Coupling is a sitcom by Steven Moffat that debuted on BBC2 in December of 2000. It centers on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their late 30s, often depicting the three women and the three men each talking amongst themselves about the same course of events, but in entirely different terms. An American adaptation of the sitcom was briefly produced in 2003.

The show debuted to less-than-impressive ratings, but its popularity soon increased and by the end of the third season the show was consistently achieving moderately-high ratings in the UK. The series began airing on PBS stations and on BBC America in the United States in late 2002 and quickly gained a devoted American fanbase as well.

Coupling has been described as the funniest thing since Red Dwarf. It has also been suggested that it's what would result if one did a series like Friends but made the characters as dysfunctional as those in Seinfeld, and made the show focus pretty much entirely on sex.

Like Seinfeld, at least some of the characters in Coupling are based on real life people. The producer and writer also happen to be the prototypes for the lead characters in the show, and share the same names.

The series has made use of techniques that are unconventional in sitcoms, such as split screen and non-linear narratives.

Coupling ran for three seasons on the BBC. The series was thought to have ended when American network NBC lured away the producer and writer to do an American adaptation, which NBC was reportedly hoping to position as a replacement for Friends. Fans of Coupling considered this a great shame, pointing out that past American adaptations of Britcoms have tended to be less funny than the British originals. The fans' opinions were confirmed when the US version was canned after airing a mere four episodes. The American version starred Rena Sofer and Sonya Walger, among others.

The series will return to the BBC for a fourth season in 2004, although cast-member Richard Coyle (who plays Jeff) is not going to be available.

The complete first season of Coupling is available to rent or purchase on DVD in the USA. The second season is not yet available in the USA, but will be released in late 2003. All three seasons are currently available on DVD in the UK.

Cast

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