# Man with a Plan (TV series)
**Man with a Plan** is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 24, 2016, to June 11, 2020, starring [Matt LeBlanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-leblanc) as Adam Burns, a [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) contractor who takes on the main parenting role for his three children when his wife, Andi ([Liza Snyder](https://www.edgepedia.org/liza-snyder)), returns to work.[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) • [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/canceled-tv-shows-2020/) The series ran for four seasons and 69 episodes before CBS canceled it in May 2020.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/canceled-tv-shows-2020/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | CBS, October 24, 2016 to June 11, 2020; four seasons, 69 episodes[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) • [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/canceled-tv-shows-2020/) |
| Premise | Contractor Adam Burns (Matt LeBlanc) takes charge of his three children when his wife Andi (Liza Snyder) goes back to work[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) |
| Main cast | Matt LeBlanc, Liza Snyder, Kevin Nealon (as Adam's brother Don), Stacy Keach (as Adam's father Joe), and Matt Cook[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/man-with-a-plan-cancelled-cbs-season-5-matt-leblanc-1193855/) • [4](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/kevin-nealon-man-with-a-plan-season-4/) |
| Creators | Married writing team Jeff and Jackie Filgo (*That '70s Show*), who wrote the role with LeBlanc in mind; LeBlanc also served as executive producer[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all) |
| Format | Multi-camera sitcom taped before a studio audience, shot on the CBS Radford lot in Studio City[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 36 on Metacritic, "generally unfavorable" (2 positive, 11 mixed, 12 negative reviews)[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/man-with-a-plan/critic-reviews/) |
| Final-season ratings | 0.73 demo rating and 6.2 million total viewers (Live+Same Day) through its first seven season-four airings[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/man-with-a-plan-cancelled-cbs-season-5-matt-leblanc-1193855/) |
| Setting | Pittsburgh, which influenced the show's production design[7](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/index.php/shows/man-with-a-plan) |
## Premise and characters
The series centers on Adam Burns, an old-school contractor confronting what the show frames as the modern challenges of parenting, marriage, and family.[8](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/man-with-a-plan/news/1007846/man-with-a-plan-returns-for-season-2-on-monday-nov-13/) When his wife Andi, a medical professional, rejoins the workforce, Adam is left in charge of their three children and discovers that the work is harder than he expected.[9](https://www.theringer.com/2016/10/26/tv/joel-mchale-the-great-indoors-matt-leblanc-man-with-a-plan-cbs-f3ba29f69437) • [5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all) The pilot establishes the comic premise quickly: when the kids demand after-school snacks, Adam hands them a [Listerine](https://www.edgepedia.org/listerine) strip.[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/)
The supporting cast includes [Kevin Nealon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-nealon) as Don Burns, Adam's older brother, with whom he shares a workplace; [Stacy Keach](https://www.edgepedia.org/stacy-keach) as Joe, Adam's opinionated father; and Matt Cook as Lowell, a stay-at-home dad who admires Adam's "alpha-male energy."[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/man-with-a-plan-cancelled-cbs-season-5-matt-leblanc-1193855/) • [10](https://www.videoagedaily.com/phocadownload/la_screenings_2016/LA_Screenings_2016.pdf) • [1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) Nealon described the dynamic with LeBlanc by saying, "we both play dumb really well."[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/kevin-nealon-man-with-a-plan-season-4/)
## Development and casting
The Filgos created the Adam Burns character with LeBlanc in mind, having followed his work on *Friends* and *Episodes*. Before any formal agreement, they wrote a spec pilot script about a regular guy whose wife rejoins the workforce.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all) LeBlanc filmed the pilot while *Episodes* was still in production and during his tenure as the first American host of the British motoring show *Top Gear*; the BBC agreed to film *Top Gear* around his sitcom schedule.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all) • [11](https://time.com/4507730/matt-leblanc-two-top-gear-seasons/)
The original pilot had a different wife: [Jenna Fischer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenna-fischer) was cast as Andi, but the role was recast with Liza Snyder, known to CBS audiences from six seasons of *Yes, Dear*, before the series premiered.[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) LeBlanc, who turned 50 during the show's early run, said he saw himself in the character as a "bull-in-a-china-shop dad" and embraced the part as star and executive producer.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all)
## Broadcast history
The series premiered on Monday, October 24, 2016, at 8:30/7:30c, part of a CBS Monday comedy block that also included [Kevin James](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-james)'s *Kevin Can Wait*.[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) • [12](https://time.com/4341696/upfronts-2016-cbs-presentation/) The second season premiered on Monday, November 13, 2017, in the same time slot on CBS and CBS All Access.[8](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/man-with-a-plan/news/1007846/man-with-a-plan-returns-for-season-2-on-monday-nov-13/) The fourth season launched on Thursday, April 2, 2020, filling the 8:30 slot vacated by *The Unicorn*.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/man-with-a-plan-cancelled-cbs-season-5-matt-leblanc-1193855/)
CBS canceled the series on May 6, 2020, alongside *Carol's Second Act*, *Broke*, *Tommy*, and *God Friended Me*. At cancellation, the show ranked fifth in the demo and fourth in total audience among the eight comedies CBS aired that season.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/man-with-a-plan-cancelled-cbs-season-5-matt-leblanc-1193855/) The 69th and final episode aired on June 11, 2020.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/canceled-tv-shows-2020/)
## Critical reception
Reviews at launch were largely negative. Metacritic assigned the first season a metascore of 36, labeled "generally unfavorable," from 25 critic reviews: 2 positive, 11 mixed, and 12 negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/man-with-a-plan/critic-reviews/) TVLine's review gave the pilot a grade of D–, calling the show "depressingly formulaic and severely lacking in laughs" and criticizing its portrayal of stay-at-home fatherhood.[1](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/) Reviewers repeatedly compared LeBlanc's performance to his *Friends* role as [Joey Tribbiani](https://www.edgepedia.org/joey-tribbiani); [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) wrote that he was "on Joey autopilot," while Variety saw the show "finding a nice groove" between easy stereotypes and incremental character growth.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/man-with-a-plan/critic-reviews/)
Some critics were more favorable. The Los Angeles Times called the show "quite likable and solidly constructed" if not groundbreaking, and Uncle Barky praised LeBlanc for fine-tuning his doofus persona.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/man-with-a-plan/critic-reviews/) The Ringer, comparing it with CBS's *The Great Indoors*, judged that *Man with a Plan*'s willingness to resolve episodes warmly gave it "a much more pleasant aftertaste."[9](https://www.theringer.com/2016/10/26/tv/joel-mchale-the-great-indoors-matt-leblanc-man-with-a-plan-cbs-f3ba29f69437)
## Format and legacy
The show is a standard multi-camera sitcom taped before a live studio audience, the format LeBlanc called "like theater" after more than 300 multi-cam episodes across his career.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all) It carries a TV-PG rating, with mild language and adult humor that a parents' guide considers appropriate for teens but not younger children.[13](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/man-with-a-plan/?msockid=274d1ea710036a99309a086311316bd2) • [14](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/man-with-a-plan-show)
After cancellation, the series found a second life in streaming and syndication: it is available on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) and [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel), was carried on Netflix, and can be purchased digitally.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/man-with-a-plan) • [16](https://www.netflix.com/title/80113463?fromWatch=true) It has also drawn academic attention as a representative American sitcom; a 2024 study in the *International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences* analyzed its verbal humor using Grice's [cooperative principle](https://www.edgepedia.org/cooperative-principle).[17](https://ijels.com/detail/a-study-of-verbal-humor-in-man-with-a-plan-from-the-perspective-of-cooperative-principle/)
## References
1. [Man With A Plan Review: Plan To Avoid Matt LeBlanc's Dreadful New Sitcom, TVLine (Oct. 20, 2016)](https://www.tvline.com/reviews/man-with-a-plan-review-cbs-matt-leblanc-759685/)
2. [TV shows canceled or ending in 2020, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/canceled-tv-shows-2020/)
3. ['Man With A Plan' Cancelled: No Season 5 For CBS' Matt LeBlanc Sitcom, TVLine (May 6, 2020)](https://www.tvline.com/news/man-with-a-plan-cancelled-cbs-season-5-matt-leblanc-1193855/)
4. ['Man With A Plan's' Kevin Nealon On Season 4 Premiere, CBS San Francisco (April 1, 2020)](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/kevin-nealon-man-with-a-plan-season-4/)
5. [Once and for All, Emmy magazine / Television Academy (July 31, 2017)](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/emmy-magazine/articles/once-and-all)
6. [Man With a Plan Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/man-with-a-plan/critic-reviews/)
7. [Man With a Plan, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/index.php/shows/man-with-a-plan)
8. [Man With A Plan Returns For Season 2 On Monday, Nov. 13, Paramount+ (Nov. 1, 2017)](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/man-with-a-plan/news/1007846/man-with-a-plan-returns-for-season-2-on-monday-nov-13/)
9. [Battle of the CBS Bros, The Ringer (Oct. 26, 2016)](https://www.theringer.com/2016/10/26/tv/joel-mchale-the-great-indoors-matt-leblanc-man-with-a-plan-cbs-f3ba29f69437)
10. [LA Screenings 2016 program, VideoAge International](https://www.videoagedaily.com/phocadownload/la_screenings_2016/LA_Screenings_2016.pdf)
11. [Matt LeBlanc Signs On to Host 2 More Top Gear Seasons, Time (Sept. 26, 2016)](https://time.com/4507730/matt-leblanc-two-top-gear-seasons/)
12. [The Upcoming Fall Season of TV Is Heavy on Nostalgia, Time (2016)](https://time.com/4341696/upfronts-2016-cbs-presentation/)
13. [Man With A Plan, Paramount+](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/man-with-a-plan/?msockid=274d1ea710036a99309a086311316bd2)
14. [Man with a Plan – WISE Score & Parent Review, Screenwise](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/man-with-a-plan-show)
15. [Man with a Plan – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/man-with-a-plan)
16. [Watch Man with a Plan, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80113463?fromWatch=true)
17. [A Study of Verbal Humor in Man with a Plan from the Perspective of Cooperative Principle, IJELS](https://ijels.com/detail/a-study-of-verbal-humor-in-man-with-a-plan-from-the-perspective-of-cooperative-principle/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 2010s and later network sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license