# The War at Home (TV series)
**The War at Home** is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from September 11, 2005 to April 22, 2007, running for 44 half-hour episodes over two seasons[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/). Created by Rob Lotterstein, it stars [Michael Rapaport](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-rapaport) and [Anita Barone](https://www.edgepedia.org/anita-barone) as Dave and Vicky Gold, a [Long Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island) couple raising three teenagers, and uses fourth-wall-breaking rants and a confessional space in which characters say what they would never say to each other[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/2866/the-war-at-home). Critics rated it poorly, but the series drew a substantial audience on Fox's Sunday night block and was renewed for a second season despite low ratings[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-13-et-quick13sub.4-story.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Fox, September 11, 2005 to April 22, 2007; 44 half-hour episodes in two seasons[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/) |
| Creator | Rob Lotterstein, an openly gay writer and executive producer[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/) • [5](https://media.glaad.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/10053137/2007-08-NRI-e9a.pdf) |
| Premise | A Long Island family: Jewish insurance salesman Dave Gold, Catholic interior designer Vicky, and children Larry, Hillary, and Mike[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/) |
| Signature device | Dave's rants delivered directly to the camera, plus a confessional space where characters reveal what they could never say to one another[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/2866/the-war-at-home) |
| Debut performance | Averaged 8.7 million viewers, won its time slot among adults 18 to 49, and followed The Simpsons' 17th-season premiere (10.8 million)[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-13-et-quick13sub.4-story.html) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 28 from 42 critic reviews; Rotten Tomatoes season-one Tomatometer 26%[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_war_at_home/s01) |
| Cancellation | Ended after two seasons due to low ratings; in 2006–07 it tied for the lowest-rated renewed scripted series at a 2.2 rating in adults 18–49[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/) • [7](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2007/05/low-ratings-not-enough-to-kill/) |
## Premise and characters
The show centers on Dave Gold (Michael Rapaport), described in the series description as a bigoted, middle-class Jewish insurance salesman, and his wife Vicky (Anita Barone), a Catholic interior designer. Their three children are Larry (Kyle Sullivan), Hillary ([Kaylee DeFer](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaylee-defer)), and Mike (Dean Collins)[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/). At the start of the series Larry is 15, Hillary is 16, and Mike is 13[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_war_at_home/s01).
Dave's recurring worry that Larry might be gay supplied much of the pilot's material. In that episode Larry is actually not gay: he disguises himself as his mother so he can drive her car[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/2005/09/11/legends-of-the-fall/15e5928c-1161-43ec-93f9-ee50e1fa6dba/). Larry's best friend is Kenny ([Rami Malek](https://www.edgepedia.org/rami-malek)), who comes out of the closet midway through the second season in the episode "Out & In"[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/). The Parents' Television Council singled out Fox for packaging the show as family viewing alongside [Family Guy](https://www.edgepedia.org/family-guy) and American Dad, calling The War at Home "one of the most mindless and unapologetically vulgar shows on television"[9](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/21/religion.media).
## Format
The series breaks the fourth wall frequently. Dave delivers angry monologues directly to the camera, commenting on his family, his wife, and modern parenthood[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/2005/09/11/legends-of-the-fall/15e5928c-1161-43ec-93f9-ee50e1fa6dba/). TVmaze's description describes a confessional space used to go "inside the heads of a modern family" where characters "reveal everything they could never actually say to one another"[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/2866/the-war-at-home). Critics noted that the device seemed borrowed; the Los Angeles Times observed that talking to the camera felt fresh when [The Bernie Mac Show](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-bernie-mac-show) debuted, but on The War at Home it read as "an extra stab at being au courant"[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-10-et-war10-story.html).
A Spanish doctoral study of hybridization in the North American sitcom lists The War at Home alongside [Malcolm in the Middle](https://www.edgepedia.org/malcolm-in-the-middle) and [Scrubs](https://www.edgepedia.org/scrubs-tv-series) as examples of the genre's hybridized narrative form[11](https://uvadoc.uva.es/bitstream/handle/10324/43576/TESIS-1765-201110%20.pdf?sequence=1).
## Broadcast history and reception
Fox slotted the series into its Sunday animation block, airing at 8:30 p.m. after [King of the Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-of-the-hill) and [The Simpsons](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-simpsons) and before Family Guy and American Dad[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-10-et-war10-story.html). The debut averaged 8.7 million viewers, second in its slot behind a repeat of CBS's Cold Case but first among adults 18 to 49, the demographic advertisers key on. However, the show had trouble retaining the large audience of its lead-in, The Simpsons' 17th-season premiere[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-13-et-quick13sub.4-story.html). In October 2005 Fox picked up both The War at Home and Bones for full-season orders of 22 episodes[12](https://www.nexttv.com/news/more-war-bones-fox-108314).
The series was renewed for a second season despite low ratings. In 2006–07 it tied with ABC's Notes From the Underbelly for the lowest-rated renewed scripted series, each averaging a 2.2 rating in adults 18–49. TelevisionWeek noted that "Home" routinely made the "Worst Shows" list in its semi-annual Critics Poll, that it lacked a regular time slot, and that Fox used it as multipurpose filler[7](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2007/05/low-ratings-not-enough-to-kill/). It was canceled at the end of two seasons due to low ratings, with the finale, "The Graduation," airing April 22, 2007[1](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/).
Critical response was largely negative. Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 28, "Generally Unfavorable," based on 42 critic reviews, with 67% negative, 29% mixed, and 5% positive; the same site's user score was 9.0 from 14 ratings[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/). Rotten Tomatoes gives season one a 26% Tomatometer from 23 reviews, with a critics consensus reading "More often just plain ol' offensive than subversive, The War at Home is a familial sitcom where nobody emerges a comedic victor"[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_war_at_home/s01). The New York Times was among the most favorable, calling the characters "winningly unlovable"[13](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/critic-reviews/). Tom Shales of The Washington Post called it "an unconscionably smutty new sitcom" and found its vulgarity forced[14](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/09/10/war-at-home-its-time-to-fumigate-the-house/4116877f-728b-4ef2-99f6-9babbd3340f7/).
Viewer sentiment diverged from the critics' verdicts. IMDb lists a 7.5 rating from about 9.5 thousand users[15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460692/), and Rotten Tomatoes records a 67% Popcornmeter audience score for season one against the 26% Tomatometer[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_war_at_home/s01).
## Legacy and availability
The show was produced by Warner Bros. Television along with Rob Lotterstein Productions and Acme Productions[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/). Season one received a 2006 Excellence in Production Design Award nomination in the Multi-Camera Television Series category, and season two a 2007 Humanitas Prize nomination for 30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television[16](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-war-at-home/1030057001/). In Germany the series first aired in 2006 as Familienstreit de luxe on RTL and later as Hinterm Sofa an der Front on RTL II[17](https://www.quotenmeter.de/cms/print.php?id=65678).
It is not currently available on any streaming service, though a season can be bought on DVD[18](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-war-at-home). Its title is shared with other works, including the 1979 documentary The War at Home, for which director Glenn Silber received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature[19](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f5ed5dcf7ce554029f84ec8/t/5f61157c86b27b051fb77869/1600198017944/The%2BWar%2Bat%2BHome%2BPress%2BKit%2B7-31-20.pdf), and a 2020 New Zealand war-drama miniseries set during an alternate-history [World War III](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-war-iii)[20](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10162574/).
## References
1. [The War at Home, TV Series Finale](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-war-at-home/)
2. [The War at Home, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/2866/the-war-at-home)
3. [The War at Home, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/)
4. [Fox wins night with premieres, Los Angeles Times (September 13, 2005)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-13-et-quick13sub.4-story.html)
5. [2007–2008 Network Responsibility Index, GLAAD](https://media.glaad.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/10053137/2007-08-NRI-e9a.pdf)
6. [The War at Home: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_war_at_home/s01)
7. [Low Ratings Not Enough to Kill a Show, TVWeek (May 28, 2007)](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2007/05/low-ratings-not-enough-to-kill/)
8. [Legends of the Fall?, The Washington Post (September 11, 2005)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/2005/09/11/legends-of-the-fall/15e5928c-1161-43ec-93f9-ee50e1fa6dba/)
9. [Religious group brands Fox TV shows as vulgar, The Guardian (October 21, 2005)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/21/religion.media)
10. [A twist on familiar sitcom trappings, Los Angeles Times (September 10, 2005)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-10-et-war10-story.html)
11. [Hibridación y análisis textual de la narrativa en la sitcom norteamericana, Universidad de Valladolid](https://uvadoc.uva.es/bitstream/handle/10324/43576/TESIS-1765-201110%20.pdf?sequence=1)
12. [More War, Bones at Fox, Broadcasting & Cable (October 11, 2005)](https://www.nexttv.com/news/more-war-bones-fox-108314)
13. [The War at Home critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-war-at-home/critic-reviews/)
14. ['War at Home': It's Time To Fumigate The House, The Washington Post (September 10, 2005)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/09/10/war-at-home-its-time-to-fumigate-the-house/4116877f-728b-4ef2-99f6-9babbd3340f7/)
15. [The War at Home (TV Series 2005–2007), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460692/)
16. [The War at Home, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-war-at-home/1030057001/)
17. [Tele 5 wagt sich an Sitcom «The War at Home», Quotenmeter](https://www.quotenmeter.de/cms/print.php?id=65678)
18. [The War at Home streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-war-at-home)
19. [The War at Home Press Kit](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f5ed5dcf7ce554029f84ec8/t/5f61157c86b27b051fb77869/1600198017944/The%2BWar%2Bat%2BHome%2BPress%2BKit%2B7-31-20.pdf)
20. [The War at Home (TV Mini Series 2020– ), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10162574/)
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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 › Family and household sitcoms › Contemporary family sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 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