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The Guest Book

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The Guest Book
GenreComedy
Created byGreg Garcia
StarringCharlie Robinson
Carly Jibson
Lou Wilson
Kellie Martin
Eddie Steeples
Kimiko Glenn
Jimmy Tatro
Dan Beirne
Theme music composerhoneyhoney
ComposerJohn E. Low
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producersGreg Garcia
Alix Jaffe
Production locationsLos Angeles, California
Running time21 minutes
Production companiesAmigos de Garcia Productions
Studio T
CBS Television Studios
Turner Entertainment Networks
Original release
NetworkTBS
ReleaseAugust 3, 2017 (2017-08-03) –
December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18)

The Guest Book is an American anthology comedy television series created by Greg Garcia. Season 1 stars Charlie Robinson, Carly Jibson, Lou Wilson, and Kellie Martin, while season 2 stars Jibson, Eddie Steeples, Kimiko Glenn, Jimmy Tatro, and Dan Beirne.

The series centers on the lives of the employees of, and visitors to, vacation rental properties: season 1 focuses on the renters of Froggy Cottage in the small mountain town of Mount Trace,[1] while season 2 follows the renters of Barefeet Retreat in the oceanside town of Mabel Beach.[2] The regular cast plays residents in the town(s), while each episode is focused on a different guest star who plays an out-of-town vacationer. Garcia, who based the show on his habit of writing fake guest-book entries while on vacation, wrote all the episodes,[3] and makes brief season-two appearances as street beggar Homeless Jack.

The series premiered on TBS on August 3, 2017. On September 13, 2017, TBS renewed it for a second season, which premiered on October 23, 2018.[4] Garcia tweeted on September 12, 2019 that TBS had cancelled the series.[5]

Cast and characters

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Main

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  • Charlie Robinson as Wilfred (season 1; guest season 2), the caretaker of Froggy Cottage, the mountain rental.
  • Carly Jibson as Vivian “Tickles” Williams, the owner of Chubby's, the local strip club near Froggy Cottage. In season 2, she is a waitress at Emmy Lou's Grill, the restaurant near Barefeet Retreat, the beach rental.
  • Lou Wilson as Frank (season 1; guest season 2), Vivian's stepson.
  • Kellie Martin as Officer Kimberly Leahy (season 1; guest season 2)
  • Eddie Steeples as Eddie (season 2; recurring season 1), Wilfred and Emma's nephew.
  • Kimiko Glenn as Nikki (season 2), Tommy’s fiancée, a waitress at Emmy Lou's Grill.
  • Jimmy Tatro as Bodhi (season 2), Eddie's friend, target of Vivian's lustful desires.
  • Dan Beirne as Tommy (season 2), manager at Emmy Lou's Grill and caretaker of his mother's beach rental, Barefeet Retreat.

Recurring

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  • Aloma Wright as Emma (season 1; guest season 2), Wilfred's wife.
  • Garret Dillahunt as Dr. Andrew Brown.
  • Laura Bell Bundy as Jessica, Andrew's ex-wife.
  • Trace Garcia as Bryce, Andrew and Jessica's son.
  • Margo Martindale as Alice, Kimberly's mother.
  • Arjay Smith as Arlo (season 1), a fan of the show, seen only in cold open summarizing the previous week's episode to coworker Woody to entice him to watch the series.
  • John Milhiser as Woody (season 1), Arlo's coworker, who never gets around to watching the series.
  • Tipper Newton as Sinnomin (season 1; guest season 2), Vivian's employee.
  • Melanie Mosley as Kombucha, Vivian's employee.
  • Jack Donner as Walter, an elderly Chubby's patron.
  • honeyhoney as Chubby's house band, a mailwoman (Suzanne Santo) and an exterminator (Benjamin Jaffe). In season 2, they relocate to Mabel Beach, take jobs as a food-cart lady and a lifeguard, and play at Emmy Lou's Grill.

Episodes

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
110August 3, 2017 (2017-08-03)September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)
210October 23, 2018 (2018-10-23)December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18)

The intended fifth episode of the series was originally intended to air on August 24, 2017, but was held back as it "contained elements that were deemed too sensitive" at that point in time.[6] At the end of August 2017, Garcia noted on Twitter that the held episode would not be made available "for awhile",[7] and that he hopes that it will be released at a later date.[8] In mid-September, Garcia again posted on Twitter and confirmed that the episode would air the next Thursday as the eighth episode of the season, albeit in an edited form to fit its new place in the show's continuity.[9]

When the episode aired, the sensitive elements were revealed to be in relation to the Unite the Right rally which took place two weeks before the episode was originally due to air. The episode depicted an Alzheimer's patient regaining his spousal abuse tendencies and racist personality - going as far as sewing and wearing a KKK outfit with the intention of attending a rally, while also revealing he once murdered an African American while burning down a local black church.

Season 1 (2017)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Story One"Michael FrescoGreg GarciaAugust 3, 2017 (2017-08-03)1.33[10]

Tim and Sandy travel to the cottage wanting to spice up their relationship. After feeling pressure from Sandy, who is upset at the lack of creature comforts available to her, Tim visits a local strip club owned by Vivian and is unaware that her stepson Frank is filming the encounter. Frank shows Tim the tape and demands money in exchange for keeping his secret. Tim knocks Frank out and locks him in his car. The next day Tim throws Franks car keys onto the side of the road as he and Sandy depart.

Guest stars: Danny Pudi and Lauren Lapkus
22"Story Two"Michael FrescoGreg GarciaAugust 3, 2017 (2017-08-03)0.97[10]

Jill and her husband decide to drug their son Ethan's atheist fiancee Lynn at the cottage to perform a baptism. The next day Lynn awakens to discover that her leg has become infected and learns she might lose it. After a short hospital stay she makes a full recovery and accepts the possibility of God. Jill abandons her faith as she believes her prayers went unanswered.

Guest stars: Stockard Channing, Henry Zebrowski and Mary Lynn Rajskub
33"Story Three"Eyal GordinGreg GarciaAugust 10, 2017 (2017-08-10)1.21[11]

Phyllis escapes her uncomfortable stay at the cottage with her husband and his boss and the boss' new too-young wife by deciding to help a woman leave her polygamous relationship. She allows the woman to stay in her husband's boss's truck, but the next morning discovers it has been stolen. After they depart, the woman calls the cottage to tell Phyllis that she had borrowed the truck to return to her husband, but has accidentally driven it into a lake.

Guest stars: Michaela Watkins, David Zayas, Desmin Borges, Stephnie Weir and Mikaela Hoover
44"Story Four"Samir RehemGreg GarciaAugust 17, 2017 (2017-08-17)1.08[12]

Christy visits the cottage with her boyfriend Paul and his 8-year old daughter. After becoming apprehensive about her relationship, Christy eats a pot brownie and spends her "high" inside a crawlspace writing in the guest book. Paul reports Christy missing and discovers that she used to be a pornographic actress. Ashamed of her past, Christy reconciles with Paul and becomes a mother figure to his daughter.

Guest stars: Jaime Pressly, John Ortiz and John Hennigan
55"Story Five"Samir RahemGreg GarciaAugust 24, 2017 (2017-08-24)1.10[13]

Federal Agent Trina brings witness Blake to Froggy Cottage to hide him from his ex-girlfriends's drug-cartel connections. Blake attempts to escape only to discover that he and Trina share a love of poetry and they decide to run away together. Blake later ditches Trina, but she tracks him down at a Mexican cantina.

Guest stars: Kimberly Hebert Gregory and Tommy Dewey
66"Story Six"Michael EnglerGreg GarciaAugust 31, 2017 (2017-08-31)1.16[14]

Nerdy, obsessive-compulsive, middle-aged Adam has a crush on his younger co-worker Gillian, and creates a fake party invite to entice her to the cottage. It backfires when she brings another co-worker, Theo, with her and Adam must then invite the townspeople to his party. Despite having a good time at the party, Adam has an allergic reaction to peanuts and also overhears Gillian and Theo confessing their feelings for each other. As the party ends, a stranger who received the fake party invite by accident arrives, but Adam finds her obsessive-compulsiveness weird and shuts the door in her face.

Guest stars: Michael Rapaport and Kate Micucci
77"Story Seven"Eyal GordinGreg GarciaSeptember 7, 2017 (2017-09-07)0.98[15]

Tommy wants his girlfriend Marla to do two things: 1) finally accept his marriage proposal and 2) get off crystal meth. He takes Marla to the mountains for a vacation, hoping it'll give her a chance to break her meth habit. They break into the currently-vacant Froggy Cottage, where Tommy flushes Marla's meth down the toilet. While they are fighting, a bear breaks into the cottage. After surviving the bear's invasion, Marla agrees she doesn't need the crystal meth and asks Tommy to marry her.

Guest stars: Andrew J. West and Shannon Woodward
88"Story Eight"Michael EnglerGreg GarciaSeptember 14, 2017 (2017-09-14)1.14[16]

Medical researcher Laurie brings Alzheimer's patient Edgar to study the effects of an alternative therapy involving recreating a patient's past life. Edgar responds well by reliving several memories that reveal him as a white-supremacist supporter of KKK. He mistakes Laurie for his wife and treats her misogynistically, and he is nasty to the black male nurse who accompanies them to the cottage. Laurie and the nurse discover that Edgar caused an unsolved arson from the 1950s that killed the same handyman, based on the fact that Edgar is planning to set the same church on fire that night.

Guest stars: Jenna Fischer, Orson Bean and Affion Crockett
99"Story Nine"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaSeptember 21, 2017 (2017-09-21)0.98[17]

Amish boy Jacob goes on a tour for his Rumspringa. After watching8 Mile he becomes infatuated with Brittany Murphy. He arrives at the mountain town and rents Froggy Cottage to meet with God. Not finding Him there, he spins his revolver to find answers and concludes that he should commit suicide to find God. As the revolver wasn't loaded, he attempts various modes of suicide before breaking his leg and being taken to the hospital. While recovering, Jacob watches The Brady Bunch, falls in love with Marcia Brady, and heads to California where he meets Maureen McCormick.

Guest stars: Sebastian Schier, Aylam Orian, and Maureen McCormick
1010"Story Ten"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaSeptember 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)1.16[18]

Strip-club owner Vivian was shot with an arrow in her breast while trying to kill Froggy Cottage caretaker Wilfred as revenge for destroying the tape she used to blackmail him. Wilfred ties Vivian to a chair while Dr. Andrew returns with supplies from the hospital. When Andrew tries to talk to Vivian, she bites him and Wilfred sedates her. When she wakes up she tries to draw attention to Froggy Cottage while Andrew is at the strip club talking to Frank and Wilfred is with his wife. A suspicious Officer Kimberly investigates and discovers Wilfred trying to hide Vivian in the closet, and is upset she must arrest Andrew. However, Andrew's son chances upon Tim's story from Story One in the guest book and Kimberly contacts Tim to ask him to testify against Vivian for blackmailing him.

Note: numerous guests who stayed at Froggy Cabin throughout the season are seen in flashbacks

Season 2 (2018)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
111"Finding Reality"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaOctober 23, 2018 (2018-10-23)0.98[19]

A couple rents a beach house to work on their marriage, but the husband's obsession with virtual reality gets in the way and ultimately betrays him.

Guest Stars: Nat Faxon and Kether Donohue
122"Under Cover"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaOctober 23, 2018 (2018-10-23)0.69[19]

A couple who rents the beach house to help an addict reach her rock bottom helps someone else in the process.

Guest Stars: Will Arnett and Martha Plimpton
133"Counting Problems"Rebecca AsherGreg GarciaOctober 30, 2018 (2018-10-30)0.87[20]

A compulsive counter comes to the beach house to admit a secret to his family, but when they cancel, he finds a makeshift family to admit his secret to, only for his real family to arrive.

Guest star: Michael Rapaport, reprising his role from season 1, episode 6
144"Killer Party"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaNovember 6, 2018 (2018-11-06)0.95[21]

A man returns to the beach house to reminisce about a party he held there the year before, where an unexpected party crasher ended up leaving a lasting impression.

Guest stars: Michael Cassidy, Paul Dooley, and Darrell Britt-Gibson
155"Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"Samir RehemGreg GarciaNovember 13, 2018 (2018-11-13)0.86[22]

A man rents the beach house for his family and it costs more than he expects.

Guest stars: Steve Zissis and Allison Tolman
166"Invisible Son"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaNovember 20, 2018 (2018-11-20)1.02[23]

A loner's family invites him to the beach house for a weekend and asks a stripper to pretend to be his girlfriend. He neglects to tell her that they are reality TV stars--and they are not really his family.

Guest stars: Pete Davidson, Lisa Rinna, Tipper Newton, Izzy Diaz, Matthew Willig, and Lexi Ainsworth
177"Tonight You Become a Man"Samir RehemGreg GarciaNovember 27, 2018 (2018-11-27)1.00[24]

When parents leave their son alone for the first time in the beach house while they attend a concert, he has his own adventures and learns what it means to be a grownup.

Guest stars: Antonio Raul Corbo, Nadine Velazquez, and Steve Talley
188"Let Me Put You on a Brief Hold"Rebecca AsherGreg GarciaDecember 4, 2018 (2018-12-04)0.85[25]

The beach house is rented to a man whose phone is not working. He calls technical support and remains on hold as the representative deals with life-or-death issues only to learn a lesson.

Guest stars: Jon Bass, Adhir Kalyan, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, and Paull Walia
199"Everybody Loves Clark"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaDecember 11, 2018 (2018-12-11)0.91[26]

The beach-house owner surprises his fiancee with a wedding; old friends visit looking for Eddie; Vivian and Bodhi have a lot more in common than they realized.

Note: Officer Kimberly, Wilfred, Emma, and Frank, joined by Dr. Andrew (on a video call), main characters from Season 1, visit Vivian and Eddie
2010"Someplace Other Than Here"Greg GarciaGreg GarciaDecember 18, 2018 (2018-12-18)0.93[27]

A man works up the courage to pull the nuclear option on his marriage only for fate to get in the way and sets him on a new path.

Guest Stars: Oliver Hudson, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Matt Walsh, and Michael K. Williams

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 64% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6.33 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "An outstanding cast and sporadically sharp humor make The Guest Book worth checking out, even if its anthology formula leads to a bumpy journey from episode to episode."[28] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 9 reviews.[29]

Ratings

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Viewership and ratings per season of The Guest Book
Season Timeslot (ET) Episodes First aired Last aired Avg. viewers
(millions)		 18–49
rank		 Avg. 18–49
rating
Date Viewers
(millions) 		Date Viewers
(millions)
1 Thursday 10:30 pm 10 August 3, 2017 (2017-08-03) 1.33[10] September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28) 1.16[18] 1.11[30] TBD 0.39[30]
2 Tuesday 10:30 pm 10 October 23, 2018 (2018-10-23) 0.98[19] December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18) 0.93[27] 0.91[31] TBD 0.30[31]

References

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  1. ^ Sandberg, Bryn Elise (2017-01-14). "Greg Garcia's TBS Comedy 'The Guest Book' Sets Cast". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  2. ^ Iannucci, Rebecca (2018-09-19). "TVLine Items: Guest Book Return Date and Cast, Pose Promotion and More". TVLine. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  3. ^ Evans, Greg (2017-01-14). "TBS's 'The Guest Book' Cast & Guests Announced; Kellie Martin Stars". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  4. ^ Porter, Rick (September 13, 2017). "'The Guest Book,' 'People of Earth' and 'Wrecked' all renewed at TBS". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  5. ^ Pena, Jessica (28 September 2019). "The Guest Book: Cancelled by TBS, No Season Three for Greg Garcia Series". canceled + renewed TV shows - TV Series Finale. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Greg Garcia on Twitter: "It contained elements that were deemed too sensitive at the moment… "". Twitter.com. 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  7. ^ "Greg Garcia on Twitter: "Story five isn't going to be made available for awhile. You didn't miss anything as far as the story line for the town's people.… "". Twitter.com. 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  8. ^ "Greg Garcia on Twitter: "me too. It's a good one… "". Twitter.com. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  9. ^ "Greg Garcia on Twitter: "We had to air it out to order. Just left editing. It will air next Thursday.… "". Twitter.com. 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  10. ^ a b c Metcalf, Mitch (August 4, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.3.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 11, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.10.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 18, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.17.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  13. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 25, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.24.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  14. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 1, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.31.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  15. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 8, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.7.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  16. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 15, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.14.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  17. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 22, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.14.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  18. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (September 29, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.28.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Metcalf, Mitch (October 24, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.23.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  20. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 31, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.30.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  21. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 7, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.6.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  22. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 14, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.13.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  23. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 21, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.20.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  24. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 28, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.27.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  25. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 5, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.4.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  26. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 12, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.11.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (December 19, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.18.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  28. ^ "The Guest Book: Season 1 (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  29. ^ "The Guest Book Season 1: (2017)". Metacritic. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  30. ^ a b "The Guest Book: Season One Ratings". TV Series Finale. September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  31. ^ a b "The Guest Book: Season Two Ratings". TV Series Finale. December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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