Watching Ellie

The show existed in two very different incarnations: the first season was a single-camera sitcom depicting real-time 22-minute slices of the main character's life, while the second season became a more traditional multi-camera show filmed before a live studio audience with a laugh track.

In the earliest episodes of the first season, a clock was displayed in the corner of the screen to emphasize the real-time format; Julia Louis-Dreyfus said in 2003 that this clock idea came from NBC executive Jeff Zucker.

The first season was directed by Ken Kwapis, known for his innovative single-camera work on shows like The Larry Sanders Show, Malcolm in the Middle, and The Bernie Mac Show.

Thirteen episodes of the first season were filmed, but only ten ever aired before the show was put on indefinite hiatus; the remaining episodes have never been broadcast.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lauren Bowles, who played on-screen sisters Ellie and Susan, are actually half-sisters in real life.

The series was created by Brad Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus's real-life husband.

Louis-Dreyfus and Hall each earned salaries of $350,000 per episode, and their contracts stipulated seasons of only 15 episodes instead of the usual 22.

Before landing at NBC, the show was pitched to ABC, CBS, Fox and HBO, all of which turned it down.

Original production company Carsey-Werner-Mandabach Productions dropped out of the project due to high costs and was replaced by NBC Studios.