In the early 1990s, Paul Reiser got the idea that his then-recent marriage might be good fodder for a TV comedy. He was right -- to the tune of a successful seven-season run of Mad About You, which aired on NBC from 1992 to 1999.

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Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary filmmaker, who at the onset of the show was newly wed to Jamie Stemple, a PR exec whom he had met at a newsstand while walking his dim-witted dog, Murray. Helen Hunt brought her wit, beauty, and poise to her character, and sparked a chemistry with Reiser that made for a realistic yet funny mirror to many married couples experiencing the joys, triumphs, challenges, and couch-purchasings that marriage often brings.

The Buchmans resided in Manhattan and navigated through their families and friends: Jamie’s older, neurotic sister, Lisa (Anne Ramsay), and Paul’s cousin and best friend, Ira (John Pankow), not to mention the presence of Paul’s and Jamie’s parents. Incidentally, three sets of actors portrayed Gus and Theresa Stemple: Paul Dooley and Nancy Dussault, John Karlen and Penny Fuller, and finally TV legends. Carrroll O’Connor and Carol Burnett. Rounding out the Buchman world were Jamie’s boss-turned-former-boss, Fran Devanow, and her husband Mark, whose marriage often provided a counterpoint to the Buchmans’, especially when the Devanows entered the uncharted territory of divorce.

As the seasons progressed, the show tackled the more profound elements of marriage, from the crisis of a temporary split and the subsequent reuniting, to the birth of a daughter, Mabel. Reiser and Hunt developed a higher stake behind the camera, both as executive producers, with Hunt directing many episodes. In the final season, each was paid $1,000,000 per episode.

There were many fun guest spots, including Lisa Kudrow as ditsy waitress Ursula Buffay (the twin of her famous Phoebe from Friends), Eric Stoltz as Jamie’s former flame, Cyndi Lauper, Hank Azaria, Nathan Lane, and comedy legends Mel Brooks, Sid Caesar, and Jerry Lewis.

The Buchmans of Apartment 11B paved the way for future intelligent, literate Manhattan-based ensemble comedies, including Friends and Will & Grace. Like its NBC colleague Seinfeld (which was tied to the show by way of Kramer’s having sublet Paul Buchman’s pre-marriage apartment), Mad About You took the everyday and raised it to comic heights. The careful examination of marriage’s little moments would be later echoed in shows like Everybody Loves Raymond. Mad About You has bestowed TV Land the gift of an inside look at one couple’s marriage, and the universal insights into everyone’s couplehood.