According to Jim

According to Jim was created by Tracy Newman and Jonathan Stark. The sitcom was produced by ABC's in-house production company and Newman/Stark, Suzanne Bukinik Entertainment and Brad Grey Television. The series was filmed at the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles.

Belushi, besides playing Jim, directed 30 episodes and is credited as executive producer.

Belushi's fictional character Jim's band in the series is the real-life House of Blues band The Sacred Hearts, for which Jim Belushi often sings lead.[1]

Belushi says he set the show's trademark tone back in the show's 2001 pilot.[2]

"The original script called for Jim to go to the wife and apologize," he recalls. "I said to the writers, 'Why do we have to do a show where the guy is going to apologize at the end of every episode? Was he really wrong? He's contrite, sure. But isn't he just being a man?'"

In an interview, Jim Belushi explained that the show many times directly reflected his actual life. Quite a few episodes were experiences taken directly from Belushi's home. Most of the episodes were taken from experiences inside the writers' homes, too. He adds:[3]

"Every show is based in somebody's reality. Whether it's [co-stars] Larry's, or mine, or Courtney's, or the writers'. Because it was a relationship show about a family, everyone would bring in their experiences as a family, and we would do shows around them."

Last names were never really addressed for the entire run of the show. None of the main characters did get a last name until Season 4 when Kimberly Williams-Paisley's character Dana married Dr. Ryan Gibson (played by Mitch Rouse). She became Dana Gibson with their marriage. Only guest characters had first and last names in most cases.[3]

The show first aired following the surprise hit comedy My Wife and Kids and quickly developed an audience of its own. For its second season ABC placed it on its revitalized Tuesday line-up, which also included John Ritter's 8 Simple Rules, Bonnie Hunt's Life with Bonnie and Sara Rue's Less Than Perfect. Week by week, the show attracted more and more viewers, becoming ABC's second most watched sitcom. The show performed so well that the network made a risky move: putting Jim opposite the NBC juggernaut Frasier. Although Jim did not beat the competition, it performed well enough to secure itself that spot on the 2003 fall schedule.

On May 15, 2007, ABC announced that According to Jim would not be renewed for another season. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said, "We are talking to the studio to see if there's something financially, a deal that would make sense for us."[4] But on June 27, 2007, ABC renewed the show for a seventh season with 18 episodes.[5][6]

According to Jim returned to ABC's schedule on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, with two episodes at 9 pm and 9:30 pm. After that, the series moved to its regular time slot at 8 pm. Despite the writer's strike, ABC announced that the show would produce all 18 episodes ordered for this season.[7]

On February 27, 2008, it was reported that ABC was close to renewing According to Jim for an eighth season.[8] On May 13, 2008, ABC officially renewed the series and Season 8 began airing on December 2, 2008.[9] Kimberly Williams-Paisley left the show's regular cast at the beginning of Season 8 and was not in the Season 8 opening credits,[10] to devote her time to motherhood. She made a guest appearance only in the season finale.

In December 2008, co-star Larry Joe Campbell said that the sets had been destroyed, indicating that the series was canceled, but that a series finale had been recorded.[11] After the first six episodes of Season 8 all aired in December, According to Jim returned to ABC's schedule on April 14, 2009, for the final 12 episodes.[12] The series finale of According to Jim aired on June 2, 2009, on ABC, and was titled "Heaven Opposed to Hell."

The sitcom debuted in 2001 on ABC with an average of 10 million viewers for its first year. The audience grew in the second year to over 10.3 million. The ratings remained consistent for Seasons 3 and 4 as well. Starting with Season 5, the ratings began to decline. The series was often scheduled against the hugely successful American Idol. By Season 6, According to Jim was down to 6.7 million viewers.

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of According to Jim on ABC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

According to Jim was nominated for 20 awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (all for cinematography).