‘The Odd Couple’ News: Premiere Showing Scheduled After ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and Before the ‘Two and a Half Men’ Finale, “I couldn't ask for anything better than that,” Says Star Matthew Perry
CBS' The Odd Couple premiered February 19, at 8:30 pm right after The Big Bang Theory, replacing Mom which was moved to Thursdays at the 9:30 pm time slot. The reboot version of the 1070s TV series of the same name now stars star Matthew Perry as the slovenly Oscar Madison and Thomas Lennon as the obsessively-tidy Felix Unger, who together make up the new odd couple. The premiere episode is simply titled "Pilot" and has Oscar's new bachelor life abruptly interrupted with the arrival of Felix, who is making "a short visit."
After being kicked out of their houses by their wives, two friends, Oscar and Felix, try to share an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day. Felix, now a neat-freak photographer is kicked out by his ex-wife Frances and moves in with Oscar, now a sports-writer, whose ex-wife Gaby (Lauren Graham) has left him because of his slobbiness. Now both divorcees will have to live in the same apartment in spite of their differences.
Felix and Oscar attempt to date Casey (Leslie Bibb) and Emily (Lindsay Sloane), two sisters who coincidentally are roommates in the same building, who both have alsorecently divorced their husbands. Felix however is pretty insecure as he still has feelings for his ex-wife Frances, which contrasts with the fact that Oscar feels better off away from his ex. Oscar also holds poker games regularly, with one of the players being Teddy (Wendell Pierce), an extremely naive policeman.
Perry who is still best known for his role in Friends is also credited with developing and executive producing the remake of The Odd Couple. During the 2015 TCA Winter Press Tour, he told reporters [via E!Online]: "With the timeslot we have for The Odd Couple, it's ideal. It's exactly where we want to be, after the biggest comedy on television; our premiere episode is after The Big Bang Theory and before the final episode of Two and a Half Men. I couldn't ask for anything better than that." Then he joked, "I am doingThe Odd Couple because my attempt at being a movie star failed."