‘The Odd Couple’ Producers, Stars Preview CBS’ Modern Reboot

Five decades ago, The Odd Couple made its debut as a stage play. And now, two films, and four versions of the television show later, CBS is doing its own take on the story.

The story of the CBS comedy is a familiar one: two divorced friends, Felix (Thomas Lennon) and Oscar (Matthew Perry), decide to move in together. Felix is neat and perhaps a bit uptight; Oscar is a slob. Naturally the two drive each other crazy, but Lennon and Perry's fun chemistry makes their dynamic pop.

Series stars Perry and Lennon, and executive producers Garry Marshall who worked on a few of its previous incarnations and Bob Daily sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about the show's modern retelling, getting a premium time slot, the show's evolution and more in a wide-ranging interview.

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Being put behind The Big Bang Theory is one of the best time slots on television. What was your reaction when you learned the show would air there?

Perry: I think it's great. We know a lot of people will watch the first one, and we're really happy with the first one, so hopefully people will like it and want to watch the follow-up [episodes]. There's a lot of pressure that comes with that time slot, but we want people to watch the show, so that's the way to do it: put it after Big Bang Theory and before the final episode of Two and a Half Men.

Lennon:We had [filmed] all these shows, and it felt a little like we were doing them in a vacuum, [though] we did them for a live audience. They went great for the live audience, but that's like 250 people. It was nice for the network to confirm what I felt was true: the shows were really, really funny, and something very special. We went from no feedback at all to the best time slot on TV.

Bob Daily:One of the things that's interesting is when they tested the show, a lot of people are too young to remember the series, so I think it'll feel new to a lot of people. The Big Bang audience, in particular, it will feel like a fresh concept for them. [Matthew and Thomas] have such a following that I think we'll get a lot of those guys to stick around.

Lennon: People will wonder, "Why didn't they do this before?" Don't tell them they did it five times! Everybody, act casual! (All laugh.)

Garry Marshall: They used to say, "Let's look at the first season and see how it did." Then it was the first 13. Now, three or four [episodes] is where it comes down to. I think you have to start off well, but I feel very confident having done the other ones. The other one started very slow, but this one I think will start much faster.

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'The Odd Couple' Producers, Stars Preview CBS' Modern Reboot