How The Mad About You Revival Ended The Series (& Could It Return?)
Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt sitcom Mad About You was revived after a 20-year hiatus, but how did the rebooted season end and could the show return?
What happened in the Mad About You revival finale and did it leave the door open for another season? Emmy Award-winning sitcom Mad About You stars Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as New York-based husband and wife Paul and Jamie Buchman – a documentary filmmaker and publicist, respectively – and originally aired for seven seasons on NBC between 1992 and 1999. The show’s original run followed Paul and Jamie from the newlywed stage through to parenthood after their daughter Mabel was born in season 5 and boasted crossovers with the likes of Seinfeld and Friends.
Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt and many other original Mad About You cast members reunited in 2019 for a 12-episode reboot season helmed by Spectrum Originals. Although the original series finale that aired back in 1999 flashed forward with an adult Mabel (played by Janeane Garafalo) narrating how her parents separated and later reunited, the Mad About You reboot took a cue from fellow revived sitcoms Will & Grace and Roseanne and effectively retconned its original ending.
Instead, the Mad About You revival picks up with Paul and Jamie as they are adjusting to life as empty nesters after a now teenaged Mabel (Abby Quinn) heads off to college at NYU. The eighth season also found Paul and Jamie dealing with the kinds of issues middle-aged couples come up against like marriage fatigue, the menopause and the death of a friend, prompting them to get to grips with their own mortality. Jamie also had a pretty hard time cutting the apron strings, especially considering Mabel’s dorm was just a few blocks away from their apartment but the revival finale helped her along in that respect.
The final episode of the Mad About You revival saw Paul and Jamie throwing an 18th birthday party for a rather reluctant Mabel who had something big to tell her parents. Paul and Jamie spent much of the finale worrying about what Mabel’s big secret could be (Did she fail a test? Was she pregnant? Did she kill someone?), it was finally revealed that Mabel had quit school to live on a boat for a year and clean plastic out of the Pacific Ocean. Naturally, Paul and Jamie weren’t too happy and tried to convince Mabel not to go but eventually came to terms with her leaving. The finale ended with Paul surprising Jamie with a long-dreamed about vacation in Tahiti as a way of truly enjoying their time as empty nesters.
The Mad About You revival finale wrapped up the rebooted season nicely but also left the door open for the sitcom to return. The series has yet to be renewed for another season, however, and considering the revival received lukewarm reviews and was only intended as a limited series, a ninth season of Mad About You currently looks unlikely.
