FX Network
Only two new series premiered during the first week of March, 40 years apart. One was a 13-week failure, while the other went on for multiple seasons with a groundbreaking Emmy Award win for its first season. The series also made an ‘overnight star’ of its lead, who had been around for a while but the series definitely took his career in a new direction. Do you remember either of this week’s series premieres?
1952
- No new series premiered this week in 1952.
1962
March 8 – Oh! Those Bells
- Cast: Herbert Wiere, Harry Wiere, Sylvester Wiere, Henry Norell, Carol Byron, Reta Shaw
- Notable Guests: Jesse White, Richard Deacon
- Synopsis: Three brothers from Germany with a behind-the-scenes theatrical background move to California to start new lives, working in a Hollywood theatre supply shop, turning even the simplest everyday tasks into slapstick disasters.
- Network: CBS
- Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on May 31, 1962
- Trivia: The Wiere Brothers were internationally known slapstick comedians. The show was filmed in 1960 with plans to air it during the 1960-1961 season, but CBS pulled the show and used it as a Spring replacement series for The New Bob Cummings Show in 1962.
1972
- No new series premiered this week in 1972.
1982
- No new series premiered this week in 1982.
1992
- No new series premiered this week in 1992.
2002
March 12 – The Shield
- Cast: Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace, Jay Karnes, Benito Martinez, CCH Pounder, Kenny Johnson, David Rees Snell, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, Reed Diamond, Glenn Close, David Marciano, Paula Garcés
- Notable Guests: Anthony Anderson, Forest Whitaker, Laurie Holden, Michael Peña, Anna Maria Horsford, Laura Harring, Alex O’Loughlin, Natalie Zea, Danny Pino, Frank Grillo, Frances Fisher, Franka Potente, Carl Weathers, Melanie Lynskey, Stana Katic, Gina Torres, Dick Anthony Williams, Clark Gregg, Clifton Collins Jr., André 3000, Tamlyn Tomita, Lana Parrilla, Carlos Mencia, Roscoe Lee Browne, Marc McClure, Khary Payton, Daniel Dae Kim, Jay Harrington, Tracie Thoms, Kristen Bell, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Ken Jeong
- Synopsis: Follows the lives and cases of a dirty Los Angeles Police Department cop and the unit under his command.
- Network: FX Network
- Broadcast History: Seven seasons, 88 episodes, last broadcast on November 25, 2008
- Trivia: The show was originally advertised with the title Rampart. Kurt Sutter, Katey Sagal and Lewis Black made uncredited guest appearances. Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Television Drama in 2002, the first basic cable series to do so. Star Michael Chiklis won both the Emmy and Golden Globe for his work in 2002. The show’s seven seasons cover approximately three years of time. The series was being developed at the time of the 9/11 attacks and the network worried that audiences would not want to see police officers in a negative light. The success of the film Training Day in October 2001 gave them the confidence to continue with the series. The series pilot and finale were directed by Clark Johnson, who had previously starred on Homicide: Life on the Street. Frank Darabont and David Mamet also directed an episode each. The character of Claudette was originally written as a man but CCH Pounder’s agent convinced creator Shawn Ryan that a woman in the detective role would offer a new slant. The character was changed, but not the dialogue. Chiklis and Jay Karnes are the only actors to appear in every episode.
2012
- No new series premiered this week in 2012.
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