The New Odd Couple

The New Odd Couple is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and was an updated version of the 1970s television series The Odd Couple. The New Odd Couple was the second attempt to remake a series of one of Neil Simon's plays with a primarily African-American and European-American cast. The first was Barefoot in the Park (which also premiered on September 24, 1970, the same day as the original Odd Couple series).

The New Odd Couple
Genre	Sitcom
Based on	The Odd Couple by Neil Simon
Developed by	Garry K. Marshall
Written by	Lowell Ganz Mark Rothman Millee Taggart Kurt Taylor
Directed by	Joel Zwick John Tracy
Starring	Ron Glass Demond Wilson John Schuck Bart Braverman Jo Marie Payton Liz Torres
Theme music composer	Neal Hefti
Composers	Dan Foliart Howard Pearl
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	18
Production
Executive producers	Garry Marshall Anthony W. Marshall
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Henderson Production Company Inc. Paramount Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 29, 1982 (1982-10-29) – May 26, 1983 (1983-05-26)
Related
The Odd Couple

Synopsis

In this series, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison were both African-American college buddies who met in the 1950s. Felix was portrayed by Ron Glass and Oscar was portrayed by Demond Wilson. The characterizations were still the same, as Felix was a prissy neatfreak and Oscar was a fun-loving and sloppy character. John Schuck also appeared as Murray the Cop, who was kept Caucasian, as was the character of Roy, who was played by Bart Braverman.

The show ran for 18 episodes. When production on the series began, a Hollywood writers strike was underway; as a result, eight of the early episodes recycled scripts from the original series. By the time the writers began producing new scripts, it was too late, as the show never found an audience. The series was cancelled in 1983.

Cast

• Ron Glass as Felix Unger
• Demond Wilson as Oscar Madison
• John Schuck as Officer Murray Greshler
• Sheila Anderson as Cecily Pigeon
• Ronalda Douglas as Gwendolyn Pigeon
• Bart Braverman as Roy
• Liz Torres as Maria
• Jo Marie Payton as Mona
• Telma Hopkins as Frances Ungar
• Christopher Joy as Speed
• Marvin Braverman as Vinnie

Production

The New Odd Couple was executive produced by Garry and Anthony W. Marshall, and produced by Paramount Television. The theme music was still the same as the original series (composed by Neal Hefti), but it was played with a more updated urban arrangement.

This marked the second time Ron Glass and Demond Wilson collaborated; nearly a decade prior, they appeared together in two episodes of Sanford and Son: "Card Sharps" (S2, E6) and "Once a Thief" (S4, E15).

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"The Ides of April"	Joel Zwick	Lowell Ganz & Mark Rothman	October 29, 1982 (1982-10-29)
Felix receives a letter from the IRS. While correcting the error at the IRS office, he accidentally gives away the information about Oscar's tax violations. Felix helps Oscar with his backlogged taxes and saves the day.
2	"The Hustler"	Joel Zwick	Lowell Ganz & Mark Rothman	November 5, 1982 (1982-11-05)
Oscar is suckered into a contest with a pool hustler.
3	"Frances Moves In"	Joel Zwick	Lowell Ganz & Mark Rothman	November 12, 1982 (1982-11-12)
Felix' ex-wife moves in, interrupting the weekly poker game.
4	"That Was No Lady"	Joel Zwick	Lee Kalcheim	November 19, 1982 (1982-11-19)
Felix falls for the girlfriend of a boxing great, KO'ing Oscar's hopes of writing a book on the champion.
5	"Brother, Can You Spare a Job?"	Joel Zwick	Jerry Ross	November 26, 1982 (1982-11-26)
At Felix' prodding, Oscar demands a raise and is immediately promoted into the ranks of the unemployed.
6	"The New Car"	Joel Zwick	Lowell Ganz & Mark Rothman	December 3, 1982 (1982-12-03)
In this episode, Felix and Oscar win a car. The car becomes a problem when the two are forced to take turns getting up early to move it across the street. Problems are made worse when Felix refuses to let Oscar drive the car for fear that something will happen to it. Eventually they decide to get rid of the car so that it does not come between their friendship.
7	"The Cordon Blues"	Joel Zwick	Jeffrey Duteil & Ralph Farquhar	December 10, 1982 (1982-12-10)
A socialite friend thinks Felix has the panache to manage her new restaurant.
8	"The Odd Triangle"	Joel Zwick	Norman Barasch	December 17, 1982 (1982-12-17)
Felix suspects the model Oscar is dating is using his roommate to get to Felix—and his influence as a fashion photographer.
9	"Opening Night"	John Tracy	Mary Cory Miller & Kurt Taylor	December 31, 1982 (1982-12-31)
Felix helps Oscar review a Broadway play whose backer insists on a favorable notice—or else.
10	"Security"	Joel Zwick	Jerry Belson	January 7, 1983 (1983-01-07)
In the aftermath of a robbery, Felix gets a guard dog and looks for an apartment with tighter security.
11	"Bachelor of the Year"	Joel Zwick	Mark C. Miller & Kurt Taylor	January 14, 1983 (1983-01-14)
Felix and Oscar are pitted against each other in a magazine's Man of the Year contest.
12	"A Grave for Felix"	Joel Zwick	Dick Bensfield & Perry Grant	January 21, 1983 (1983-01-21)
The money Felix entrusts to Oscar for a cemetery-plot deposit becomes ready cash for Oscar's gambling.
13	"My Strife in Court"	Joel Zwick	Lowell Ganz & Mark Rothman	January 28, 1983 (1983-01-28)
Oscar can't find a date for a concert, so Felix gets them both arrested for scalping at the door.
14	"Oscar Dates Felix's Frances"	Joel Zwick	Stu Silver	February 18, 1983 (1983-02-18)
Oscar agrees to accompany Felix' ex-wife to a boring lecture. The unexpected happens when Oscar and Frances decide to begin dating.
15	"Murray's Hot Date"	Joel Zwick	Madeline Sunshine & Steven Sunshine	February 25, 1983 (1983-02-25)
Oscar gives the household money to Charity—a prostitute he hires as Murray's date for the civil servant.
16	"The Perils of Pauline"	Joel Zwick	Jeffrey Duteil & Barry O'Brien	May 13, 1983 (1983-05-13)
Oscar's pals surprise him with a word processor, but Oscar can't compose without "Pauline" - his trusty typewriter.
17	"The Only Way to Fly"	Joel Zwick	Madeline Sunshine & Steven Sunshine	May 20, 1983 (1983-05-20)
Murray's palm reading points to bad luck down the line for Felix, beginning with Oscar ruining his roommate's chances to enter a photo exhibition.
18	"The Night Stalker"	Joel Zwick	Ralph Farquhar	May 26, 1983 (1983-05-26)
A crazed man throws a brick through Felix' studio window, and it's wrapped with a message threatening Felix for dating his wife.

US TV Ratings

Season	Episodes	Start date	End date	Nielsen rank	Nielsen rating
1982-83	18	October 29, 1982	May 26, 1983	60[1]	N/A

Syndication

Reruns of the series aired on BET in the early 1990s. TV Land occasionally aired reruns when they were airing reruns of the original 1970s series.