archytele The Vault
Advertisement
Season guide

Mad About You: Season 5

24 episodes Premiered Sep 17, 1996 Updated Sep 26, 2026
Previously on Mad About You

Season 5 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • ⚡ Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Mad About You Season 4.
  • ⚡ Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
  • ⚡ Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
  • ⚡ Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Advertisement
Season 5 Episodes

Episode Guide

🛡️ SPOILER SHIELD

Season 5 Progress Shield

Future titles & synopses blurred. Tap "Reveal" on any card to peek.
Binge Efficiency Engine

Season 5: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

Time Saved 0.4h Skipping 1 filler episode
17%
79%
Mytharc (4): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (19): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (1): Standalone / filler
S5·E1 Mytharc

Dr. Wonderful

Sep 17, 1996 · 23 min

With Mark Devanow in Europe, a pregnant Jamie and Paul have to look around for a gynecologist, and Debbie tries to set them up with her girlfriend. Meanwhile, the elder Buchmans f

S5·E2 Core

The Grant

Sep 24, 1996 · 23 min

Jamie tries to stay awake, avoid coffee and continue to manage Brockwell's campaign. Meanwhile, while Paul is trying to figure out how to use a sizeable grant that has come his wa

S5·E3 Core

Therapy

Oct 15, 1996 · 23 min

Months after setting it up, Paul and Jamie decide to keep their appointment with the therapist Fran referred them to, but doing so delays Paul's shoot of his parents' reminiscences

S5·E4 Filler

The Clip Show

Oct 22, 1996 · 23 min

Having chosen the residents of Apartment 11-D as its parents, the baby in the making deals with musical interludes and parental cooing, and with lots and lots of choice moments fro

S5·E5 Core

Burt's Building

Oct 29, 1996 · 23 min

Filming of Paul's documentary takes him and Burt back to their old apartment building for the day, and events conspire to make Paul late for an appointment at Joan's office to hear

S5·E6 Core

Jamie's Parents

Nov 12, 1996 · 23 min

The Stemples arrive at Paul and Jamie's for a two-day visit, armed with a surprise, and another soon follows.

S5·E7 Core

Outbreak

Nov 19, 1996 · 23 min

The Buchmans decide the time and place of their grand announcement, but the leaks start early during Thanksgiving week.

S5·E8 Core

Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Nov 26, 1996 · 23 min

While Ira counsels against it, Paul contemplates abstinence until July. However, Jamie has other ideas and talks Paul into a trip upstate where they chance upon a dessert item wit

S5·E9 Core

The Gym

Dec 17, 1996 · 23 min

Paul so likes playing the mystery man at a local gym that he talks Jamie out of working there, whereupon she hands over her free pass to a homeless acquaintance from the neighborho

S5·E10 Core

Chicken Man

Jan 7, 1997 · 23 min

Jamie finally lets her coworkers and Lance know about the baby, while Ira, turning money man and producer for ""Buchman,"" actually managers to produce a narrator, at least in voic

S5·E11 Core

The Recital

Jan 14, 1997 · 23 min

A politically incorrect Jamie pays the price for commenting about Ryan's ability as a budding violinist, while a simmering Paul works up the nerve to confront their therapist about

S5·E12 Core

The Handyman

Jan 21, 1997 · 23 min

The perils of engaging Paul and Jamie's handyman are visited upon Lisa, whose fiance is more than willing to finance Paul's over-budget documentary project.

S5·E13 Core

Astrology

Feb 4, 1997 · 23 min

Nat's sister, an astrologer, is in town and agrees to do charts for Lisa, Ira, Paul and a very reluctant Jamie.

S5·E14 Core

The Penis

Feb 11, 1997 · 23 min

The Buchmans promise to name their baby, if it's a boy, after Paul's ailing Uncle Phil, then find out his real name. Meanwhile, Paul is suddenly sure of the baby's sex.

S5·E15 Mytharc

Citizen Buchman

Feb 18, 1997 · 23 min

Paul's great-uncle Marty dies on camera as he is being interviewed for ""Buchman"" and his cryptic last words lead to a few unexpected disclosures among the Buchman clan.

S5·E16 Core

Her Houseboy, Coco

Feb 25, 1997 · 23 min

An enforced bed-rest of two to three days for Jamie means that Paul has to attend to her every need, and also deal with lack of heat in their apartment AND a kidnapping.

S5·E17 Core

On the Road

Mar 18, 1997 · 23 min

To escape Jamie's baby shower, Paul hits the road with Ira and Marvin in the latter's van, but his urge to tell insensitive jokes quickly leads to trouble.

S5·E18 Core

The Cockatoo

Apr 1, 1997 · 23 min

Paul talks an unwilling Jamie into quitting her job at the mayoral campaign, but he is less successful in dealing with an exotic bird that flies into their lives.

S5·E19 Core

The Touching Game

Apr 15, 1997 · 23 min

A very pregnant Jamie insists on helping out at David (Paul's cousin) and Jared's new coffee shop, with disastrous results. Meanwhile, Ira and Paul help a pregnant woman on a bus.

S5·E20 Core

The Dry Run

Apr 29, 1997 · 23 min

Paul and Jamie flunk out of a birthday class that Joan has managed to get them enrolled in. Meanwhile, ""Buchman"" is being held hostage by the elder Buchmans.

S5·E21 Core

Guardianhood

May 6, 1997 · 23 min

Paul and Jamie are advised by their lawyer to select guardians for the baby in case of their death. But, to their astonishment, rejections pile up. Meanwhile, Jamie is flattered by

S5·E22 Core

The Feud

May 13, 1997 · 23 min

Theresa and Sylvia vie for the new crib honors, with predictable consequences. On another front, Paul wins big at poker but is paid off by Marvin in the form of specially-priced h

S5·E23 Mytharc

The Birth (1)

May 20, 1997 · 23 min

As Paul's documentary gets a surprisingly good review at a film festival, Jamie thinks she is going into labor. So they rush to the hospital, only to find out it was a false alarm

S5·E24 Mytharc

The Birth (2)

May 20, 1997 · 23 min

Jamie runs into an old flame in a cab on the way to the hospital. Meanwhile, Paul gets a grand tour of the innards of Roosevelt Hospital courtesy of a film star. And, oh yeah, th

Advertisement