| Genre: | Sitcom |
| Creator: | Rob Lotterstein |
| Director: | Andy Cadiff |
| Starring: | Michael Rapaport Anita Barone Kyle Sullivan Kaylee DeFer Dean Collins |
| Composer: | W. G. Snuffy Walden Joseph Williams |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 44 |
| Executive Producer: | Andy Cadiff Michael Hanel Rob Lotterstein Mindy Schultheis |
| Producer: | Suzan Bymel Al Lowenstein |
| Editor: | Andrew Chulack |
| Cinematography: | Mike Berlin Donald A. Morgan |
| Camera: | Multi-camera |
| Runtime: | 22–24 minutes |
| Company: | Acme Productions Rob Lotterstein Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Channel: | Fox |
| Image Alt: | The name of the show written all in lowercase with the word "the" at the top in green color, the words "war at" under it while the word "war" is in green color and the word "at" in blue color and the word "home" is under that in blue color. |
The War at Home is an American sitcom created by Rob Lotterstein that ran from September 11, 2005, to April 22, 2007, on Fox. It follows the antics of a largely dysfunctional Long Island family. The show ran for two seasons, but was not renewed for a third season.
The show depicts the daily lives of Dave and Vicky and their three children, Hillary, Larry, and Mike, on Long Island, New York, dealing with normal family issues. Dave is a middle class Jewish insurance salesman. He is often portrayed as insensitive and cynical, and sometimes as a paranoid, overprotective and hypocritical bigot. His family (especially Larry) find it difficult to accept his behavior. Dave is constantly scolded and insulted (and even punched once) by Larry for always picking on him. It is established toward the end of season one that Dave is the way he is because he had a father who constantly badgered him. Dave's wife Vicky is an attractive Italian-American Catholic part-time receptionist at a doctors' office. Generally levelheaded, she usually spends her time dealing with Dave's unreasonable behavior, but can be quite obnoxious herself.
Of their three children, the oldest is Hillary (Kaylee DeFer), a typical 16-year-old who frequently misbehaves, trying to get away with bad behavior behind the backs of her parents, who often regard her with suspicion. Second oldest is 15-year-old Larry (Kyle Sullivan), an odd misfit given to emotional outbursts (such as when Vicky denies him permission to see Brian Boitano star as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings On Ice). Larry is often seen with his best friend Kenny (Rami Malek). Initially Dave believes that the boys are both gay, but it is later revealed to the audience that while Larry is not gay, Kenny has a secret crush on Larry. Dave, and to a lesser extent Vicky, often treat Larry's flamboyancy with wary eyes. The youngest child, the pubescent 12-year-old Mike (Dean Collins), must deal with issues such as masturbation, dating and underage gambling. His character is portrayed as tougher and more cynical than Larry's.
The series frequently breaks the fourth wall between segments of an episode, during which Dave or other characters deliver a rant or other comment directly relating to the scene.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 22 | September 11, 2005 | April 30, 2006 | ||
| 2 | 22 | September 10, 2006 | April 22, 2007 | ||
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|
The show originally received negative reviews from critics, scoring a 28 out of 100 on Metacritic and 24% on Rotten Tomatoes.[1] [2] It received critical acclaim during its second season for its handling of Kenny's "coming out" story arc, including a Humanitas Prize nomination for Lotterstein, as well as a GLAAD Media Award nomination for "Outstanding Comedy Series".[3] [4] [5] [6]
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | Last aired | viewers (millions) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 1-19, 20-22) Sunday at 9:30 pm (Episode 20) | 22 | September 11, 2005 | April 30, 2006 | 7.2 |
| ||
| Sunday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 1–8) Thursday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 9–17) Sunday at 7:30 pm (Episodes 18–21) Sunday at 7:00 pm (Episode 22) | 22 | September 10, 2006 | April 22, 2007 | 4.9 |
|
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Art Directors Guild | TV – Multi-Camera Television Series | data-sort-value="Shaffner, John" | John Shaffner (production designer) | [9] | |
| Teen Choice Awards | TV – Choice Comedy/Musical Show | data-sort-value="War at Home, The" | The War at Home | [10] | ||
| TV – Choice Actor: Comedy | data-sort-value="Rapaport, Michael" | Michael Rapaport | ||||
| TV – Choice Parental Unit | data-sort-value="Barone, Anita & Michael Rapaport" | Anita Barone & Michael Rapaport | ||||
| 2007 | Humanitas Prize | TV – 30-Minute Category | data-sort-value="Lotterstein, Rob" | |||
| Young Artist Award | TV series – Best Supporting Young Actor | data-sort-value="Collins, Dean" | Dean Collins | [11] | ||
| 2008 | GLAAD Media Award | TV – Outstanding Comedy Series | data-sort-value="War at Home, The" | The War at Home | ||
| Young Artist Award | TV series – Best Supporting Young Actor | data-sort-value="Collins, Dean" | Dean Collins | [12] |