 21 episodes, premiered on September 23, 2009. Barb is released from custody and marries Richard so that she can stay in the country. She also starts dating the immigration officer Dave. While Richard tries to win New Christine back, he temporarily moves into a new apartment with Matthew. Christine begins going to therapy, but she is attracted to her therapist, Max. They eventually abandon Christine's therapy and strike up a relationship instead. New Christine announces that she is pregnant, causing Richard to rekindle his relationship with her. New Christine eventually gives birth to a baby girl. Meanwhile, Barb becomes engaged to a reluctant Dave. At the conclusion of the season, Christine also becomes engaged to Max, but she feels intimidated by his very educated friends, and also in an effort to improve herself and reach her potential, she decides to return to college.
Cancellation In May 2010, CBS canceled The New Adventures of Old Christine. Afterward, series creator Kari Lizer slammed the network, suggesting the decision to cancel the series was sexist. In an interview with TV Guide, Lizer stated: "As far as what happened at CBS, we've suffered from a serious lack of support from them since the beginning. I hate to say it, but I'm afraid they don't care much for the female-of-a-certain-age point of view over there. How else do you explain them squandering the talents of Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] and Wanda [Sykes]?" With support from Lizer, Warner Bros. Television began negotiations to continue the series on ABC, but a deal could not be made reportedly due to a high licensing fee.
Cast and characters Main cast
"Old" Christine Kimble Campbell (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the main character of the series, is a divorced mother who owns and operates a gym for women. She has a number of neuroses: although she suffers from feelings of inadequacy, she can also be very self-centered and thinks very highly of her looks. Christine's bad luck with relationships continues after her divorce. Her age is unknown (although at one point she mentions growing up in the 70s). An ongoing joke is her addiction to wine and trimming decades off her real age. Richard Campbell (Clark Gregg) is Christine's ex-husband, who maintains a frequent presence in her life. After divorcing Christine, he finds love with another woman also named Christine, who is nicknamed "New Christine". He suffers from commitment issues; taking months to tell New Christine that he loves her and four years to propose to New Christine. Richard's presence in his ex-wife's life causes a strain between himself and New Christine, which results in her walking out on their wedding. Richard accepts the fact she doesn't want him back, though he and New Christine reunite when she becomes pregnant. Matthew Kimble (Hamish Linklater) is Christine's long-suffering, live-in brother who often acts as a low-key straight man to his neurotic sister. Matthew has trouble finding a career path; he enters and then quits medical school before pursuing a career as a therapist. He suffers from an unhealthy attachment to his mother; whom he still kisses on the mouth and needs to speak to on a nightly basis in order to fall asleep. He constantly teases Christine's age, usually implying that she is "old". Matthew frequently dates women but is rarely interested in them beyond a one-night stand. He is also portrayed as a pot smoker, but in one episode, he claims that he has never done drugs. Richard "Richie" Campbell Jr. (Trevor Gagnon), Christine and Richard's son, who attends a posh private school. Often smothered by his mother, his lack of masculine traits begins to worry his father. He is not very bright and mediocre in all his after-school activities. "New" Christine Liesl Hunter (Emily Rutherfurd) is Richard's young, sweet and confused girlfriend, nicknamed New Christine. She is sometimes annoyed by Richard's continued closeness with Old Christine, who treats her with derision, leading to friction between the two women. She is also frustrated with Richard's lack of commitment to their relationship and walks out on their wedding due to his dedication to Old Christine. She also becomes furious when she learns that she is pregnant, even though Richard told her he had a vasectomy. They re-kindle their relationship and Christine gives birth to a daughter named Dakota Christine Hunter-Campbell in the season 5 episode "Scream". Marly EhrhardtLast name established in the season two episode "Crash". (Tricia O'Kelley) is a rich mother from Richie's private school who often puts Christine down for being divorced, having a low income and being a working mother. Christine often calls Marly and Lindsay the "meanie moms". Marly has a daughter, Ashley. She is said to have had much plastic surgery, and can evidently no longer turn her neck or wink. In the fourth season, Marly becomes pregnant again and forces her friend Lindsay to become pregnant with her, so that they can both "ruin their bodies together". Lindsay (Alex Kapp Horner), one of the "meanie moms" from Ritchie's school, who is best friends with Marly, although Marly is clearly dominant to the subservient Lindsay, who often does things against her will to earn Marly's approval. They frequently make Christine feel inferior and poor. Lindsay has a daughter, Kelsey, whom Marly believes is a lesbian. In the fourth season, Lindsay becomes pregnant along with Marly. She was previously a brunette and getting her master's in Women's Studies before she met Marly. On a few occasions, she has been shown to be kind to Old Christine, unbeknownst to Marly.