2016 is Jim Gaffigan’s year. The comedian has joined KFC’s rotating list of celebrity Colonel Sanders (and is definitely more believable as the finger-licking dandy than skinny chickens Norm McDonald and Darrell Hammond), is killing it as a pitchman for the Chrysler Pacifica (I actually logged on to check out the swagger wagon and must admit, I’m interested), and this weekend, the funnyman’s semi-autobiographical series, The Jim Gaffigan Show returns to TV Land with back-to-back episodes.
And the series is doing everything right in promoting itself. Gaffigan has been making the rounds of TV talkshows and offered up his clean & insightful take on the absurdity of parenthood. Jim and wife Jeannie — who co-writes and executive produces the series — used their five charming kids in a hilarious NSFW promo for the show. They sent bribes snacks members of the media. (And they were delicious.) And to top it all off, they got calendar-makers to declare the date of the Season 2 premiere as “Father’s Day,” in homage to the father of five. LOL.
This season, Gaffigan will welcome a glut of guest stars and cameos including Jerry Seinfeld, Zachary Quinto, Alec Baldwin, Raven Symoné, John Mulaney, Macaulay Culkin (again!), John Mulaney, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Judy Gold, Carrot Top, Gilbert Gottfried, Artie Lange, Nickelback, Perez Hilton and Tyler Oakley. Ashley Williams co-stars in the series as Gaffigan’s patient wife Jeannie, with Michael Ian Black playing Jeannie’s gay BFF Daniel, and Adam Goldberg as Jim’s friend and fellow comedian, Dave.
When I interviewed Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan before the premiere of Season 1, I was struck by their dedication to work as a team. I was particularly impressed that Jeannie was willing to step behind the camera to ensure that the couple’s comedic vision and integrity was maintained. (And was happy to see Jeannie recently pop-up as the straight woman in on one of Jim’s Chrysler commercials.) Theirs is a partnership that works, and the result is their charming series.
Please enjoy one of my favorite clips from Season 1 of The Jim Gaffigan Show …
… and then go eat a red velvet cake.
The Jim Gaffigan Show > TV Land > Sundays at 10:00pm ET/PT, beginning June 19
