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American television sitcom

Love, Inc. is an American television sitcom created by Andrew Secunda, which originally aired for one season on United Paramount Network (UPN) from September 22, 2005, to May 11, 2006. With an ensemble cast led by Busy Philipps, Vince Vieluf, Reagan Gomez Preston, Ion Overman and Holly Robinson Peete, the show revolves around five matchmakers working at a dating agency. The series was produced by Chase TV, the Littlefield Company, Burg/Koules Television, and Paramount Television. It was distributed by UPN in its original run and later by LivingTV and Nelonen in the United Kingdom and Finland respectively. The executive producers were Adam Chase, Warren Littlefield, Mark Burg and Oren Koules. The series was originally developed as a vehicle and sitcom debut for Shannen Doherty under the working title Wingwoman. Though picked up by UPN, Doherty was removed from the project at the request of the network due to her poor reception by preview audiences; she was replaced by Philipps. The show was set in New York City, but filming took place at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles and other locations in California. It included contemporary hip hop music and was promoted heavily by UPN to attract an urban audience, and to that end it was paired with Everybody Hates Chris as its lead in on Thursday nights. Love, Inc. suffered from low viewership despite its high ratings among young Hispanic women; it was canceled following UPN's merger with the WB to launch the CW in 2006. The series' cancellation, along with that of other black sitcoms, was criticized by media outlets for reducing representation of African American characters and the amount of roles for African American actors on television. Critical response to Love, Inc. was mixed; some critics praised its multi ethnic cast, while others felt that the storylines and characters were unoriginal and Philipps' portrayal of her character was unsympathetic.

Set in New York City, the dating agency Love, Inc. features a staff of single friends desperately looking for love. Newly divorced Clea Lavoy, the founder and owner of the company, seeks out the help of her friend and employee Denise Johnson to reignite her romantic life. She struggles continually to find love despite Denise's best attempts. The future of the agency is jeopardized since its success relied on advertising Clea's "successful", nearly decade long marriage. Love, Inc. also includes the receptionist Viviana, the style expert Francine, and the technician and photographer Barry. Episodes typically depict the inner workings of the agency, such as their first experience with a lesbian client, a consultation with a former priest, and marketing strategies to appeal to geeks and agoraphobes. Each of the characters has various comedic and romantic adventures outside the agency, like Viviana's search for an eligible United States citizen to marry to secure a green card

Love, Inc. received mixed critical feedback when it was first broadcast. Ebony's Zondra Hughes included the show in its list of promising prime time television shows featuring African American actors, and identified Peete and Overman as its primary "star appeal". While reviewing its broadcast on LivingTV, a reviewer from Daily Record listed the show as its "pick of the day" and suggested it for viewers who "fancy a giggle". Diane Werts of Newsday found the characters to be "vibrantly well defined" and the writing "smart, with a light touch". Peete received a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in the 37th NAACP Image Awards, but lost to Tichina Arnold who starred in Everybody Hates Chris. According to Philipps, Quentin Tarantino is a fan of the series. Metacritic assigned a score of 28 out of 100 based on aggregate of 17 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". The series was described as having "a quirky vibe, personable cast and snappy writing" by Variety's Laura Fries, but she felt the storylines and characters required more original material. Although they commended the show for its multi ethnic cast, Jon Bonné and Gael Fashingbauer Cooper of Today wrote that it "struggles to salvage some screechingly bad jokes". The Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Rob Owen favored Doherty's portrayal of the character, which he described as "brimming with self confidence," and characterized Philipps' Denise as a "dizzyingly neurotic nutcase". Ramlow asserted that the show's female characters were "needy and desperate" and "one shtick ponies" in comparison to those from Sex and the City.