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She may be divorced twice over, but that’s not stopping superstar Madonna from doling out marital advice on NBC’s The Marriage Ref! The pop music icon is joining comedians, Larry David and Ricky Gervais, on a brand-new episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s reality advice show tonight. Keep reading to find out what The Marriage Ref himself had to say about Madge’s visit…

“The minute I saw [Madonna] backstage,” says Papa, “I knew she was going to be great because she was playful and fun. She came out there, sat between Ricky Gervais and Larry David and held her own. She was not backing down!” According to previews for tonight’s episode of The Marriage Ref, Larry David and Madonna get into a few tiffs of their own.

At the end of the episode, Larry David said, “This is easily the most uncomfortable hour I’ve ever spent in my life.” Madonna quickly sniped back, asking, “Why? Because you’re sitting next to a woman who is standing up to you?”

Read the full story on Reality TV Magazine

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Season to date, NBC ranks #3 among the major networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers, and is #2 in adults 18-34.
Paced by strong ratings from a one-hour episode of “The Office,” and solid debuts from “Parenthood,” “The Marriage Ref” and “Who Do You Think You Are,” NBC averaged a 2.1 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49 and 6.4 million viewers overall for the week of March 1-7.

The regular-slot debut of “The Marriage Ref” Thursday also ranked among the top 20 programs this week in primetime’s key demographic of adults 18-49 at #18. Among adults 18-34, “Marriage Ref” ranked #14 (tied). Also ranking in the top 20 this week in adults 18-34 were NBC’s Thursday comedies “Parks and Recreation (at #18, tied) and “Community” (#20, tied).

Source: RBR

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NBC’s best 10 o’clock numbers last week came Thursday, where “The Marriage Ref” (3.4 rating/10 share in adults 18-49, 7.71 million viewers overall) won its hour among young adults. In its second half-hour, though, a declining “Ref” won by only a tick over the Eye crime drama (3.2/9 to 3.1/9), which won the hour rather comfortably in adults 25-54.

Source: Variety

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Jay revealed to Access Hollywood’s Tony Potts that he recently helped out with Jerry’s “The Marriage Ref.”

“I did a guest spot on it,” Jay told Tony, referring to the new NBC primetime show that features celebrity panelists who weigh in on a conflict between spouses.

“It’s a fun show,” Jay commented. “I liked doing it.”

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Actress Eva Longoria Parker shared some of her own marriage secrets as she helped settle warring couples’ domestic disputes on new TV series The Marriage Ref.

The Desperate Housewives beauty told how she “made” basketball star husband Tony Parker get a tattoo on his ring finger because he has to take off his wedding band on the court.

She joined a celebrity panel with show creator Jerry Seinfeld and comedienne Tina Fey to argue the cases to Marriage Ref Tom Papa before he decided if the husband or wife was the winner.

Read more: Monsters and Critics

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Tempers flared as twice-divorced Madonna weighed in with her views on married couples’ real-life domestic disputes in new US TV show The Marriage Ref.

On the show, the pair get the hump when they realise the Ref – US comic Tom Papa – has the power to ignore the votes of the celebrity panel on whether the husband or wife wins the row.
Madonna shouts: “It’s two against two!” after Papa sides against her and Gervais.
Papa, who takes the side of fellow panel member and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, tells her: “I have the final say.”
Gervais asks: “What are we here for? It was two to one! Why does he get the final vote?”
Papa says: “You’re the advisers but I make the ruling.”
But defiant Madonna refuses to back down and hits back: “Why? You’re not the panel.”

Read more: Monsters and Critics

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The strong Olympics performance fueled a great premiere number for “The Marriage Ref.” Sunday’s opener pulled a 4.8 rating with 14.5 million viewers, enough to easily win the 10:30-11PM half hour.

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Mr. Seinfeld spoke with The New York Times about “The Marriage Ref” , here are some of the highlights:
Q.
You’ve just started taping the earliest episodes of your first new television series in more than a decade. How does it feel so far?

A.
That aspect of television is a lot of fun for me. We think of something, and then a week later it’s in front of an audience. There’s a complexity in solving the basic problem of “What is this show?” But having solved that, there’s a simplicity now to doing it that I’m really enjoying. My body was like “You’re making another television show?” All those sensations of doing it from 12 years ago and the previous nine come back. But because it’s all in such a different way, it’s fun.

Q.
You weren’t necessarily angling to get back onto television, but you got swept up in the idea for “The Marriage Ref”?

A.
Yeah. If an idea’s good, you become its servant. If you’re pushing it, working it, fixing it, whipping it like a racehorse that’s going too slow, it’s probably not that good an idea. A good idea has a — what’s the word? — a draft suction, that you get pulled into it. It took years for the American public to get into our universe when I did “Seinfeld.” It was like “Oh, now I understand what they’re doing.” This has none of those aspects. This universe is known already. There’s still a strong flavor of misanthropy here, that you will not mistake. Even in this most important institution, this most romantic subject, you’ll feel the flavor.

Q.
Who are some of the people you’re planning to have as celebrity panelists?

A.
Of course my pal Larry David. Matthew Broderick. Alec Baldwin was my No. 1 get, because to me, he’s just such a funny thinker. Last night, there was this issue, and Kelly Ripa had to decide, whose side are you on? You’ve seen her on talk shows, you can watch her every day on her show. You’re not going to see her face a dilemma like this and watch her sort it out. So you learn a little bit about her. It’s interesting.

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Jerry Seinfeld explains The Marriage Ref might just be history in the making. Premieres Thursday, March 4 10/9c.

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• jerry seinfeld is back on tv (wwtdd.com)

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In preparation for the show “The Marriage Ref” Jerry Seinfeld gave an interview to StarPlus, here are the highlights:

Q: What do you and your wife fight about?

Jerry Seinfeld: There’s only one thing. I don’t think it’s a good enough issue for the show but whenever we go to the theatre I get very nervous about being late because I’m a well-known person I hate to go into the theatre late. I get very anxious about getting out of the house on time.

Is she habitually late?

No, she’s not, but I get anxious and if she’s just a couple of minutes late, I always go, “It’s the theatre. Why do we have to do this?”

How do you keep the bickering of couples from just getting annoying in this show?

We pick out the ones, you’ve never seen a couple fight over “The dog’s dead. Should we stuff it or not?” I want to see how that works. I think there’s an unlimited supply of this. Well, here’s the most interesting thing about the show to me. Maybe not to anybody else. Couples in fights perform. Regular people that are so boring you’d never want to spend ten seconds with them. When they are fighting, they are hilarious. They say funny things in funny ways like the way you want, you would want an actor to do it. That’s what’s been the most discovery of the show is these couples are funny.

Why do you think that is?

Because emotion drives comedy. Emotion and conflict is the essence of comedy.

Don’t you think that some couples won’t want to watch this show because they can see people fighting at home? Like it’s a little too close to the bone?

No. It’s a relief. It really is a relief. It’s a relief to go, “Well, at least we don’t have that one.” Or, “We do have that one. Let’s see who’s right and who’s wrong.” So either way it kind of pulls you in.

How many celebrity judges are on the panel at a time?

Three. They’re not judges. They’re just advisors.

Almost like lawyers in a way, making a case for either side?

Yeah. We just really want to get some conversation going. That’s why to me it’s really a talk show. I really want to create interesting conversation. I am one of those comedians who is hopelessly stuck on the old Johnny Carson Tonight Show where the guests would stay on the couch and would interact with each other. I’m trying to create that here because I want people to engage with each other, not just with Tom and not just through some boring monologue about how their basement flooded and they couldn’t find a plumber.

Have you disagreed with the outcomes at all?

Yeah, sometimes. Yeah.

What fight subjects are off limits that you won’t touch?

Anything to do with kids, anything that makes you uncomfortable, that seems like the marriage might be in any real trouble. You know what the fights are? You ever go out with another couple for dinner and before the appetizers get there, one starts talking about, “You know what he did the other day?” And you talk about the things that annoy you about your husband, and they start doing the same? All of those subjects at dinner that you would feel comfortable talking to your friend, your couple friends with, that’s what we deal with. That’s really 85 percent of marital difficulties is ridiculous problems.

What about gay marriages?

Oh, yeah, they’re in.