TV by the Decade :: June 20•26

USA Network

Only two decades saw the premieres of new shows this week, and just a handful were unable to make it past a single season. The rest had multiple season runs, with the shortest being two seasons and the longest being nine seasons. Let’s take a look at the shows premiering this week and see if your favorites are on the list!

1951

• No new series debuted in 1951.

1961

• No new series debuted in 1961.

1971

• No new series debuted in 1971.

1981

• No new series debuted in 1981.

1991

• No new series debuted in 1991.

2001

June 21 – WWF Tough Enough

• Trainers: Al Snow, Jaqueline, Tazz, Tori (Season 1); Al Snow, Hardcore Holly, Ivory, Tazz, Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Season 2); Al Snow, Bill DeMott, Ivory (Season 3); Bill DeMott, Trish Stratus, Booker T (Season 5); Billy Gunn, Booker T, Lita (Season 6)
• Synopsis: Participants undergo professional wrestling training and compete for a contract with WWE.
• Network: MTV (2001-2003) / UPN (2004) / USA (2011, 2015)
• Broadcast History: Six seasons, 68 episodes, last broadcast on August 25, 2015
• Trivia: Two winners were selected per season on MTV. The UPN winner was integrated into SmackDown! Only two of the thirteen Season 1 contestants were cut, the other exited voluntarily. Two female winners were selected in Season 2, offending the male finalists who claimed the contracts stated there would be one female and one male winner. Season 3 had two male winners. A female contestant, Lisa, was removed from the competition after a ‘psychotic breakdown’. Season 4 contestant Mike Mizanin worked as The Miz with the WWE and is the only Tough Enough contestant to win the WWE Championship and headline WrestleMania. USA Network’s episode guide referred to the Season 5 revival of the series as Season 1, making no reference to the previous season.

June 25 – State of Grace

• Cast: Mae Whitman, Alia Shawkat, Michael Mantell, Erica Yohn, Jason Blicker, Dinah Manoff, Faye Grant, Bonnie Bailey-Reed, Carl M. Craig, Patricia Forte, Frances McDormand
• Guest Cast: Tom Verica, Shawn Pyfrom, Gretchen Wyler, Ian Abercrombie, Mary -Pat Green, Earl Boen, Jere Burns, Gordon Thomson, Meagan Fay, Nina Foch, Piper Laurie, Jeffrey Nordling, Fred Savage
• Synopsis: The show is centered on two 12-year-old girls from very different backgrounds, Hannah and Grace, who are best friends. Hannah is from a middle class Jewish family, and Grace is from a wealthy Catholic family.
• Network: FOX Family Channel / ABC Family
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 38 episodes, last broadcast on December 4, 2002
• Trivia: Alia Shawkat and Mae Whitman went on to work together on Arrested Development. The series won the Parents Television Council award, the Humanitas Award, and a Jewish Image Award.

June 26 – Animal Precinct

• Narrators: Michael Madsen (2001–2005), Holt McCallany (2005–2008)
• Synopsis: Set in New York City, the series follows the animal cruelty agents of the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division as they work as advocates for the five million pets and other animals in New York City, sometimes removing them from dangerous situations and pursuing arrests of those who have been accused of being cruel to animals.
• Network: Animal Planet
• Broadcast History: Seven seasons, 155 episodes, last broadcast on February 4, 2008
• Trivia: The show was filmed in New York City, edited in the UK and show on Discovery Channel networks worldwide. First season episodes were 30 minutes in length but expanded to an hour for the rest of the series’ run. A special 2001 episode detailed the efforts to rescue animals that had been affected by the September 11 attacks. Special investigator Diane DiGiacomo was diagnosed with cancer that was directly attributed to her work with the search and rescue operations after 9/11 and died on November 20, 2015. Her death is considered to be ‘in the line of duty’, the only such case for the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division.

2011

June 21 – Combat Hospital

• Cast: Michelle Borth, Luke Mably, Terry Chen, Arnold Pinnock, Gord Rand, Deborah Kara Unger, Elias Koteas, Ellen Wong, Karan Oberoi, Dwain Murphy, Lisa Berry, Hamza Jeetooa
• Guest Cast: Adam Beach, Darrly Hinds, Tia Carrere, Gordon Kennedy, Christopher Shyer, Chris Owens, Mena Massoud
• Synopsis: Set in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2006, the series revolves around the life and work of doctors and nurses from the International Security Assistance Force, specifically from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and other allied countries at a military hospital.
• Network: ABC (US) / Global (Canada)
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on September 6, 2011.
• Trivia: The show’s working title was The Hot Zone. The Canadian-produced series was cancelled after ABC opted not to continue airing the series. ABC did not air the season’s eleventh episode. The Global broadcast consistently out-performed CTV’s Flashpoint and Global’s Rookie Blue, both of which had multiple season runs in the US on CBS and ABC respectively.

June 23 – Expedition Impossible

• Host: Dave Salmoni
• Synopsis: Expedition Impossible is run in ten stages, each of which has a series of checkpoints. At each checkpoint, teams receive instructions on how to reach the next checkpoint and at some checkpoints they face challenges that must be completed before heading to the next checkpoint. The last team in each stage to reach the final checkpoint is eliminated. If any member of a team quits, the team is eliminated.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 10 episodes, last broadcast on August 25, 2011
• Trivia: Pro football players Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Robert Ortiz and Ricky Sharpe made up one of the teams.

June 23 – Suits

• Cast: Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty, Patrick J. Adams, Meghan Markle, Gina Torres, Amanda Schull, Wendell Pierce, Dulé Hill, Aloma Wright, Rachael Harris, Katherine Heigl
• Guest Cast: Neal McDonough, D.B. Woodside, Abigail Spencer, John Pyper-Ferguson, Gary Cole, Erik Palladino, Denise Crosby, Rebecca Schull, Eric Roberts, Sasha Roiz, Alan Rosenberg, Eric Close, Brynn Thayer, Stephen Macht, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Amy Acker, Al Sapienza, Malcolm Gets, Jeffrey Nordling, Zeljko Ivanek, Michael Gross, Titus Welliver, Jacinda Barrett, Tricia Helfer, Bruce McGill, Sharon Leal, Jay Harrington, Isabella Hoffman, Chi McBride, John Billingsley, Michael Reilly Burke, Russell Hornsby, Tracie Thoms, Scott Grimes, Michael Phelps, Alicia Coppola, Michael Des Barres, Jessica Tuck, Glynn Turman, Tim Russ, Anthony Starke, José Zúñiga, Jamey Sheridan, Jere Burns, Merle Dandridge, Lolita Davidovich, Susan Saint James, LaMonica Garrett, Margo Martindale, James Morrison, Connor Trinneer, Charles Barkley, Kevin Dunn, Kurtwood Smith, Amy Aquino, Gil Bellows, Victor Garber
• Synopsis: On the run from a drug deal gone bad, brilliant college dropout Mike Ross finds himself working with Harvey Specter, one of New York City’s best lawyers.
• Network: USA Network
• Broadcast History: Nine seasons, 134 episodes, last broadcast on September 25, 2019
• Trivia: The show’s working title was A Legal Mind. Creator Aaron Kosh wrote a spec script positioning the show as a half-hour, Entourage-type series based on his experiences on Wall Street. USA was the only network the series was pitched to. The pilot was filmed in New York City, but the series was filmed in Toronto. Victor Garber appeared in the original pilot but his scene was cut for the US broadcast, although it was shown in the UK. Some of the prints that hang in Rachel Zane’s office are the work of Patrick J. Adams. The role of Jessica (Gina Torres) was originally written as male, but the network suggested the gender change. Michael Phelps and Charles Barkley both expressed their love for the show and were offered guest roles. D.B. Woodside and Rachael Harris never share a scene together unlike on Lucifer where they share many scenes.

June 23 – Wilfred

• Cast: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, Fiona Gubelmann, Dorian Brown Pham
• Guest Cast: Chris Klein, Allison Mack, James Remar, Mary Steenburgen, John Michael Higgins, Rob Riggle, Dwight Yoakam, Nestor Carbonell. Kristen Schaal, Harriet Sansom Harris, Mimi Rogers, Steven Weber, Ethan Suplee, Julie Hagerty, George Coe, Bob Gunton, Angela Kinsey, Rashida Jones, Jane Kaczmarek, Peter Stormare, Robin Williams, William Baldwin, Ed Helms, Rhea Perlman, Brad Dourif, Zachary Knighton, Lance Reddick, Barry Watson, Rutger Hauer, Ray Wise, Don Swayze, Gina Gershon, Kyle Mooney, Tobin Bell, Keegan-Michael Key, Al Sapienza
• Synopsis: The story of a depressed man who inexplicably is the only one who can see his neighbor’s dog as a full grown man in a dog suit.
• Network: FX (Seasons 1-3) / FXX (Season 4)
• Broadcast History: Four seasons, 49 episodes, last broadcast on August 13, 2014
• Trivia: Based on the Australian SBS One series of the same name, in which Jason Gann also appeared. This was the first series to be shot completely with HD-DSLR cameras.

June 25 – Friends with Benefits

• Cast: Ryan Hansen, Danneel Ackles, Zach Cregger, André Holland, Jessica Lucas
• Guest Cast: Lee Garlington, Ryan McPartlin, Pete Wentz, Jillian Bell, Brent Briscoe, Rebecca Mader, Mikey Day, Camilla Luddington, Arielle Vandenberg, Dave Foley, Christina Pickles, Travis Schuldt
• Synopsis: Five friends are all looking for the loves of their lives, but settle for less in the meantime.
• Network: NBC
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes (1 unaired), last broadcast on September 9, 2011
• Trivia: The show was originally developed for ABC. Fran Kranz was in the original pilot as Aaron, but was replaced with Zach Greggar. The series was to air mid-season but was pushed to the Summer. The final episode was only available through iTunes, Amazon and Netflix. All episode titles except the pilot begin with ‘The Benefit of…’