Rel
GenreComedy
Created by
Starring
  • Lil Rel Howery
  • Jordan L. Jones
  • Jessica Moore
  • Sinbad
Opening theme"In the Circle" by Crucial Conflict
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producersJosh Rabinowitz
Kevin Barnett
Jerrod Carmichael
Lil Rel Howery
Mike Scully
Gerry Cohen
CinematographyGeorge Mooradian
EditorRichard Candib
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time21–23 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseSeptember 9, 2018 (2018-09-09) –
January 13, 2019 (2019-01-13)

Rel is an American television sitcom created by Lil Rel Howery and Kevin Barnett for the Fox Broadcasting Company.[1] The series also stars Jordan L. Jones, Jess Hilarious and Sinbad. Loosely based on Howery's own life, it follows a Chicago man trying to rebuild his life after his ex-wife slept with his barber.

Rel is a joint production by Morningside Entertainment, REL Event Productions, Scully Productions, JMMLG, Bird Luger, and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television. On April 17, 2019, Fox canceled the series after one season.[2]

Plot summary

The series centers on Rel, a nurse living on the West Side of Chicago, whose life is soon disrupted when his wife is having an affair with his own barber and divorces him.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [3]Prod.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Gerry CohenLil Rel Howery & Kevin Barnett & Josh RabinowitzSeptember 9, 2018 (2018-09-09)[a]1LBH015.49[5]
2"Laundry Room"Gerry CohenLil Rel Howery & Kevin Barnett & Josh RabinowitzSeptember 30, 2018 (2018-09-30)1LBH021.99[6]
3"Kids First Visit"Mike ScullyStory by : Lil Rel Howery
Teleplay by : Mike Scully		October 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)1LBH041.81[7]
4"One Night Stand"Gerry CohenStory by : Lil Rel Howery
Teleplay by : Aeysha Carr		October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14)1LBH031.40[8]
5"Halloween"Gerry CohenAeysha Carr & Hugh MooreOctober 21, 2018 (2018-10-21)1LBH051.45[9]
6"Windy City Politics"Gerry CohenDanielle Sanchez-WitzelNovember 4, 2018 (2018-11-04)1LBH061.64[10]
7"Re-Enter the Dragons"Gerry CohenAndrew LeeNovember 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)1LBH071.25[11]
8"Blizzard"Gerry CohenJosh Rabinowitz & Kevin BarnettNovember 18, 2018 (2018-11-18)1LBH081.62[12]
9"Brittany's Mom"Gerry CohenRae SanniDecember 2, 2018 (2018-12-02)1LBH091.61[13]
10"Hate & Hip Hop"Gerry CohenJosh Rabinowitz & Kevin BarnettDecember 9, 2018 (2018-12-09)1LBH102.06[14]
11"Mom"Gerry CohenStory by : Lil Rel Howery & James Heller Chapman
Teleplay by : Willie Hunter & Dave Helem		January 6, 2019 (2019-01-06)1LBH121.23[15]
12"Cleveland"Gerry CohenMike MarianoJanuary 13, 2019 (2019-01-13)1LBH112.77[16]

Kevin Barnett

Co-creator Kevin Barnett, who also worked on the show Broad City[17] died at the age of 32 on January 22, 2019. His death in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, while he was on vacation, was caused by pancreatitis. Barnett co-hosted a podcast, Roundtable of Gentlemen.[18]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 44% approval rating with an average rating of 4.36 out of 10, based on 16 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Rel has a talented star supported by a solid ensemble, but none of it's enough to disguise an ordinary sitcom that hits a series of generic beats."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 46 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Rel
No. Title Air date Rating/share
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 DVR
(18–49)		 DVR viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Pilot" September 9, 2018 1.9/8 5.49[5] 0.2 0.42 2.1 5.91[21]
2 "Laundry Room" September 30, 2018 0.8/4 1.99[6] 0.3 0.59 1.0 2.58[22]
3 "Kids First Visit" October 7, 2018 0.7/3 1.81[7] 0.2 0.54 0.9 2.35[23]
4 "One Night Stand" October 14, 2018 0.5/2 1.40[8] 0.2 0.49 0.7 1.88[24]
5 "Halloween" October 21, 2018 0.6/3 1.45[9] 0.2 0.43 0.8 1.88[25]
6 "Windy City Politics" November 4, 2018 0.6/3 1.64[10] 0.2 0.41 0.8 2.05[26]
7 "Re-Enter the Dragons" November 11, 2018 0.5/2 1.25[11] 0.2 0.40 0.7 1.65[27]
8 "Blizzard" November 18, 2018 0.6/3 1.62[12] 0.2 0.37 0.8 1.99[28]
9 "Brittany's Mom" December 2, 2018 0.6/3 1.61[13] 0.2 0.37 0.8 1.99[29]
10 "Hate & Hip Hop" December 9, 2018 0.8/3 2.06[14] TBD TBD TBD TBD
11 "Mom" January 6, 2019 0.5/2 1.23[15] 0.1 0.30 0.6 1.53[30]
12 "Cleveland" January 13, 2019 1.0/4 2.77[16] TBD TBD TBD TBD

Notes

  1. ^ The pilot episode was released early on September 6, 2018.[4]

References

  1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 10, 2018). "'Rel' Comedy Starring Lil Rel Howery Picked Up To Series By Fox In Big Multi-Camera Push". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  2. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (April 17, 2019). "'The Gifted,' 'Rel' Canceled at Fox". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  3. ^ "Rel - Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "Twitter to Stream a Special Early Release of "Rel"". The Futon Critic. September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Welch, Alex (September 11, 2018). "'Big Brother,' 'Sunday Night Football,' and 'REL' adjust up: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Welch, Alex (October 2, 2018). "'Sunday Night Football' adjusts up, 'The Simpsons,' 'Bob's Burgers,' and more adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Welch, Alex (October 9, 2018). "'Bob's Burgers' and 'Sunday Night Football' adjust up, 'Family Guy' adjusts down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Welch, Alex (October 16, 2018). "'DWTS: Juniors' and 'Family Guy' adjust up, 'Alec Baldwin Show' and 'God Friended Me' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Welch, Alex (October 23, 2018). "'The Simpsons' and 'Bob's Burgers' adjust up, 'Madam Secretary' and 'Alec Baldwin Show' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Welch, Alex (November 6, 2018). "'Sunday Night Football' adjusts up, 'Madam Secretary,' '60 Minutes,' and more adjust down: Sunday final rating". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Welch, Alex (November 13, 2018). "'Sunday Night Football' and 'Family Guy' adjust up, 'The Simpsons,' 'God Friended Me' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Welch, Alex (November 20, 2018). "'Sunday Night Football' adjusts up: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Welch, Alex (December 4, 2018). "'Sunday Night Football' adjusts up, 'Garth! Live' and '60 Minutes' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Welch, Alex (December 11, 2018). "'The Flash' and 'Sunday Night Football' adjust up, 'Football Night in America' adjusts down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 8, 2019). "Golden Globes adjust up: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  16. ^ a b Welch, Alex (January 15, 2019). "'The Simpsons,' 'REL,' 'Bob's Burgers,' and 'Family Guy' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  17. ^ Comedian Kevin Barnett dies aged 32 - CNN Video, January 23, 2019, archived from the original on January 24, 2019, retrieved January 24, 2019
  18. ^ "Comedian Kevin Barnett, 32, Died of Complications from Pancreatitis, Autopsy Reveals". People. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  19. ^ "Rel: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  20. ^ "REL Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  21. ^ Pucci, Douglas (September 18, 2018). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'America's Got Talent' Leads Broadcast Non-Scripted Fare in Raw Gains". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  22. ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 2, 2018). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'God Friended Me' Debut on CBS Grows Double-Digits in Viewers but Slightly Declines in Persons 18-49 from Year-Ago Telecast". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  23. ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 9, 2018). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' on AMC Again Dominates Cable Landscape Despite its Lowest-Rated Season Premiere To-Date". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  24. ^ Otterson, Joe (October 23, 2018). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Oct. 8: 'Manifest' Doubles In Week 3". Variety. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  25. ^ Otterson, Joe (November 5, 2018). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Oct. 15: Big Bang Theory Pulls Ahead of Sunday Night Football". Variety. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  26. ^ Otterson, Joe (November 19, 2018). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Oct. 29: Sunday Night Football Soars 66 Percent Versus Last Week". Variety. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  27. ^ Otterson, Joe (November 26, 2018). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Nov. 5: Three Shows Post 150% Gains". Variety. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  28. ^ Otterson, Joe (December 3, 2018). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Nov. 12: 18 Shows Rise by 100 Percent or More". Variety. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  29. ^ Otterson, Joe (December 17, 2018). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Nov. 26: Fox Hits Highest Numbers in Nearly Three Years". Variety. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  30. ^ Pucci, Douglas (January 15, 2019). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: Winter Premiere of The Big Bang Theory Leads All Telecasts in Overall Gains". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.

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