Hot in Cleveland jump-started the TV Land network. During its freshman year this original sitcom was the most-watched series in the history of TV Land.
The Cast and Characters of Hot in Cleveland
Hot in Cleveland is about three successful middle-aged women from Los Angeles who, due to a mechanical failure on their plane that was headed for Paris, land in Cleveland, Ohio and decide to stay. Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli) is an author and when the series begins she is just getting divorced. Jane Leeves plays Joy Scroggs who made her mark reshaping eyebrows of the stars. Wendie Malick plays Victoria Chase, a soap opera star whose show was cancelled after decades and has a rivalry with Susan Lucci. The cast is rounded out by the legendary actress Betty White who plays Elka Ostrovsky, the senior citizen – and outspoken - caretaker of the home the women rent.
Bertinelli began her career as Barbara Cooper in the long-running sitcom One Day at a Time (1975-1984). Jane Leeves made her mark playing Daphne Crane in Frasier (1993-2004). Wendie Malick had a successful career in TV and films before hitting it big time with the sitcom Just Shoot Me (1997-2003). And Betty White’s career is long and illustrious, with starring roles in Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, among many other credits.
Hot in Cleveland Season One DVD
All ten episodes from season one are included in this two-disc DVD box along with several bonus features. In the episodes, viewers are introduced to the four women. Melanie, Joy, and Victoria are good friends from L.A. They immediately take Elka into their family.
One bonus feature is the original full-length pilot episode which sets the scene for the show. Melanie has written a book listing 200 things to do and one of them is go to Paris with your best friends. So they are off to Paris, but due to mechanical failure of the aircraft they are diverted to Cleveland, Ohio where they are marooned for a couple days. What they discover is that they can live “normal” lives. When they go to a bar they realize they are being admired by men their own age. They don’t feel like they need to stay on their diets. They order beer and chili fries, something they would never do in Los Angeles. What the women think is a large order of food, to the men of Cleveland they are hardly eating anything. Wow. Can this really be true? They don’t have to stay on their diets to be attractive to these men?
Well, with all this “normality” Melanie meets a nice man and instantly decides to pick up her roots and move to Cleveland. One month’s rent of this nice Cleveland house is equal to one night in Paris! The others stay with her and discover a new lifestyle away from Los Angeles. It’s freeing.
Another bonus is the full-length Japanese commercial starring Victoria Chase for the “Lady Pants” product. And in another feature Wendie Malick and Valerie Bertinelli give viewers a tour of the set which mainly includes the bar (where they first discovered that they are “hot” in Cleveland), the kitchen and living room.
Bloopers and outtakes make up the remainder of the additional features, along with the pilot episode of the TV Land sitcom Retired at 35 which was supposed to be the network’s second big hit.
Hot in Cleveland Season Two DVD
As this second season progressed, Victoria Chase’s rivalry with Susan Lucci intensified. Both Elka and Joy spend time in jail – Elka for having stashed loot courtesy of her late husband and Joy for not having the proper immigration papers. The women participate in a battle of the bands, which proved to be a very funny episode as Bertinelli pokes fun at her ex-husband Eddie Van Halen and his band. There are plenty of hysterical situations in which these wonderful women find themselves in season two.
Bonus features on this three-disc set include a visit to Cleveland with the cast. Betty White is a huge animal lover and at the Cleveland Zoo she was given the privilege of getting up close and personal with a giraffe and koala. How cool is that? They also visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
There is a little feature about how the women used Auto-Tune in their episode with the battle of the bands, and interviews with the cast. The outtakes are the most hysterical. I know viewers will be laughing along with the cast as they have trouble with their lines.
Also in this set is the first episode of TV Land’s new sitcom The Exes, which is about three divorced men living in one apartment and their divorce attorney who lives across the hall.
Review of Hot in Cleveland Seasons One and Two DVDs
This show is like a modern - and a little younger – Golden Girls. The friendship between the women and the situations in which they find themselves are wonderful. And every one of the actors is perfect in her part.
The bonus features give viewers an inside look at the on-set relationships and fun they all have while filming the series. Some of the outtakes are hysterical. If you want to laugh, get these DVDs. The characters are witty, endearing, and fun to watch.
- Hot in Cleveland Season One DVD
- Studio: TV Land/ Paramount Home Entertainment
- Number of discs: 2
- Number of episodes: 10
- Running time: 215 minutes
- Release date: January 11, 2011
- Hot in Cleveland Season Two DVD
- Studio: TV Land/Paramount Home Entertainment
- Number of discs: 3
- Number of episodes: 22
- Running time: 484 minutes
- Released: November 29, 2011
