Mad About You
The Dirty Little Secret
TV Flash files “The Dirty Little Secret” as hour 162 of 176 in the TV Flash guide — Mad About You (1992–1999) on NBC, season 7, episode 20, aired 1999-05-17, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S07E20: listed hour 162 of 176 in the Mad About You guide, hour 20 of 22 in season 7. It aired 1999-05-17 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Paved with Good Intentions” (S07E19). Next is “The Final Frontier (1)” (S07E21).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Paul and Jamie learn they may be distant cousins; Sylvia has a sudden change of heart about her daughter-in-law.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Dirty Little Secret sit in the Mad About You guide?
S07E20 is listed hour 162 of 176 — hour 20 of 22 in season 7, season 7 episode 20.
When did Mad About You S07E20 air?
The Dirty Little Secret aired 1999-05-17 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Was there a revival?
Yes — a limited revival reunited Reiser and Hunt years after the 1992–1999 original run. The 1990s seasons are the Must-See text.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Paul and Jamie Buchman negotiate New York marriage at human scale — careers, in-laws, a dog, no high-concept gymnastics. Reiser and Hunt make ordinary evenings feel like high-stakes talks because they are. Must-See adjacent couple comedy, Helen Hunt's Emmy run attached, the softer married counterpoint to single-city farce on the same night.
Flash: September 23, 1992, NBC, a New York marriage at human scale. Paul and Jamie Buchman negotiate careers, in-laws, and a dog with observational micro-drama rather than high-concept gymnastics. Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson built a Must-See two-hander that felt intimate even inside multi-cam architecture. Helen Hunt's Jamie became an Emmy machine. Guest stars and baby arcs expanded the frame without losing the couple's gravitational pull. Seven original seasons through 1999, plus a later limited revival.…
Filed against
- Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman
Paul Reiser played Paul Buchman on Mad About You, 1990s New York marriage at human scale — careers, in-laws, a dog, no high-concept gymnastics. Reiser and Helen Hunt make ordinary evenings feel like high-stakes talks because they are.…
- Helen Hunt as Jamie Buchman
Helen Hunt's Jamie Buchman negotiated New York marriage at human scale on Mad About You — careers, in-laws, a dog, no high-concept gymnastics. Reiser and Hunt made ordinary evenings feel like high-stakes talks because they were. Must-See…
- Anne Ramsay as Lisa Stemple
Anne Ramsay’s Lisa Stemple crashed Mad About You as in-law weather — Paul and Jamie Buchman negotiating New York marriage at human scale, careers, a dog, no high-concept gymnastics. Must-See adjacent couple comedy, Helen Hunt’s run…
- Leila Kenzle as Fran Devanow
Leila Kenzle's Fran Devanow kept Mad About You looking like a New York marriage with friends — Paul and Jamie at human scale, careers, in-laws, a dog, no high-concept gymnastics. Must-See adjacent couple comedy. TV Flash files her as…
- John Pankow as Ira Buchman
John Pankow’s Ira Buchman crashed Mad About You as the cousin who would not leave the marriage — Paul and Jamie negotiating New York at human scale, careers, in-laws, a dog, no high-concept gymnastics. Reiser and Hunt, Must-See adjacent…