NBC has the new reality comedy series "The Marriage Ref" coming March 4, which features Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Papa, who together were a great combo promoting the show at the past winter TV critics' press tour in Pasadena.
01/10/2010 - Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Papa - NBC Universal's Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour Cocktail Party - Arrivals - Langham Hotel - Pasadena, CA. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos
Seinfeld joked that his new show was a celebration of the unseen hilarious moments that make up a marriage. The one-time serial bachelor has settled down in a big way, and said “I love having a family and kids and the madness, even when it’s horrible, I love it. I didn’t realize how tired of single life I was and how ready I was for married life.”
Whether a couple is arguing about fashion, money, in-laws, weight, neatness, jealousy, past history, friends, sex or any offbeat topic in dispute, the series' casting team found charismatic and opinionated couples that were in need of a "marriage ref" to ultimately decide for once and for all who is right and who is wrong.
Comedian and married family man Tom Papa is the perfect foil to Seinfeld, as has joined Jerry and first-up celebrity hosts Alec Baldwin and Kelly Ripa to decide who's right and wrong in real-life disputes between real-life spouses.
At the past TCA's, Jerry Seinfeld spoke to the assembled critics including Monsters and Critics and said, "The idea of the show is it's married couples -- real married couples having a real fight in their home. They're not in the studio. And we watch the video in the studio with a live audience and a panel of celebrity guests and Tom, who is our marriage ref. And we're going to watch the argument. We're going to discuss the argument, who's right, who's wrong, and we're going to make a call in favor of the husband or the wife, very similar to the way it's done in sports. Because we felt the sports simplicity is what's missing in marriage.
People get into arguments -- if you ever played a sandlot game and there's no umpires, the fights just go on and on. It's like marriage. That's really how the show got originated is I was in my apartment in New York, and I'm married for 10 years -- and we got into a difference of opinion, and I can't even remember what it was, but it was one of those where you just know this is going to go on all night. And a friend of hers happened to be there, and the friend got a little uncomfortable and said, 'You know what? Maybe I should go.' And I said, 'You know what? I'm glad you're here. You stay here.' And we're each just going to tell you our side of this issue. You decide who's right, who's wrong, binding. We will accept it, whatever you say. And we'll be done with this in five minutes." And that's exactly what we did so I said my side, and she said her side. I believe I lost, but that's not the point.
Tom Papa added, "Yeah, we're going to end fights all around the country once and for all."
Seinfeld noted they were not presuming to help these people. "We're not going to fix your marriage," he said.
Papa elaborated, "There's Dr. Phil and places you can go for that. This is all light and funny. This isn't fights about whether we should stay married or get divorced. It's all just silly. And we find in our marriages -- I've been married 10 years as well. If you laugh at all these crazy situations, you survive. And that's what this show's about, surviving. We want these marriages to flourish and be OK, so we just want to have a laugh with it all."
Seinfeld gave examples of what to expect, "We have a couple where the dog died and they get into an argument, 'Should we stuff the dog or not?' Now a fight like that could go on for a year, and we just end it. And -- but, you know, we do try and make the right decision. But it's like in baseball, and Tom and I are big baseball fans. I kind of like when the ump blows the call. That's part of the game. It's just a game about human beings. And so we're not so big on right and wrong. We're just going to make the call. 'I think he was out. I think he was safe. Let's move on.' "
Other stars who will call the shots with Papa and Seinfeld include Madonna, Sarah Silverman, Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Matt Lauer, Cedric the Entertainer, Matthew Broderick and Martin Short.
"The Marriage Ref" officially premieres Thursday, March 4 on NBC.
Seinfeld also shared his children were a great creative muse that he never knew existed before marriage. Seinfeld is now a father to Sascha, 9, Julian, 6, and Shepherd, 4, and he shared his three rules of parenting, aka “the poison Ps” to Parade magazine in a recent interview:
Praise “We tell our kids, ‘Great job!’ too much,” he says.
Problem-solving “We refuse to let our children have problems. Problem-solving is the most important skill to develop for success in life, and we for some reason can’t stand it if our kids have a situation that they need to ‘fix.’ Let them struggle—it’s a gift.”
Pleasure "We try too hard to recreate perfect childhoods for our children. The reason we overdo it so much is because we feel so bad about it.”
Seinfeld is the executive producer of "The Marriage Ref," and during tonight’s Olympic closing ceremonies, NBC will deliver a sneak peak of the much anticipated series – and NBC included Monsters and Critics in their video preview distribution for you to check the show out.
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