The Osbournes

The Osbournes
Title frame
Season 4 title card
Directed byDonald Bull
CB Harding
Sarah Pillsbury
Todd Stevens
StarringOzzy Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne
Jack Osbourne
Theme music composerOzzy Osbourne
Randy Rhoads
Bob Daisley
Opening theme"Crazy Train"
performed by Lewis Lamedica
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersR. Greg Johnston
Jeff Stilson
Sharon Osbourne
Lois Clark Curren
ProducerAnn Meek
CinematographyRobert Erbeznik
Zach Kovek
EditorCharles Kramer
Running time24 minutes
Production companiesiCandy TV
Big Head Productions
JOKS Productions
MTV
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseMarch 5, 2002 (2002-03-05) –
March 21, 2005 (2005-03-21)

The Osbournes is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002, and, in its first season, was cited as the most-viewed series ever on MTV. The final episode aired on March 21, 2005.

Overview[edit]

In addition to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, the show features his wife and manager Sharon, and their children Jack and Kelly. The Osbournes have another daughter, Aimee, who refused to participate in the show and publicly criticized her parents for their antics on the show. In most family photos shown on the show, she is either absent or blurred. The series also followed the family as they dealt with major events such as Sharon's battle with cancer and the aftermath of an ATV accident that nearly killed Ozzy.

The theme song for the show is a cover of Ozzy's song "Crazy Train" by Lewis Lamedica, done in a jazz-swing style reminiscent of Pat Boone.[1]

Concurrent with the success of the series, Kelly Osbourne launched a brief career as a singer, while Sharon Osbourne hosted The Sharon Osbourne Show. The family also parodied their TV series during cameo appearances at awards shows and in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Jack and Kelly's friend Robert Marcato made regular appearances on the show;[2] Sharon took him in during the second season after his mother died of cancer. While a constant presence in front of the camera, few plots revolved around Robert and he had few lines. After the series ended, it was reported that the Osbournes had sent Robert back to Rhode Island to live with his father after spending a week at a psychiatric ward. The Osbournes were assumed to have adopted Robert, but Sharon Osbourne has denied this.[3]

Another person who makes recurring appearances on the show is Melinda, Sharon's executive assistant and nanny, who is also married to Ozzy's tour manager.[4] She is often seen trying to get Jack out of bed while he berates and belittles her, telling her to "get a real job." Melinda is originally from Australia.[4]

Ozzy confirmed in an interview on BBC Radio 2 in May 2009 that he was "stoned during the entire filming of The Osbournes" and will not watch the episodes for this reason.[5]

Profanity was censored during MTV broadcasts of the series in the United States. In an interview, Ozzy stated that while he was happy that the Canadian broadcasts were uncensored, he preferred the censored version because the cursing was more noticeable due to the bleeps.[citation needed] The Canadian broadcasts on CTV and UK broadcasts on MTV and Channel 4 are uncensored.[6] Some episodes were also aired uncensored to Australian audiences when shown on Network Ten.[7] It is broadcast uncensored on MTV Australia.

Episodes[edit]

Staging[edit]

Jack and Kelly stated in an interview that some of the situations on the show, including the visit from the dog therapist, were arranged by MTV producers.[8] Ozzy Osbourne's publicist denied that any reactions were staged.[8]

After filming[edit]

On November 30 and December 1, 2007, items belonging to the Osbournes and featured in the show were auctioned off to the public. The two-day event listed memorabilia as well as furnishings of the home. Bidders could bid through the Auction Network.[9]

In 2009, the Osbournes reunited for the debut of their new variety show Osbournes Reloaded for the Fox network. Produced by Fremantle Media North America, the series debuted on March 31, 2009, at 9:25PM ET/PT, following American Idol. It consisted of sketches, stunts, celebrity cameos, music performances, and pretaped segments.[10] The show was canceled after airing its first episode.[11] On its debut, 26 Fox affiliates pre-empted or delayed the program due to its racy content, which the stations felt was more appropriate for older viewers.[12]

Since 2016, Ozzy and Jack have starred in Ozzy & Jack's World Detour, a reality-series that initially aired on History before moving to A&E for its second season.[13] On January 23, 2018, Jack revealed on his official Instagram page that the series had been picked up for a third season.[14] The eight-episode third season premiered on A&E on June 13, 2018, with Jack's sister Kelly Osbourne joining the cast.

More recently, The Osbournes Want to Believe was released on August 2, 2020, on Travel Channel.[15]

2022 revival[edit]

In October 2015, Kelly Osbourne stated that she was open to the idea of a revival that was new and different, saying that "we did it on MTV and that had never been done before so if we're going to come back, we'd want to do it in a way that has never been done before either."[16] In 2022, it was announced the show would return to follow the family in the UK.[17]

Home releases[edit]

Only seasons one and two (released in two sets as season two and two 1/2 or 2.5[18]) have been released on DVD by Miramax Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

The Osbourne Family Album, a various artists compilation based on the show, was released in June 2002.

Awards and nominations[edit]

As well as achieving the highest ratings in MTV history, The Osbournes won a 2002 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.[19]

International airings[edit]

The series aired on CTV and MusiquePlus in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and MTV UK and Ireland in Ireland and the UK, VH1 India in India, RTÉ Two in Ireland, Network Ten and MTV Australia in Australia, TV2 Denmark, MTV Finland and Nelonen in Finland, MTV Latin America in Latin America, MTV Portugal in Portugal, TV2 in New Zealand, MTV Germany in Germany, MTV Ukraine in Ukraine, MTV Brasil in Brazil, MTV Italia in Italy, MTV Nederland in the Netherlands and MTV Europe.

In popular culture[edit]

  • The Osbournes has a slot game adaptation created by Microgaming.[20]
  • The retro looking typeface used for the main title is called Swanky and was designed by Stuart Sandler of Font Diner.[21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Miller, Nancy (May 10, 2002). "Mighty Neighborly". Entertainment Weekly. No. 653. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  2. ^ "Robert Marcato". TV.com. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  3. ^ Lambiet, Jose (January 30, 2008). "The Osbourne family kicks 'Baby' out of feathered nest". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Adams, Cameron. Ozzy Osbourne battles on. The Herald Sun. November 1, 2007.
  5. ^ Fulton, Rick (May 4, 2009). "Reality Is I Was Stoned". Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland. pp. 14–15. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  6. ^ Pacienza, Angela (September 19, 2002). "The Osbournes premiere sans 'bleeping' nets CTV 1.67 million viewers". Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Press.
  7. ^ Melloy, Neil (June 22, 2002). "Ozzy-speak defies bleeper". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 18.
  8. ^ a b Osbourne Kids Says Some Shows Were Scripted. ABC News. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  9. ^ "FURNISHINGS, ART AND MEMORABILIA FROM HOMES OF SHARON AND OZZY OSBOURNE". BeverlyHillsPeople.com (Press release). Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2018.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "Kelly and Ozzy: Osbournes Reloaded". SuicideGirls.com. March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  11. ^ "The Osbournes: Over and Out at Fox". thewrap.com. August 6, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  12. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (April 1, 2009). "Lisa de Moraes - TV Column by Lisa de Moraes: Some Fox Stations Won't Air 'Osbournes: Reloaded'". Retrieved March 24, 2018 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  13. ^ "Ozzy & Jack's World Detour (TV Series 2016– )". Retrieved March 24, 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
  14. ^ "Jack Osbourne on Instagram: "Everyone keeps asking if we're doing a season 3 of World Detour... well guess what today is? Day 1 of season 3 baby!!! Woooohoooo…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  15. ^ ozdiyar, Yunus Emre (July 12, 2020). "Ozzy Osbourne Returns with The Osbournes Want to Believe Series". Chaospin. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "The Osbournes could return someday". digitalspy.com. October 1, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  17. ^ Quinn, Angie (September 1, 2022). "BBC 'set to bring back The Osbournes' following Sharon and Ozzy in the UK". MyLondon.
  18. ^ "Osbournes 2 1/2 - DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  19. ^ "MTV Onair - Osbournes". MTV. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  20. ^ "Play The Osbournes Slot - Read the Review, Play for Fun or Real Money". www.slotsonline.com.
  21. ^ "The Font You Love to Hate". theoutline.com.

Further reading[edit]

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