PHOTOS COU RTESY O F NBC
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The new season found Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and
Helen Hunt) interviewing potential obstetricians.
LU
(T, Settling into a new time
-t slot, "Mad About You's"
Paul Reiser talks couplehood,
LJ parenthood and more.
MICHAEL ELKIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
fter a sultry season where they battled over the
It was a natural step up to the Upper Deck after his
baby issue, Paul and Jamie Buchman ended earlier stints writing "hip" shows for Hebrew school,
their "Mad About You" misadventures on a note such as "The Beatles Meet Purim."
f wedded blitz — and a pregnant pause.
"We had Esther sing 'I Want to Hold Your Tallit," "
To baby or not to baby? That was the question.
he jokes.
The answer: "We hoped it was clear that, yeah, she
Paul Reiser holds his own these days on the celebri-
was pregnant," says Paul Reiser about the show, which ty circuit, where he's more popular than ever as a per-
has moved from Sunday nights to Tuesday nights at former and now TV star/executive producer. Music
8 p.m. on NBC.
is still a muse, too. He and Don Was collaborated on
"The belly will get bigger and bigger," says Reiser.
the TV show's catchy theme song.
Paul Reiser has enjoyed playing the role of kibitzer
Reiser's no stranger to movies either; he starred in
from early on. Mixing mirth with his interest in mu- Aliens (1986) and Diner (1982), as well as last year's
sic proved quite a match.
Bye, Bye Love.
His low-key rock group, the Upper Deck, was pop-
What happened when he had the novel idea of be-
ular at Purim carnivals, he recalls of his teen days in coming an author? His Couplehood was singled out by
New York.
critics as a hit and will be followed by another book,