REVIEW: ‘Newlyweds’ Episode 1 — “Pilot”

Familiarity does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to comedy. Sitcoms are at their best when they’re comfortable. They should be relatable. They shouldn’t stray too far from the formula that’s worked for decades. Newlyweds Episode 1, directed by Pamela Flynn, is a mostly successful execution of the cozy situational comedy so dear to television audiences.

Created by Jamie Lee Curtis and Gail Lerner, Newlyweds pairs Téa Leoni and Tim Daly together. It’s a return to familiarity, pairing actors with tried-and-true chemistry who portrayed a long-married couple on Madam Secretary for 120 episodes. Additionally, Leoni and Daly have been married since 2025. They are literally newlyweds. Their charm and chemistry are palpable.

Jeanie (Téa Leoni) and James (Tim Daly) meet on a blind date the night before James leaves for a month in Norway. Newlyweds Episode 1 spends most of its 22 minutes allowing the two to get acquainted in this whirlwind romance. After going to Norway, James and Jeanie spend a lot of time on the phone with each other and are regularly interrupted by James’ hilariously inappropriate teaching assistant, Arvid (Bill O’Neill). While Arvid’s antics seem to exhaust James, they entertain Jeanie, and even after James leaves Norway, Jeanie keeps up with him.

The real-life romance transfers well in Newlyweds Episode 1.

Jeanie describes herself as a butterfly. She’s all chaos and spontaneity, regularly doing things just for the sake of doing them. It comes across in her love for her family, her bucket list of things she wants to accomplish, like climbing the Alps, and even how bold and audacious she is in her dating life.

She’s a science teacher, but discipline isn’t exactly her strong suit. Still, she’s wildly passionate and compassionate, having even taken in her former student, Lolo (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio), and adopted him when he aged out of the foster system. Jeanie’s daughter, Poppy (Emma Meisel), and her son Lolo are the grounding presences Jeanie needs.

James, by contrast, is all discipline, almost to the point of being curmudgeonly. In Jeanie’s butterfly allegory, she says the opposite of a butterfly is a gopher that stays so focused on the ground in front of it that it never experiences the world around it. James is definitely a gopher.

Jamie Lee Curtis is a powerhouse, but never outshines her co-stars. 

Rounding out the main cast of Newlyweds Episode 1 is James’ ex-wife Claudia (Jamie Lee Curtis), who, like Jeanie, is a butterfly. Evidently, James has a type. Despite losing her marriage and the house, she still seems very comfortable walking in whenever she feels like it.

Claudia is over the top. In her world, everything is about Claudia. She’s rude, obnoxious, and completely selfish. Not surprisingly, Jamie Lee Curtis is an absolute powerhouse. Her comedic timing is unparalleled. If anything, she’s simply not featured enough in Newlyweds Episode 1.

Against a less seasoned tier of actors, Curtis would outclass and overpower her co-stars, but here, Leoni and Daly shine as the real stars. They remind the audience of that every chance they get, using their well-established chemistry as a launching pad for every flirty glance, knowing smile, and outright innuendo.

Unlike the other characters, Arvid comes across as cartoonish and one-dimensional in comparison.

Tim Daly already has experience playing a college professor as Dr. Henry McCord in Madam Secretary. So, it’s no surprise that Daly, who already looks like a professor, fits into the role of James like a glove. Even though his sitcom identity makes him more of a caricature, it doesn’t hurt his believability.

On the other hand, before watching Newlyweds Episode 1 , it was hard to believe that Téa Leoni’s voice was capable of something other than pomp and authority. Yet that same mature vocal quality that gives her instant credibility is expertly used here to make her sound sultry.

Newlyweds Episode 1 does have a couple of noticeable stumbles. Claudia is over the top, and so is Arvid. The problem here is that it’s written for Claudia so much better than Arvid. Bill O’Neill is a perfectly capable actor, but Arvid feels like the cartoonish adult in a sitcom made for kids. While Claudia feels like a fully realized character with reasons for her larger-than-life presence, Arvid is simply one of Newlyweds’ jokes.

The pacing of this romance is unreasonably fast, but it sets up future jokes.

The other issue is pacing. Yes, the show is called Newlyweds, but James and Jeanie both ignore giant neon red flags to become engaged after a mere six-week romance. By the end of the pilot episode, Lolo is still calling James “Norway Guy.” It’ll certainly be fodder for future jokes, but it forces the two leads, including James The Gopher, into making a huge life decision without any critical thinking.

And still, there’s a ton of potential for Newlyweds after its pilot episode. It’s genuinely funny, and the series’ leads are incredibly talented both individually and as a pair.  Should Newlyweds continue in the same manner as its pilot, it’ll be one of the fall season’s best new shows on television.

Newlyweds Episode 1 is streaming now on Peacock, with new episodes airing on NBC Friday nights and streaming on Saturdays.