# Suburgatory (2011)

> A single father uproots his sixteen-year-old daughter from the city to a suburb whose picture-perfect surface hides a world of image-obsessed moms and teens.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/36163

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 57
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Emily Kapnek
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Jane Levy, Jeremy Sisto, Carly Chaikin, Allie Grant, Cheryl Hines, Alan Tudyk, Rex Lee, Ana Gasteyer
- TMDB rating: 7.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1741256/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, satirical, affectionate, wry, light

## What critics say

Audiences rated the series positively, appreciating its sharp satire of suburban excess and its comedic cast.

## Synopsis

Suburgatory (2011-2014) is an American single-camera-style network sitcom created by Emily Kapnek for ABC. Jeremy Sisto plays George Altman, a widowed city father who moves his sixteen-year-old daughter Tessa (Jane Levy) out of Manhattan-style urban life into a manicured suburb after finding condoms in her bedroom. The engine of the comedy is his bewildered attempt to parent in a community where appearances rule: Tessa tries to fit in with a clique of spray-tanned, Red Bull-fueled teens, while George navigates a neighborhood of image-obsessed mothers. Dalia Royce (Carly Chaikin) and her mother Dallas (Cheryl Hines) embody the glossy surface, while neighbors Lisa Shay (Allie Grant) and Sheila Shay (Ana Gasteyer) and the Werner family add further layers of ambition and absurdity. Each thirty-minute episode is a self-contained case of the week built around a suburban status crisis, and the show runs three seasons as a light, brisk comedy. The tone is breezy, satirical and affectionate, with a fish out of water sensibility that skewers consumer culture and keeping up appearances. Fans of Desperate Housewives, Malcolm in the Middle and Ugly Betty will find a similar blend of suburban satire and family warmth.

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