Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica

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Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica
Titlecard
Format	Reality television
Starring	Nick Lachey Jessica Simpson
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	41
Production
Running time	23 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	MTV
Original run	August 19, 2003 (2003-08-19) – March 30, 2005 (2005-03-30)

Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica is a reality television show that was produced and aired by MTV. It followed the lives of then husband and wife Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. The show first aired in August 2003 and ran three seasons, with 41 episodes in total. The last season started on January 26, 2005, and the last episode aired on March 30, 2005.

Simpson and Lachey were married on October 26, 2002 and filed for divorce on December 16, 2005. On June 30, 2006 Jessica and Nick's divorce was finalized.

Part of the show's gimmick involved displaying Simpson's naiveté and perceived dimwittedness, playing on the popular stereotype of "dumb blondes." Perhaps the most famous example comes from the first episode, in which Simpson, confronted with a can of Chicken of the Sea tuna, asked Nick "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says [sic] 'Chicken... by the Sea'."

Origin and effects

Jessica Simpson's famous "Chicken or fish?" moment in the first episode of Newlyweds.

The show was originally intended for Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, but the couple decided not to continue with the project after the start of [[pevenendn re-production]]. It was shelved until 2002, when Jessica's father and manager, Joe Simpson, contacted MTV about producing a show starring his daughter and her new husband.

When Simpson was originally asked why she chose to do such a show for MTV, she replied that it was good promotion for her new album In This Skin. The reality show, which coincided with the release of the album, at first did not help Jessica's album sales, as it debuted at #10 on the Billboard Charts and quickly fell down.

However, over the span of the first season, Jessica's popularity began growing, as many of her 'dumb blonde' antics gave her much publicity. By the close of 2003, Simpson and Lachey had both become household names. Jessica's label decided to release the second single "With You" to see how it would do on radio now that Simpson had become an A-Lister.

The single began climbing steadly up the charts, and Columbia Records took note of Jessica Simpson's sky rocketing popularity and decided to re-release In This Skin in early 2004. In This Skin reached #2 on the Billboard Charts, due in part to her show. "With You" had a Newlyweds themed video, which helped the single become one of the biggest hits of her career.

Cast

• Nick Lachey
• Jessica Simpson

Episodes

Season 1

Season 1 DVD cover

The inaugural season aired from August 19, 2003 to October 14, 2003.

Season 2

Season 2 aired from January 21, 2004 to March 24, 2004.

Season 2.5

The second installment of Season 2 aired from June 16, 2004 to August 11, 2004.

Specials

• Happy Birthday Jessica, Love Nick

Season 3

Season 3 aired from January 26, 2005 to March 30, 2005.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica

• Official website
• Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica at the Internet Movie Database
• Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica at TV.com