October 24, 2026, 7:03 a.m. ET
It’s never too late.
It’s never too late to follow your dreams, fall in love, be impulsive and find joy and laughter. And as cheesy and uplifting as it sounds, that’s the delightful tone and theme of NBC’s new sitcom “Newlyweds” (Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, ★★★ out of four).
Starring real-life married couple Téa Leoni and Tim Daly as sixty-year-olds who decide to get married after just six weeks together, the old-school multi-camera comedy is both as silly and charming as it sounds. Why not just do something crazy and see what happens? Isn’t that the whole point of TV sitcoms in the first place?
Produced by Jamie Lee Curtis (who also has a recurring role as Daly’s character’s ex-wife), “Newlyweds” is a little cheesy, but in a winning, not boring way. That’s partly thanks to Leoni and Daly, who play Jeanie and James, the titular newlyweds who were set up by a mutual friend (Al Madrigal) and hit it off so quickly that they decided to go for it, flying to Las Vegas to get married to no fewer than two Elvis impersonators.
They’re actually married, and thankfully that chemistry transfers to the screen (the two met while starring on CBS’s “Madam Secretary,” a very different type of show).
He is a nerdy philosophy professor, set in his ways and buttoned up by his emotions. She’s a free-spirited but also nerdy middle school teacher who wears contrasting prints and lives with her needy adult children. Maybe they’re an opposite couple, maybe their collective nerdiness matches, or maybe they’re just really compatible in bed (there are plenty of references). For some reason, their quick and wacky marriage works and elicits some lovely laughs along the way.
“Newlyweds” never try to be something they are not. The jokes are big and bold and sometimes deeper than expected. Jeanie’s children, Poppy (Emma Meisel) and Lolo (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio), check a lot of Gen Z stereotypes and jokes, but not too many. Curtis appears as Claudia, James’ black widow ex-wife, in a powerful, no-holds-barred costume, just enough to not overstay her welcome (that her role is recurring and non-regular is the best fit for the character).
The only unfortunate connection is Bill O’Neill as Arvid, aka “Milky”, a Norwegian teaching assistant of James who tests the limits of good taste with his accent and cultural jokes. His character could be toned down 90% and the series would be much better for it.
What “Newlyweds” does best is find enough intrigue to sustain it beyond its first episode. It’s funny that Jeanie and James are getting married so quickly, sure, but the show wouldn’t work if they couldn’t find the funny in their new daily lives. There are conflicts and many detours without it ever feeling Also artificial (it’s a little artificial, every sitcom world is).
It reminds us that not all TV romances have to die in a comedic, plot-driven way after the couple gets engaged (we’re looking at you, “Nobody Wants That” on Netflix). Marriage is fun and funny, difficult and unexpected, and Leoni and Daly have created a fake one that feels as authentic as the real one. And for the sake of the show’s longevity, we should be happy that they’re happy in fiction and reality.
Sweet, laugh-filled sitcoms are rare on modern television, so the ones that really click are all the more special for keeping the genre alive and well. If these crazy kids can stay together, we can all enjoy marital bliss.
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