I highly recommend viewing this show for anyone who is able to find the reruns, bootlegs, and so forth. It was one of that last shows on television that I could actually stand to watch, and did so enthusiastically, thanks to a fantastic cast and writing that never tried to grab attention with extreme, unbelievable sensationalism (as most American TV shows do).This was the story of the Delucca family, an Italian American family living in New Jersey. My favorites, Paul Sorvino and Ellen Burstyn headed up the cast as the parents of the DeLucca family, Frank and Dolly. They were a genuinely sweet pair, and really a pleasant performance to see. Initially, the show started out with Frank DeLucca working as a toll booth collector, then moved on to the DeLucca parents opening a successful restaurant in the city, then changed once more to Dolly winning the election as a city commissioner. Their grown children were Lydia (Heather Paige Kent) and Paulie (Kevin Dillon), though Lydia was initially the primary star of the show in that sort of 20-someting-narrative-of-my-kooky-family kind of way who got divorced and moved back home. Eventually however, the stories began to embrace all characters in more of an equal spot. Add to the mix, one cool Debi Mazar, playing the witty family friend, Jackie. And of course, more people moved into the show as it went along. It looked like the people on the show had a lot of fun working together, and that chemistry was really brought out on the show. The stories were often funny and involved enough subplots to keep these moving along most of the time. The writers were even brave enough to address controversial, political issues once in a great while. Despite being a great show, those idiots at CBS could never help but to put them in poor time slots like Friday and Saturday nights, which isn't such a hot place to be if you're trying to find a niche at least among older audiences (especially late 20 and 30 old females) and you're still a relatively new show. Damn you CBS!

All day today I have phoned tv stations to find out what has happened to this wonderful,quirky show! Alas like all the good shows it has been cut. The talent in this show from Heather Paige Kent to Ellen Burstyn and Paul Sovrino is unreal. No wonder it was so good! But as usual who listens to the viewers!! I know it's 2003 but down here in Australia we have just seen the second series!

Of course I watched this show when it first came on because at that time, I too was a thirty-something Italian American chick from the Northeast who had recently gone back to school. I loved it -- total warm fuzzies for me. I was so happy that they'd gotten such amazing talent like Paul Sorvino and Ellen Burstyn. It was the perfect Saturday night show. Lydia had unpackaged pluck, which was nice for a change.Then the network started playing around with programming, and the show disappeared for a while. Then it had an early season finale, and no one knew if it was coming back. Then, voila!, it showed up for a second season -- with a total makeover. The ex-fiancee was gone, the Italian song opener was gone, and a completely unrelated love interest materialized out of nowhere. Classic network "wow, this show is working great as it is, so let's CHANGE it!" tactic. But despite stretching the limits of reality as it was doing, the show was still good enough to keep watching, so I did. Then it disappeared after January 2002, and they never actually declared the show cancelled. It was gone as if it had never really existed. For a show that had existed for 1 1/2 seasons and had a fan base, that is inexcusable.

"That's Life" (CBS Saturdays) is one of the best television shows I've seen for sometime. Heather Paige Kent is great as the lead actor "Lydia". She is also one of the prettiest women on primetime.The working-class Italian-American characters portrayed on this show and the storylines are very believable. They grow on you, not in a corny endearing manner, but one where the viewer can immediately relate to all of the great characters and the storylines of this well written and well made show.Ellen Burstyn and Paul Sorvino as Lydia's Mom and Dad do not look out of place on this show and they both play convincing roles."That's Life" will not leave you feeling like you've been pandered to the way some other new show about a genetically enhanced superwoman does. I think that show (Dark Angel) is just cheap thrills on TV. If you want that, go to a movie on Tuesday night."That's Life" is an excellent combination of both drama and comedy. The only thing working against it is that it is scheduled for Saturdays on CBS. So, it's worth the effort to program your machine if you have to go out next Saturday night.