‘Madam Secretary’ Meets ‘Dharma & Greg’ in Jamie Lee Curtis’ New NBC Sitcom

Published Sep 21, 2026, 10:34 PM EDT

Taylor Vollman is a contributor at Collider. She has long quipped, “T.V. is my name, TV is my game.” Fortuitous initials aside, at the heart of a tired joke is a simple truth — she has a lifelong passion for television. And along with it, an affinity for movies, music and pop culture. 

In a childhood time capsule, she had listed Friends, PB&J Otter, and Days of Our Lives among her favorite shows. But her tastes have not narrowed with age. Her viewing habits span TV Land classics, network hits, buzzy reality shows and streamer critical darlings. 

Hoping to merge this passion with her love of writing, Taylor earned a bachelor’s in media arts and design with a minor in film studies from James Madison University. After working in marketing for years, she wanted to sharpen her skills and went on to graduate with a master’s in journalism from Georgetown University. Taylor has since pursued entertainment writing and reporting. 

Romance is in the air at NBC. Jamie Lee Curtis has teamed up with Gail Lerner for the upcoming sitcom, Newlyweds. The series is “a later-in-life love story about a free-spirited woman and a buttoned-up professor who marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship,” NBC teased in a press release. The series will reunite the stars of Madam Secretary while being a later-in-life version of Dharma & Greg. Téa Leoni will star as Jeanie, a middle school teacher and single mother of two, who falls in love with James (Tim Daly), a philosophy professor.

The co-creators will executive produce the series, with Lerner serving as the showrunner. Her comedy credentials include writing and producing on Will & Grace, Black-ish, and Happy Endings. The series also stars Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Bill O’Neill, and Emma Meisel.

Leoni and Daly Met Filming ‘Madam Secretary’

Leoni and Daly can bring their off-screen chemistry on-screen, reuniting this time as a married couple. The pair met in 2014 while starring in the political drama, Madam Secretary. Created by Barbara Hall, the series followed the Secretary of State, Elizabeth McCord (Leoni), as she balances her work and career. Daly played her husband, Henry McCord. Like James, he was also a professor. Leoni and Daly finally married on July 12, 2025. “We spent six years pretending to be married on TV, and now we get to do it again, but we actually are married,” Daly explained during a panel at NBCUniversal’s Backlot Pass event.

She admitted that they had been “sniffing around” for a project to do together. “We had a lot of fun on Madam Secretary and, I don’t know, the world got darker and we wanted to get lighter,” Leoni explained of their move to comedy during the Backlot Pass event in August. She added, “We wanted to spend our days together.”

They’re following in the footsteps of other couples-turned-costars, like Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz whose chemistry became essential to I Love Lucy. Their real-life relationship added to the show’s dynamics, bringing their personal connection to the role and grounding their antics.

“Every time people said we had great chemistry, I was like, ‘Yeah, no s---!’ It was funny because our first season, we were supposedly trying to keep it quiet, be on the down low,” Daly said to LifeMinute in November 2025 of their time on Madam Secretary. “But the teamsters were picking us up at each other’s house all the time, and we were looking at each other with goo-goo eyes.”

‘Newlyweds’ Is a Later-in-Life Version of ‘Dharma & Greg’

Image via ABC

Newlyweds is treading a familiar path, harkening back to the ‘90s sitcom Dharma & Greg. The series, created by Chuck Lorre and Dottie Dartland Zicklin, had a similar premise. It followed its titular characters, a fun-loving yoga instructor (Jenna Elfman) who married a straight-laced lawyer (Thomas Gibson) on their first date. Dharma & Greg premiered in 1997 and ran for five seasons.

Throughout Dharma & Greg, the couple not only have to find common ground within their relationship but also within their greater friends, family, and work relationships. This is only amplified with the added commitments of age in Newlyweds. “They get married without really knowing each other,” Daly told TV Insider. “They’re of a certain age, so they have ways that they’re set in. She has two crazy kids. I’ve got a crazy ex-wife. And there’s James’ assistant who hovers over and insinuates himself into their relationship.”

While Jeanie and James fit predictable opposites-attract archetypes, down to the fun-loving blonde leading lady, they are presenting a later-in-life version that comes with the added baggage of kids and exes. TV Insider revealed Jeanie has two teen children, Poppy (Meisel) and Lolo (Diaz-Silverio). Curtis also stars as James’ ex-wife, Claudia.

Leoni and Daly Have a Background in Sitcoms

Despite meeting in a political drama, Leoni and Daly are no strangers to comedy. For three seasons, Leoni starred as a disgraced photojournalist-turned-paparazzo at a tabloid in the ‘90s sitcom The Naked Truth. She most recently appeared in Season 5 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

Daly actually got his big break in another NBC sitcom, playing Joe Hackett in Wings. The series followed the Hackett brothers, pilots who flew a commuter plane out of a small airport in Nantucket. He has continued to pop up in comedies, such as The Mindy Project and more recently, Leanne.

Leoni and Daly may be taking on well-established archetypes, but their real-life love story adds an extra layer in their return to comedy. Newlyweds is a part of NBC’s expanding comedy lineup, joining the likes of St. Denis Medical and The Fall and Rise of Reggie Jenkins. The series will air on Fridays at 8:30 pm EST, following Happy’s Place. Newlyweds premieres on October 23 on NBC and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.