Shondaland
Mid-season replacements are rolling out this week across the decade to fill the slots of failed Fall programs. 1965 saw the debut of two short-lived game shows, while 1985 produced a short-lived detective series with an actor who would go on to become a major movie star. 1995 gave us an animated fairy tale series for all children, as well as a revival of a classic sci-fi/horror anthology series. 2005 is arguably the biggest year this week with premieres of a documentary style comedy series, and a medical drama that is still on the air today. 2015 had a handful of short-run series, while a new host took over a late late night institution … for the last time. Scroll down to see the shows that premiered this week, and tell us if your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1955
- No new series premiered this week in 1955.
1965
- March 29 – Call My Bluff (NBC, One season, 125 episodes)
- March 29 – I’ll Bet (NBC, One season, 125 episodes)
Call My Bluff was a game show in which two teams of two contestants and one celebrity earn points by determining the correct definitions to obscure words. Bill Leyden was the host. Don Pardo and Johnny Olson were among the show’s announcers. Celebrities appearing on the show included Bill Cullen, Gene Rayburn, Betty White, Peggy Cass, Abe Burrows and Lauren Bacall. Recordings of the show are believed to have been destroyed in accordance with network practices at the time for reuse of the videotape. Two rehearsal shows exist, with one held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
I’ll Bet was a game show in which celebrity couples played to win money for home viewers drawn at random before each episode. Each couple had to bet amounts from $10-$100 if the other couple could answer a question right or wrong. A couple won when they got to $200 or if the other couple lost $200. As with most daytime shows of the era, the videotapes are presumed to have been wiped. One kinescope episode featuring Richard Long, his wife Mara Corday and actress Beverly Garland survives. A color episode with Denise Darcel and Robert Culp was discovered in February 2009.
1975
- No new series premiered this week in 1975.
1985
- March 24 – Half Nelson (NBC, One season, 9 episodes)
Half Nelson was a detective dramedy starring Joe Pesci, Fred Williamson, Bubba Smith, Dick Butkus and Dean Martin as Himself. Rod Taylor starred in the pilot.
1995
Hyperion Animation
- March 26 – Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (HBO, Three seasons, 39 episodes)
- March 26 – The Outer Limits (Showtime/Syfy, Seven seasons, 152 episodes)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child was an anthology series narrated by Robert Guillaume. Guest stars who provided voices for the animated characters included Harry Belafonte, Tone Lōc, Jackée Harry, BD Wong, James Hong, Amy Hill, Liz Torres, Cheech Marin, Rosie Perez, George Takei, Jasmine Guy, Denzel Washington, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sherman Hemsley, Sinbad, Danny Glover, LeVar Burton, Jay Leno, Ricardo Montalban, Lucie Arnaz, Carlos Mencia, Tisha Campbell, Whoopi Goldberg, Meshach Taylor, David Alan Grier, James Earl Jones, Dawnn Lewis, Daphne Zuniga, Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga, Raquel Welch, Vanessa Williams, Gregory Hines, Debbie Allen, Paul Winfield, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Margaret Cho, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Della Reese, Redd Foxx, Charles S. Dutton, Garrett Morris, Harvey Fierstein, Bronson Pinchot, Chita Rivera, David Hyde Pierce, Pat Morita, Ming-Na Wen, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, Grant Shaud, Ana Alicia, John Ratzenberger, Richard Moll, Daisy Fuentes, Jon Secada, Héctor Elizondo, Loretta Devine, Richard Lewis, James Avery, Avery Brooks, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sara Rue, Tia Carrere, Raven-Symoné, Lou Rawls, Ben Vereen, Jenifer Lewis, Alfre Woodard, Joan Chen, Lou Diamond Phillips, A Martinez, Blair Underwood, Alfonso Ribeiro, Jennifer Holliday, Salt-n-Pepa, Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, Nell Carter, Marla Gibbs, Loretta Lynn, Courteney Cox, Sandra Oh, Tyra Banks, Julie Brown, Jurnee Smollett, Will Ferrell, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Pam Grier, Phil Hartman (in his final role, with the episode dedicated to him), Robin Leach, Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Stone, Henry Kissinger, Mary Hart, Jesse Jackson, Johnnie Cochran, Geraldine Ferraro, Greg Kinnear, Wallace Langham, Mary Gross, Scott Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Braugher, Iqbal Theba, Tom Arnold, Calista Flockhart, Sandra Bernhard, Maya Angelou, Ann Richards, Gloria Steinem, Eartha Kitt, En Vogue, Kadeem Hardison, Ruby Dee, Caroline Rhea, Kim Wayans, Marc Anthony, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Nestor Carbonell, Ian Gomez, Angie Dickinson, Diahann Carroll, Dabney Coleman, Harvey Korman, Jaleel White, Katey Sagal, Kevin Pollak, Melanie Chartoff and Ruth Brown.
The Outer Limits was a revival of the classic 1963-1965 TV anthology series. The success of TV series like The X-Files and Tales from the Crypt prompted rights holder MGM to move forward with the revival. In the same arrangement MGM and Showtime had with Stargate SG-1 and Poltergeist: The Legacy, episodes would air in Syndication the following season. The show was broadcast on Showtime until 2001 when Syfy quietly took over for the seventh and final season. Unlike the Showtime episodes, the Syfy episodes were free from nudity and swearing. The revival focused more on scientific concepts and their effects on humanity rather than the ‘monster of the week’ format of the original series (not that there weren’t monsters and aliens in the revival). Leslie Stevens, creator of the original series, acted as a program consultant for the first four seasons (until his death). Joseph Stefano, co-creator, producer and head writer of the original, served as executive producer and senior advisor throughout the run of the series.
2005
Deedle-Dee Productions
- March 24 – The Office (NBC, Nine seasons, 201 episodes)
- March 24 – Life on a Stick (FOX, One season, 13 episodes, 8 unaired)
- March 25 – Kojak (USA Network, One season, 9 episodes)
- March 25 – Krypto the Superdog (Cartoon Network, Two seasons,39 episodes)
- March 27 – Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, Twenty-one seasons, 441 episodes to date)
- March 28 – Attack of the Show! (G4, Nine seasons, 2,042 episodes)
The Office received moderate reviews for its short first season, with the first episode scoring mixed reviews. Season 2 received significant acclaim as the characters, content and tone diverged from the British series upon which it was based. Mindy Kaling wrote twenty-four episodes of the series, the most of any writer. Guest directors on the series include J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Jon Favreau, Harold Ramis, Jason Reitman and Marc Webb. Many of the show’s actors also directed episodes. The pilot is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the UK original. Once the cast was set, the writers were allowed to write for the actors for the following episode. Scripts usually came in longer than those for a standard 22-minute episode, and due to the improvisation almost every episode has a large number of deleted scenes which are considered part of the show’s canon. NBC’s head of programming originally suggested Paul Giamatti for the role of Michael Scott but the actor declined. Martin Short, Hank Azaria and Bob Odenkirk were said to be interested in the role. Steve Carell was in talks for the role but he was committed to another NBC comedy, Come to Papa. However the show was quickly cancelled which freed up Carell for The Office. He only watched about half of the pilot episode of the original and then stopped for fear of copying Ricky Gervais. Before John Krasinkski landed the role of Jim he had considered quitting acting after giving himself two or three years to land a job. Adam Scott and John Cho also auditioned for Jim. Kathryn Hahn and Angela Kinsey auditioned for the role of Pam, but after the actors did chemistry tests, Krasinkski said Jenna Fischer was his favorite Pam, and she said he was her favorite Jim. Ken Kwapis, director of the pilot, liked how casting director Phyllis Smith read with the actors during auditions that he cast her as Phyllis. Plans were made for Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis, from the British series, to appear in the third season, but scheduling conflicts prevented them. Gervais did appear in two Season 7 episodes as his British The Office character David Brent. To create the show’s documentary style, the producers hired cinematographer Randall Einhorn, known for directing episodes of Survivor, who gave the show its ‘rough and jumpy’ feel. The office set was built with immovable walls to emphasize the claustrophobic atmosphere, ‘trapping’ the documentary crew with the characters. The first season of the show was filmed in a real office space in Culver City, California. The series received 42 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations during it run, winning five including Outstanding Comedy Series for its second season. Many cast and crew have expressed anger that Carell did not receive an Emmy, but he did win a Golden Globe.
Life on a Stick was originally titled Related by Family. Amy Yasbeck accepted a role on the show as part of her healing process following the death of husband John Ritter. A role was offered to the then unknown Charlie Day, but he turned it down to continue working on the pilot for what would eventually become It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Krypto the Superdog premiered on Cartoon Network exactly 50 years after the super dog’s first comic book appearance.
Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running scripted primetime series airing on ABC. The series won a Golden Globe for Outstanding Television Series – Drama, and has earned a total to date of 38 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series. Only three of the original actors, Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson, have been with the show since its premiere, although Pompeo reduced her time on the series in Season 19. Each role was cast without the character’s race being pre-determined to fulfill creator Shonda Rhimes’ vision of diversity. Rob Lowe was offered the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd, but turned it down as he had already committed to another medical drama, Dr. Vegas. Justin Chambers’ Dr. Alex Karev was not in the original pilot, but was added through digital editing and additional filmed scenes. Eric Dane auditioned for the pilot, but was not cast until Season 2.
Attack of the Show! originally aired on G4 until 2013 and the network shut down in 2014. G4 was revived in 2021 as was Attack of the Show!, which ended again when the network shut down for a second time in 2022.
2015
Fulwell 73
- March 23 – The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS, Nine seasons, 1,197 episodes)
- March 23 – Sin City Saints (Yahoo! Screen, One season, 8 episodes)
- March 25 – Big Time in Hollywood, FL (Comedy Central, One season, 10 episodes)
- March 28 – Harvey Beaks (Nickelodeon/Nicktoons, Two seasons, 52 episodes)
- March 28 – Monopoly Millionaire’s Club (Syndication, Two seasons, 25 episodes)
The Late Late Show with James Corden was the fourth and final iteration of The Late Late Show. James Corden succeeded Craig Ferguson as the show’s host. Unlike Ferguson’s version of the show, Corden’s had a house band named ‘Karen’, but due to the negative slang usage of the name, it was changed to ‘Melissa’. Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis were the show’s first guests. The final episode featured Corden’s contemporaries from CBS and other networks: Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, plus David Letterman and Trevor Noah. The show was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Variety Talk Series for four consecutive years, 2016-2019. It also received eight Creative Arts Emmy nominations, winning two: Outstanding Variety Special (The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special) and Outstanding Interactive Program.
Sin City Saints ended following the closure of Yahoo! Screen due to low viewership. Comedy Central never officially cancelled Big Time in Hollywood, FL, but series star Lenny Jacobson confirmed the show would not be returning in 2015. Harvey Beaks was pitched to Nickelodeon with an 11-minute pilot titled Bad Seeds.
Mike & Molly‘s Billy Gardell hosted game show Monopoly Millionaire’s Club. The show’s first season episodes ran for an hour with five games, but it was reduced to 30-minutes for Season 2 with three games.