TV by the Decade :: September 20•26

CBS

It’s another huge premiere week throughout the decades with a lot of shows that barely made it past a season, a few that couldn’t get past a handful of episodes, several that went on for many seasons, and few that are still on the air today producing new episodes. There are notorious flops among this week’s newcomers including an infamous television musical. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see if you remember the shows that premiered this week through the decades.

1950

No new series premiered this week in 1950.

1960

September 20 – Expedition!

Cast: John D. Craig (host)
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The series documented journeys to various remote regions of the world investigating unusual subjects like the Abominable Snowman, African bushmen, unfriendly jungle tribes in Brazil, ruined cities of antiquity, and strange animals in their natural habitat, focusing on geological, geophysical, biological, anthropological, or archaeological themes.
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 48 episodes, last broadcast on April 23, 1962
Trivia: Sponsored by the Ralston Purina Company. The series received the Thomas Alva Edison award for science education, and a 1961 Peabody Award for Television Excellence. The background music for many episodes was composed by Fred Steiner, known for his work on The Bullwinkle Show, Lost in Space, The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories and his musical contributions to Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Color Purple, for which he was part of the team nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar.

September 23 – Dan Raven

Cast: Skip Homeier, Dan Barton, Quinn K. Redeker
Guest Cast: Paul Anka, Marty Ingels, Mel Tormé, Bob Crewe, Claude Akins, Parley Baer, Joe Besser, Bobby Darin, Buddy Hackett, Sue Ane Langdon, Harvey Lembeck, Julie London, Gavin MacLeod, Paul Winchell
Network: NBC
Synopsis: Raven (Homeier) and Burke (Barton) work the entertainment venues on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, often mixing it up with guest stars playing themselves, often aided by magazine photographer Levitt (Redeker).
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on December 29, 1960.
Trivia: Homeier made his film debut at the age of 14 in Tomorrow Never Comes. Ten years after Dan Raven, Homeier guested on The Interns under the name G.V. Homeier.

September 26 – Outlaws

Cast: Don Collier, Barton MacLane, Bruce Yarnell, Slim Pickens, Judy Lewis
Guest Cast: David White, Cliff Robertson, Vic Morrow, Pippa Scott, Brian Keith, David Wayne, Ray Walston, William Shatner, Edgar Buchanan, Jackie Coogan, Cloris Leachman, Jack Warden, Iron Eyes Cody, Jim Davis, Alan Hale Jr., Henry Hull, Jack Lord, Dennis Patrick, Walter Slezak, Dean Stockwell, Dick York, Claude Akins, Henry Jones, Lloyd Nolan, Eli Wallach, Julie Adams, Edward Andrews, James Coburn, Simon Oakland, Elisha Cook Jr., Ruta Lee, Robert Kulp, Skip Homeier, Dean Jones, Phyllis Thaxter, Jonathan Harris, Sue Ane Langdon, Warren Oates, Jack Elam, Jan Merlin, Jeanette Nolan, Barbara Stuart, Edward Asner, Strother Martin, Julie Sommars, John Fiedler, George Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, J. Pat O’Malley, John Astin, Parley Baer, Vito Scotti, Percy Helton, Lee Bergere, Reta Shaw, Leonard Nimoy, John Banner, Paul Mazursky, Ed Nelson, Linda Evans, Victor Buono, Madlyn Rhue
Network: NBC
Synopsis: The adventures of a Marshal and his young Deputies in a section of Oklahoma infested with bandit gangs, gunmen, and robbers.
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 50 episodes, last broadcast on May 10, 1962

1970

September 20 – The Tim Conway Comedy Hour

Cast: Tim Conway, McLean Stevenson, Sally Struthers, Art Metrano, Bonnie Boland
Guest Cast: Lana Turner, David Janssen, Joan Croawford, Audrey Meadows, Carl Reiner, Janet Leigh, Tony Randall, Imogene Coca, Shelley Winters, Carol Burnett, Mickey Rooney
Network: CBS
Synopsis: Musical comedy sketch variety series
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on December 13, 1970
Trivia: Conway’s starred in the Spring 1970 sitcom The Tim Conway Show which lasted for 12 episodes. Conway agreed to the new variety show almost at the same time as the cancellation of his sitcom. This was one of several attempts to develop a successful series for Conway, but the frequent failures led Conway to order a vanity license plate for his car that read 13WKS. Struthers would segue into All in the Family after the cancellation. Stevenson would be cast as Lt. Col. Henry Blake on the M*A*S*H TV series in 1972.

September 20 – The Young Rebels

Cast: Richard Ely, Louis Gossett Jr., Alex Henteloff, Hilary Thompson, Philippe Forquet
Guest Cast: Will Geer, Sheb Wooley, Larry Linville, Brad Davis, John Colicos, Gordon Jump, Donald Moffat, Monte Markham, Farrah Fawcett, Bernard Fox, Gary Lockwood
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The series told the story of a group of young guerilla fighters on the side of the Patriots during the American Revolution, part of the fictional Yankee Doodle Society in Chester, PA in 1777.
Broadcast History: One season, 15 episodes, last broadcast on January 3, 1971
Trivia: Any resemblance to the ‘youth movement’ taking place in the United States at the time of this series’ production and broadcast was completely intentional. The series was scheduled against Lassie on CBS and The Wonderful World of Disney on NBC, and could not generate the ratings to sustain its sizable production budget and was cancelled mid-season. Ely and Forquet became teen idols featured in fan magazines.

September 21 – Monday Night Football

Commentators: Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Frank Gifford, Alex Karras, Fran Tarkenton, O.J. Simpson, Joe Namath, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann, Boomer Esiason
Network: ABC (1970-2005), ESPN (2006-Present)
Synopsis: Weekly broadcast of NFL football games
Broadcast History: 50 seasons with over 718 games to date
Trivia: Along with the Hallmark Hall of Fame and The Wonderful World of Disney (and its various titles), the show is one of the longest-running prime-time programs on commercial network television.

September 21 – The Silent Force

Cast: Ed Nelson, Percy Rodriguez, Lynda Day
Guest Cast: Martin E. Brooks, Murray Matheson, Mark Richman, Joan Van Ark, John Dehner, DeForest Kelley, Jared Martin, Regis Philbin, Bert Convey, Natalie Trundy, Jeanne Cooper, Tom Bosley, Carmen Zapata, Edward G. Robinson, Norman Alden, Daniel J. Travanti, John Vernon, Robert Pine
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Ward Fuller, Jason Hart, and Amelia Cole make up the Silent Force, a team of U.S. government agents assigned to work undercover to infiltrate organized crime in Southern California. Their various operations involve them with companies and individuals victimized by or taking part in organized crime.
Broadcast History: One season, 15 episodes, last broadcast on January 11, 1971
Trivia: The series bore a resemblance to Mission: Impossible and Lynda Day, billed as Lynda Day George after her 1970 marriage to Christopher George, would join the cast after the cancellation of The Silent Force. Rodriguez and Nelson later made guest appearances on Mission: Impossible. A novelization of the series was published in 1971.

September 21 – The Young Lawyers

Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Zalman King, Judy Pace, Phillip Clark
Guest Cast: Michael Parks, Richard Pryor, Paul Winfield, Michael Lembeck, Peter Strauss, James Sikking, Ford Rainey, Kim Hunter, Tim O’Connor, Pete Duel, Barbara Luna, Vic Tayback, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Geoffrey Lewis, Lee Bergere, Michael Pataki, Simon Oakland, Peter Donat, Larry Linville, Whit Bissell, Vincent Van Patten, Eli Wallach, Peter Mark Richman, Pat Hingle, Meredith Baxter, John Beck, Russell Johnson, James Hong, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Strasberg, Majel Barrett, Kristoffer Tabori, Gary Lockwood
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Aaron Silverman (King) is part of a group of young, idealistic students at a top Boston law school who open a legal aid center, the ‘Neighborhood Law Office’, to help the poor. As these young students have not yet been admitted to the bar, they receive guidance from established Boston lawyer David Barrett (Cobb).
Broadcast History: One season, 24 episodes, last broadcast on March 24, 1971

September 23 – Dan August

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Norman Fell, Richard Anderson, Ned Romero, Ena Hartman, Barney Phillips
Guest Cast: Diana Muldaur, Martin Sheen, Dabney Coleman, Larry Hagman, John Ritter, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Mickey Rooney, Gary Busey, Michael Ontkean, Joan Hackett, Vera Miles, Annette O’Toole, Gary Collins, Ricardo Montalban, Ford Rainey, Carolyn Jones, Fritz Weaver, Norman Alden, Joan Van Ark, Bradford Dillman, Donna Mills, Victor French, Richard Basehart, Monte Markham, Jan-Michael Vincent, Stephen Collins, Laurence Luckinbill, Lee Meriweather, Sal Mineo, Fernando Lamas, Ellen Corby, Susan Oliver, John Beck, Michael Pataki, Diana Hyland
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Police lieutenant Dan August (Reynolds) investigates homicide cases in his (fictional) hometown of Santa Luisa, California.
Broadcast History: One season, 26 episodes, last broadcast on April 8, 1971
Trivia: Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams guested in the same episode, ‘The Manufactured Man’, the 22nd of the season. Reynolds swore he’d never play a cop on TV because he couldn’t make jokes or have a love interest, but he was offered $15,000 a week and took the role. The series was based on the 1970 TV movie House on Greenapple Road with Janet Leigh, which was based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Harold R. Daniels. Christopher George played Dan August. Episodes 15. ‘Death Chain’, and 25, ‘Prognosis: Homicide’, were re-edited into the 1980 TV movie Dan August: Once Is Never Enough to capitalize on Reynolds’ new popularity after the theatrical film Smokey and the Bandit, and his personal relationship with Sally Field. Two more episodes were later edited into Dan August: The Jealousy Factor. The show gained an audience through reruns as part of The CBS Late Movie, and through summer reruns on CBS in 1973 and 1975.

September 24 – The Immortal

Cast: Christopher George, Don Knight, Paul Frees (narrator)
Guest Cast: David Brian, Carol Lynley, Barry Sullivan, Jessica Walter, Ralph Bellamy, Nico Minardos, Jack Albertson, Lynda Day George, John Dehner, Howard Duff, Ross Martin, Lee Meriwether, Vic Morrow, Sal Mineo, Susan Howard, Michael Conrad, Marj Dusay, Bruce Dern, Herbert Jefferson Jr., James Sikking, Iron Eyes Cody, Ford Rainey, Ted Knight, Ed Begley Jr.
Network: ABC
Synopsis: George stars as Ben Richards, a man whose blood chemistry and resistance to almost all diseases (including old age) makes him both almost immortal and a target of several wealthy men who would basically use him as a personal blood bank.
Broadcast History: One season, 90-minute pilot + 15 episodes, last broadcast on January 14, 1971
Trivia: The pilot film aired on September 30, 1969. Based on the 1964 science fiction novel The Immortals by James Gunn. The series differs from the novel in that Richards was a vagrant, not a test driver, who discovered his immortality after selling his blood. The series bears a resemblance to The Fugitive as Richards is on the run in each episode trying to avoid Fletcher, the employee of a billionaire brought back from the brink of death whose offers Richards rejects to be his permanent blood supply. The series is also similar to 1965-1968 series Run For Your Life, in which a man wanted to experience everything before he dies of a terminal illness, whereas Richards would live forever. The series was cancelled before a proper ending could be filmed.

September 24 – Matt Lincoln

Cast: Vince Edwards
Guest Cast: Dean Jagger, Reta Shaw, Martin Sheen, Jed Allan, Jack Cassidy, Jackie Coogan, Christina Crawford, Pete Duel, Patty Duke, Herb Edelman, Barbara Feldon, Philippe Forquet, Randolph Mantooth, Darren McGavin, Belinda Montgomery, Priscilla Pointer, Andrew Prine, Natalie Schafer, Guy Stockwell, Beatrice Straight, Joan Van Ark, John Vernon, David Wayne, Tim Matheson, John Rubenstein
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Edwards starred as Dr. Matt Lincoln, a ‘community psychiatrist’ who had founded a telephone hotline for troubled teenagers. He also operated a free walk-in clinic to help the needy with their mental health concerns, in addition to a private practice which apparently paid the bills for the other two endeavors.
Broadcast History: One season, 16 episodes, last broadcast on January 14, 1971
Trivia: Based on the TV movie Dial Hot Line, which also starred Edwards in the role of social worker David Leopold. Producers said the name of the character was changed for the series because they feared viewers would connect the name to the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case. An actual hotline worker wrote to the producers about the movie’s unrealistic and authoritarian portrayals that might damage the credibility of real hotlines.

September 24 – The Odd Couple

Cast: Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Al Molinaro, Penny Marshall
Guest Cast: Monica Evans, Carole Shelley, Joan Hotchkis, Bill Quinn, Elinor Donahue, Janis Hansen, Brett Somers, Willie Aames,Leif Garrett, Pamela Ferdin, Alice Ghostley, Jane Dulo, Richard Stahl, Elvia Allman, Roy Clark, Marilyn Horne, Jean Simmons, Pernell Roberts, Jack Soo, Reta Shaw, Victor Buono, Albert Brooks
Celebrity Guest Stars (as themselves): Howard Cosell, Roone Arledge, Jaye P. Morgan, Edward Villella, Monty Hall, Richard Dawson, Wolfman Jack, David Steinberg, Hugh Hefner, Rodney Allen Rippy, Bubba Smith, Deacon Jones, Allen Ludden and Betty White, Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, Paul Williams, Dick Clark, Neil Simon (who wrote the original play)
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Based on the play and movie of the same name, Randall stars as the fussy and fastidious Felix Unger who seeks refuge with his friend Oscar Madison, who is the complete opposite of Felix when it comes to neatness, after being kicked out by his wife.
Broadcast History: Five seasons, 114 episodes, last broadcast on March 7, 1975
Trivia: It was the first sitcom Garry Marshall developed for Paramount Television. The episode ‘Password’ was ranked at Number 5 on TV Guide’s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997. Mickey Rooney and Martin Balsam were considered for the role of Oscar. Dean Martin and Art Carney were considered for Felix (Carney originated the role on Broadway). Randall and Klugman had both appeared in different productions of the show. Randall was hired first and wanted Rooney to play Oscar. Marshall had to lobby the network to cast Klugman. The first season was shot like a movie with a single camera and the same apartment set used in the 1968 movie. A laugh track was used in place of a live audience. Randall, Klugman and Marshall all objected to the use of a laugh track, and it was omitted for the first season’s 21st episode (but was re-added for syndication). ABC relented and converted the show to a traditional three-camera sitcom production with a live studio audience for the second season. With the new format, a new larger set was constructed, and the new spontaneity was enjoyed by the cast who usually did not stop if any lines were flubbed (they could be re-shot later). During the show’s initial run, ABC juggled it all over the schedule, preventing it from ever cracking the Top 30. The series was renewed because it performed well during summer reruns. Felix’s last name is spelled Ungar in the movie and he is a writer for CBS, changed to a photographer for the ABC series. His wife is named Frances in the play and movie and Gloria on the series. Oscar has two unseen children in the movie, but none on the series. In the movie, Felix has a son and daughter; on the series their birth orders were reversed and they are named Leonard (played by both Aames and Garrett) and Edna (Ferdin), the real first name of Randall and his sister’s name. Monica Evans and Carole Shelley reprised their movie roles as the Pigeon Sisters in four Season 1 episodes and then were never heard from again. Klugman’s real life wife Brett Somers played his ex on the show. They separated during the run of the show but never divorced. Penny Marshall played Oscar’s secretary Myrna who married Sheldn (the ‘o’ had been omitted on his birth certificate) on her last appearance on the series. Sheldn was played by Marshall’s real life husband Rob Reiner. Marshall’s brother and sister, Garry and Ronnie, played her siblings in the episode. Randall and Klugman were nominated for Emmys every year the show was on the air. Klugmam won twice, and Randall won for the show’s final season, receiving the award after the series had been cancelled. Klugman also won a Golden Globe. The series received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1971, 1972 and 1974 and to date is the last regular Friday night sitcom to receive Emmy nominations. Randall and Klugman reprised their roles in several regional productions of the play during the summertime off-season, and again later in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1997 they appeared in a Broadway revival of The Sunshine Boys. The pair reunited again for the TV movie The Odd Couple: Together Again. While the series has been released on DVD, fans and critics have complained that while the packaging says ‘complete’, the episodes have been edited to remove some music to avoid royalty costs.

September 24 – Barefoot in the Park

Cast: Scoey Mitchell, Tracy Reed, Thelma Carpenter, Nipsey Russell, Harry Holcombe, Vito Scotti
Guest Cast: Huntz Hall, Jackie Coogan, Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Scoey Mitchell plays Paul Bratter, a newlywed attorney for the law firm Kendricks, Keene & Klein living in lower Manhattan with his wife Corie (Reed). The show was a slice-of-life comedy about surviving in New York City.
Broadcast History: One season, 12 episodes, last broadcast on December 17, 1970
Trivia: Based on Neil Simon’s Broadway play, which was also a 1967 film with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The show was the first American sitcom since Amos ‘n’ Andy to feature a predominantly Black cast (Scotti is the lone white regular cast member). The show was a lead-in to another Simon property, The Odd Couple, and was preceded by Bewitched. ABC hoped the hit show would bolster the newcomers but Bewitched was in its seventh season and experiencing a ratings slump which did not help either show that followed. Behind-the-scenes issues also impacted the show with Mitchell being fired after 12 episodes due to ‘differences of opinions’ with the producers so rather than replace Mitchell, ABC just cancelled the show. Episodes of Barefoot in the Park were rerun as episodes of Love, American Style in syndication.

September 25 – The Partridge Family

Cast: Shirley Jones, David Cassisy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Suzanne Crough, Jeremy Gelbwaks, Dave Madden, Brian Forster
Guest Cast: Morey Amsterdam, John Astin, Carl Ballantine, Edgar Buchanan, George Chakiris, Dick Clark, Jackie Coogan, Howard Cosell, Jodie Foster, Bernard Fox, James Gregory, Margaret Hamilton, Pat Harrington Jr., Arte Johnson, Harvey Lembeck, Art Metrano, Mary Ann Mobley, Harry Morgan, Slim Pickens, Richard Pryor, Barbara Rhodes, William Schallert, Nita Talbot, Larry Wilcox, William Windom, Meredith Baxter, Richard Bull, Bert Convey, Farrah Fawcett, Norman Fell, Anthony Geary, Louis Gossett Jr., Harold Gould, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Hamill, Ann Jillian, Gordon Jump, Cheryl Ladd, Michael Lembeck, Stuart Margolin, Richard Mulligan, Michael Ontkean, Annette O’Toole, Charlotte Rae, Rob Reiner, Jack Riley, Jaclyn Smith, Vic Tayback, Nancy Walker, Frank Welker, Johnny Cash, Ray Bolger, Johnny Bench, Bobby Sherman
Network: ABC
Synopsis: A group of musical siblings convince their widowed mother to help them out by singing as they record a song in their garage. 10-year-old Danny manages to find them a manager who helps make the song a Top 10 hit, and the family persuades mom Shirley to go on tour, utilizing an old school bus as their tour bus as they head to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for their first live gig. The shows often contrast suburban life with the adventures of a show-business family on the road. After the first season, more of the show’s action takes place in the family’s hometown than on tour.
Broadcast History: Four seasons, 96 episodes, last broadcast on March 23, 1974
Trivia: The family was loosely based on the real-life singing family The Cowsills, who were considered for the roles on the series, but were rejected because they had no formal acting skills and were too old for the roles as scripted. The Cowsills countered that they were rejected because their father insisted his wife play the mother on the series and Shirley Jones had already been cast and the deal was not negotiable. In the unaired, first pilot, Shirley’s name is Connie and she has a boyfriend who was played by her real-life husband at the time, Jack Cassidy, who is also the father of David. The family also lives in Ohio instead of California on the series. At the end of the first season, Jeremy Gelbwaks’ family moved out of California and the role of Chris was recast with Brian Forster. David Cassidy said Gelbwaks had a conflict with every cast member and producer, particularly himself and Bonaduce. The family had a dog named Simone in the first season that was phased out during the second. Ricky Segall joined the series in Season 4, singing a children’s song in each episode, but was dropped mid-season. None of the cast played any musical instruments, and only Jones and Cassidy actually sang. The instrumentals were provided by musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. Vocals for the other cast members were by the Ron Hicklin Singers. Several albums, including a Christmas album, were released to promote the show.

1980

No new series premiered this week in 1980.

1990

September 20 – American Dreamer

Cast: Robert Ulrich, Margaret Welsh, Jeffrey Tambor, Carol Kane, Chay Lentin, Johnny Galecki
Network: NBC
Synopsis: Urich stars as network correspondent Tom Nash who is forced to reassess his priorities after the death of his wife. He gives up his career to spend more time with his kids, moving them to Kenosha, Wisconsin where he supports his family by contributing a column about ‘real people’ to a Chicago newspaper. His editor feels Tom is wasting his time and talent and attempts to convince Tom to return to the world of ‘hard news’.
Broadcast History: One season, 17 episodes, last broadcast on June 22, 1991
Trivia: NBC pulled the show from its schedule after the 12th episode aired on December 8, airing the final five episodes starting on May 25, 1991. The show is not related to the 1984 film of the same name.

Warner Bros. Television

September 20 – The Flash

Cast: John Wesley Shipp, Amanda Pays, Alex Désert
Guest Cast: Richard Belzer, Mark Hamill, M. Emmet Walsh, Dick Miller, Priscilla Pointer, Gloria Reuben, Michael Nader, Richard Burgi, David Cassidy, Jeffrey Combs, Denise Crosby, Paula Marshall, Bill Mumy, Lois Nettleton, Jeri Ryan, Anthony Starke, Tim Thomerson, Jonathan Brandis, Bryan Cranston, Mark Dacascos, Sven-Ole Thorsen
Network: CBS
Synopsis: Barry Allen, a forensic scientist working for the Central City police, is struck by lightning and doused in chemicals in his lab. He develops superspeed and creates a superhero identity for himself to fight crime: The Flash. Research scientist Dr. Tina McGee works at S.T.A.R. Labs and helps Barry fight crime while trying to understand how his powers are developing. As well as his superheroics, Barry tries to maintain a private life, and tries to keep his superhero identity from his colleagues, his boss Lt. Garfield, and his best friend, Julio Mendez.
Broadcast History: One season, 22 episodes, last broadcast on May 18, 1991
Trivia: Danny Elfman composed the theme music. The series began development when Warner Bros. Television attempted to create TV movies based on DC Comics characters for CBS. One project never made included several heroes, including The Flash. In January 1990, the new head of CBS expressed interest in a Flash TV series. The pilot took six weeks to film at a cost of $6 million, with 125 special effects that were completed a week before the September premiere. Each subsequent episode cost around $1.6 million. Shipp had to have his entire body cast for the latex suit which was inspired by the Batsuit in Tim Burton’s film, which set a new standard for superhero costuming (i.e. no Spandex tights). The series was intended to air Thursdays at 8:00 PM against NBC’s The Cosby Show to draw a younger audience to the network, but FOX moved The Simpsons to Thursdays at 8:00 PM so CBS moved The Flash to 8:30 PM with the second episode, eventually moving the show to Saturdays. Shipp has been a cast member of the 2014 The Flash series on The CW, initially playing Barry Allen’s father. He’s also played Earth-3’s Jay Garrick/The Flash, and his 1990 Barry Allen/The Flash in the Arrowverse crossover, ‘Elseworlds’, linking the 1990 series to the 2014 series, placing the original on Earth-90. He appeared again in the 2015 crossover ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ in which he sacrifices his life to save the multiverse. Pays has also appeared on the modern series as Dr. Tina McGee, Hamill has reprised his role as The Trickster, and Désert returned to the role of Julio Mendez in the third season episode ‘Flashpoint’. Original cast members Vito D’Ambrosio and Corinne Bohrer have also appeared on the Earth-1 set series.

September 21 – Going Places

Cast: Alan Ruck, Jerry Levine, Heather Locklear, Hallie Todd, Holland Taylor, Staci Keanan, J.D. Daniels, Steve Vinovich, Philip Charles MacKenzie
Guest Cast: David Groh, Holly Gagnier, Rider Strong, Kristen Cloke, Aaron Lustig
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The production staff of ‘The Dick Roberts Show’ has its hands full booking guests for the outrageous talk show and dealing with its egomaniacal host. After work, Charlie, Jack, Alex and Kate share a house with Kate’s 8-year-old nephew Nick, who is quite a handful himself.
Broadcast History: One season, 19 episodes, last broadcast on March 8, 1991
Trivia: The series underwent a concept and character revamp leading to the exit of Holland Taylor with Episode 13, and the addition of Vinovich and MacKenzie. Daniels joined the cast in Episode 14. ABC aired six weeks of reruns beginning May 31 with most of the revamped episodes.

September 21 – Evening Shade

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Michael Jeter, Jay R. Ferguson, Hal Holbrook, Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, Elizabeth Ashley, Ann Wedgeworth, Charlie Dell, Candace Huston, Jacob Parker
Guest Cast: Hilary Swank, Ari Meyers, Alice Ghostley, Leah Remini, Lisa Kudrow, Alexa Vega
Network: CBS
Synopsis: Pro football player Wood Newton (Reynolds) settles down for a quiet life as the coach of the Evening Shade High School football team. His wife Ava (Henner) is an ambitious lawyer elected District Attorney while pregnant with their fourth child. Their closest friends are the older town doctor Harlan Eldridge (Durning) and his wife Merleen (Wedgeworth). Plots focus on Wood’s difficulties in living a very different life than he imagined with the pressure of two jobs and four children.
Broadcast History: Four seasons, 98 episodes, last broadcast on May 23, 1994
Trivia: In July 1993, CBS aired two parts of an hour-long pilot, Harlan & Merleen, a proposed spin-off featuring the Eldridges, who have opened their home to young pregnant women in need of help (Remini played one of the women in need). The series was not picked up. The series was still a Top 30 hit in its fourth season, drawing more viewers than The Cosby Show, when CBS cancelled it citing skyrocketing production costs due to the salaries of the large cast, which Henner confirmed in a TV interview with Charlie Rose. The Family Channel picked up reruns of the series but aired only 40 of the 98 episodes due to the network’s conservative censorship standards and even those were heavily edited from their original broadcast versions. Hal Holbrook’s recurring character on Designing Women was killed off so he could join Evening Shade.

September 23 – Dream On

Cast: Brian Benben, Chris Demetral, Denny Dillon, Wendie Malick, Dorien Wilson, Michael McKean, Renée Taylor
Guest Cast: Larry Miller, Doris Roberts, Paul Dooley, Tippi Hedren, Jon Polito, William Schallert, Dawnn Lewis, Mimi Rogers, Maury Povich, Teri Garr, Scott Bakula, George Hamilton, Jami Gertz, Rosalind Allen, Laraine Newman, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Joey Travolta, Gennifer Flowers, LaWanda Page,Iqbal Theba, Taurean Blacque, Paul Williams, Warren Zevon, John Landis, Catherine O’Hara, Stella Stevens, Tom Berenger, Dan Castellaneta, Mindy Cohn, Kathryn Harrold, Kathy Kinney, Martin Mull, Ray Walston, Jenny Agutter, Adrienne Barbeau, Courteney Cox, Anne De Salvo, Salma Hayek, David Hyde Pierce, Patrick Macnee, Reni Santoni, Helen Slater, Jennifer Tilly, Gwen Verdon, Michael Cerveris, Reginald VelJohnson, Kim Cattrall, Pam Dawber, Michael Gross, Finola Hughes, Sally Kellerman, Donna Mills, Cynthia Stevenson, Curtis Armstrong, Louise Fletcher, David Alan Grier, Annette O’Toole, Richard Roundtree, Joe Flaherty, Brent Spiner, Lynne Marie Stewart, Taylor Negron, Dedee Pfeiffer, Arleen Sorkin, David Bowie, Ja’Net Dubois, Garcelle Beauvais, David Clennon, John Kassir, Jessica Lundy, Matthew Perry, Fred Willard, Jason Alexander, Gates McFadden, Robin Tunney, Catherine Bell, Jake Steinfeld, Mary Crosby, Molly Hagan, Madge Sinclair, Ray Wise, Mimi Kennedy, Lou Rawls, Kim Lankford, Jane Kean, David Pasquesi, Steven Culp, Cristina Ferrare, Valerie Mahaffey, Della Reese, Joel Brooks, Holly Gagnier, Terry Kiser, Wil Shriner, Richard Kline, Alaina Reed-Hall, Kim McGuire, Stephen Furst, Larry Linville, Joyce Brothers, Danny Nucci, Beth Grant, Tom Poston, Christopher Rich, Annabelle Gurwitch, Cheech Marin, Marla Gibbs, Kim Wayans, Carol Leifer, Pat Paulsen, Jenifer Lewis, Elisabeth Shue, Chuck McCann, Mindy Sterling, Patrick Bristow, Nancy Dussault, Bud Cort, Don Pardo, Roddy McDowall, Berlinda Tolbert, Ted McGinely, Lionel Stander, Jack Carter, Kathy Griffin, Marion Ross, Merrill Markoe, Jeremy Davies, Fran Drescher, Phyllis Diller, Harry Shearer, Ed Marinaro, Kevin McCarthy, Melora Walters, Nita Talbot, Iman, Joe Spano, David L. Lander, Leeza Gibbons, Isabel Sanford, Daisy Fuentes, Melvin Van Peebles, Eddie Mekka, Georgina Spelvin, Tom Smothers, Bruce Weitz, Downtown Julie Brown, Mary Lou Retton, Traci Bingham, Yvonne De Carlo, Eva Gabor, Ricardo Montalban, Richard Masur, Michael Jeter, Sylvester Stallone
Network: HBO
Synopsis: The show centered on Martin Tupper’s (Benben) life in an apartment in New York City with his teenaged son, and relating to his ex-wife, while trying to date other women and succeed as an editor for a small book publisher with Toby, his brassy secretary. Judith, his ex-wife, went on to marry Dr. Richard Stone – the never-seen (until the end of the series), most impossibly successful man on the planet (astronaut, brain surgeon, the fifth Beatle and consultant to the Pope); despite Martin’s undying love for Judith, he could never compete with the legendary Dr. Stone.
Broadcast History: Six seasons, 120 episodes, last broadcast on March 27, 1996
Trivia: A heavily edited version of the first season aired in primetime on FOX in 1995. The edited version of the series also aired on Comedy Central. The static shown on the TV towards the end of the opening credits of the show is still used today as the introduction for every HBO series.

September 23 – Get a Life

Cast: Chris Elliott, Sam Robards, Robin Riker, Elinor Donahue, Bob Elliott, Taylor Fry, Brady Bluhm, Brian Doyle-Murray
Guest Cast: Earl Boen, Lee Garlington, Graham Jarvis, Julie Brown, Tracey Walter, Beth Broderick, Nora Dunn, Jackie Earle Haley, Martin Mull, Deborah Shelton, Emma Samms, June Lockhart, Warren Frost, Mitch Pileggi, Frank Welker, Amy Yasbeck, James Hampton, Jack Jones, Paul Feig, Clive Revill, Tuc Watkins, Twink Caplan, Mink Stole
Network: FOX
Synopsis: 30-year-old childlike bachelor Chris Peterson lives in an apartment over his parents’ garage, still delivering newspapers on his bike as he did in his youth. Chris is immature, feckless, gullible, foolish, irresponsible, and extremely dimwitted. His retired parents often engage in bizarre behavior and are always in their pajamas. Mom Gladys dotes on Chris while Fred is generally exasperated by him. Chris wants nothing more than to relive his childhood with his dad and best friend Larry, who has actually ‘grown up’. Larry grows envious of Chris’ lifestyle and eventually leaves his wife (who becomes obsessed with killing Chris) and, after demands from the network that Chris be ‘more independent’, he moves from his parents’ garage apartment to the garage apartment of ex-cop Gus Borden, a cranky, demeaning sociopath with little tolerance for Chris’ antics, to which Chris is oblivious, looking up to Gus as a father figure.
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 35 episodes, last broadcast on March 8, 1992
Trivia: Series creator David Mirkin as stated that the Chris character was based on Dennis the Menace if he was 30 years old. The original, never-aired pilot had Chris as a much darker, psychotic character, but he was made more likable to get the network to agree to the series. Once they were greenlit, they took the character in the direction they had always intended. The series was an homage to sitcoms of the ’60s and ’70s, as well as a subversive farce of the genre. Many guest actors would appear on the series as different characters, sometimes just a few episodes apart. The original Munsters house can be seen in the show’s opening credits, another homage to the genre. An episode that parodied films like E.T. and Mac & Me, which featured Chris and Gus eventually killing and eating the alien Spewey, was met with resistance by the studio, but FOX chairman Peter Chernin said it was one of the series’ funniest episodes and ensured it would be broadcast. If the show had been renewed for a third season, Chris would have become a hobo and Fred, Gladys, Gus and other characters would have been dropped from the show. Mirkin wanted each season to be completely different from the last. The show was often surreal, and Chris dies in twelve episodes. Many FOX executives hated the show and found it too disturbing.

September 26 – Cop Rock

Cast: Anne Bobby, Barbara Bosson, Ronny Cox, Vondie Curtis-Hall, David Gianopoulos, Larry Joshua, Paul McCrane, James McDaniel, Ron McLarty, Mick Murray, Peter Onorati, Teri Austin, Dennis Lipscomb, William Thomas Jr., Kathleen Wilhoite
Guest Cast: CCH Pounder, Kathleen Wilhoite, Loretta Devine, Tim Russ, Ernie Hudson, Gina Gershon, David Paymer, Graham Jarvis, Pat McCormick, Bill Hayes, Tony Todd, Armin Shimerman
Network: ABC
Synopsis: Cop Rock combined the police procedural with musical theatre and black comedy, centering on the LAPD and featured an ensemble cast that mixed musical numbers and choreography throughout storylines.
Broadcast History: One season, 11 episodes, last broadcast on December 26, 1990.
Trivia: The series featured crossover appearances by actors from other Steven Bochco shows: James B. Sikking (working on Bochco’s Doogie Howser, M.D. at the time) reprised his Hill Street Blues role as Lt. Howard Hunter; L.A. Law stars Jimmy Smits and Michele Greene had cameos in the eighth episode. The show would be known as one of the biggest bombs of the 1990s, a critical and commercial failure. The final episode featured the cast breaking character and joining crew members for one final song, with a then unknown Sheryl Crow as a back-up singer. Despite its notoriety, the series was nominated for five Emmy Awards, picking up two wins: Outstanding Editing for a Series – Single Camera Production (Joe Ann Fogle) and Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics (Randy Newman). TV Guide ranked the series at Number 8 on its 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002, and called it ‘the single most bizarre TV musical of all time’.

2000

September 22 – Grosse Pointe

Cast: Irene Molloy, William Ragsdale, Al Santos, Lindsay Sloane, Bonnie Somerville, Kohl Sudduth, Kyle Howard, Nat Faxon
Guest Cast: Lisa Edlestein, Joely Fisher, Merrin Dungey, Thomas Dekker, Jonathan Del Arco, Rachel Harris, Ted Danson, Dweezil Zappa, Robin Strasser, George Takei
Network: The WB
Synopsis: The series was a satire depicting the behind-the-scenes drama on the set of a television show, inspired by creator Darren Star’s experiences as creator and producer of Beverly Hills, 90210.
Broadcast History: One season, 17 episodes, last broadcast on February 18, 2001
Trivia: 90210 producer Aaron Spelling reportedly called the head of The WB to complain about Lindsay Sloane’s thinly-veiled Tori Spelling parody. Star had several actors from Spelling shows guest including Jason Priestly (who also directed his episode) and Joe E. Tata from 90210, Kristin Davis from Melrose Place (and Star’s Sex and the City), and Elizabeth Berkely from Saved by the Bell. Several actors from other WB series also appeared as themselves, including Popular stars Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The series aired on Fridays after Sabrina, the Teenage Witch but lost much of the lead-in audience and was shuffled to Sundays, which led to a joke on the show in which the fictional Grosse Pointe series has its highest ratings ever but fails to beat Sabrina. The 2-disk DVD release of the complete series only features the show’s theme song, ‘Sex Bomb’ by Tom Jones, once per disk as it was too expensive to include on every episode, leading to the re-editing of the show’s opening to place the title and cast names over the opening scene of the episodes.

September 23 – G String Divas

Cast: Miss Bunny, Jordan, Ginger, Cashmere, Joey, Chrissy, Silver, Summer, Angel
Network: HBO
Synopsis: Documentary series following the lives of strippers working in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on December 16, 2000
Trivia: The strip club, Divas International Club, was attached to a hotel and converted to a banquet facility shortly after filming ended. Dancer Summer refers to a homicide case in one episode in which an obsessed customer killed his wife after he became obsessed with Summer while dancing at another club. The case was later featured on an episode of Forensic Files in which Miss Bunny was interviewed.

September 23 – Just Deal

Cast: Brian T. Skala, Erika Thormahlen, Shedrack Anderson III, John L. Adams
Guest Cast: Will Sanderson, Eileen Pedde, Eric Keenleyside, Alison Matthews, Fiona Scott, Kandyse McClure, Jewel Staite
Network: NBC
Synopsis: The show revolves around Dylan Roberts, an ordinary teenager living in the suburbs of Seattle, whose older brother Mike is the star quarterback of the high-school football team. Dylan’s best friend Jermaine Greene is a biracial, highly educated teen who wants to go to Harvard someday. They spend a lot of time together until Ashley Gordon, the new girl in town, takes up most of Dylan’s attention. Together they add up to a strong group of friends.
Broadcast History: Three seasons, 39 episodes, last broadcast on September 7, 2002
Trivia: The series aired Saturday mornings as part of NBC’s TNBC lineup. It was the first TNBC series to not film before a live audience, using a single-camera format. The TNBC lineup was replaced in 2002 with programming from Discovery Kids.

September 23 – Static Shock

Voice Cast: Phil LaMarr, Jason Marsden, Kevin Michael Richardson, Michele Morgan
Guest Cast: Danica McKellar, Danny Cooksey, Kadeem Hardison, Gary Anthony Sturgis, Kevin Conroy, Bumper Robinson, Dennis Haysbert, Carl Lumbly, Patton Oswalt, Jean Smart, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh. CCH Pounder, John Cho, David Faustino, Ed Begley Jr., Phil Morris, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Vernee Watson, Roscoe Lee Brown, Michael Jai White, Neil Patrick Harris, Alfre Woodard, Freddy Rodriguez, Bud Cort, Charles Rocket, John DiMaggio, Dawnn Lewis, David Ogden Stiers, Nestor Carbonell, Coolio, Mark Hamill, Richard Libertini, Ron Perlman, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., David Paymer, Alan Young, Terence Trent D’Arby, Telma Hopkins, Garrett Morris, Tone Loc, Frank Welker, Kath Soucie, Cree Summer, Miriam Flynn, Jack Carter, Nicolette Sheridan, Arleen Sorkin, Nicholas Guest, Lance Henriksen, Wendie Malick, Bob Hastings, Dorian Harewood, Michael Dorn, Shaquille O’Neal, Laraine Newman, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, A.J. McLean, Joe Spano, Lorraine Toussaint, Meshach Taylor, Dan Lauria, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, David Arquette, Romeo Miller, Brock Peters, Terence Stamp, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ted Levine
Network: Kids’ WB
Synopsis: In the city of Dakota, a teenage boy with electricity based powers, with the help of his inventive friend, fights crime as a superhero.
Broadcast History:
Trivia: The series is part of the DC animated universe. Tie-in merchandise was produced but sold poorly, which was a factor in the show’s cancellation. While remaining loyal to the spirit of the original comic book series, some elements were changed due to the show’s aim at a pre-teen audience, such as the infrequent appearance of guns, and the character of Richie not being portrayed as explicitly homosexual. Richie was given superhero powers in the third season because it was becoming hard to fit him into the story and producers wanted to keep the chemistry between actors LaMarr and Marsden, and focus groups responded positively to the change. The series was not the first to feature an animated African American superhero but it was the first to feature a diverse roster of characters and cast members.

September 25 – Sucker Free

Cast: DJ Envy
Network: MTV2
Synopsis: Video block originally marketed as a hip-hop version of TRL, but shifted to a pre-taped program consisting of music videos.
Broadcast History: September 25, 2000 – October 21, 2012
Trivia: The show debuted with the title Direct Effect, which was changed to Sucker Free on May 29, 2006. The series was criticised by the Parents Television Council for marketing adult content to minors. Sponsor Procter & Gamble proposed withdrawing advertising from the network. MTV disputed the claim, stating the network had not received a single complaint about the content of the videos.

2010

September 20 – Chase

Cast: Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Rose Rollins, Jesse Metcalfe
Guest Cast: Travis Fimmel, Eddie Cibrian, Siena Goines, Mo Gallini
Network: NBC
Synopsis: Chase revolves around Kelli Giddish’s character, U.S. Deputy Marshal Annie Frost. The other principal cast members, who all portray Marshals, are Cole Hauser as Jimmy Godfrey, Amaury Nolasco as Marco Martinez, Rose Rollins as Daisy Ogbaa, and Jesse Metcalfe as Luke Watson. Siena Goines has a recurring role as Jimmy’s girlfriend Natalie.
Broadcast History: One season, 18 episodes, last broadcast on May 21, 2011
Trivia: NBC initially ordered a full 22 episodes season, then reduced the order to 18 in December 2010. The show was placed on hiatus on February 3, 2011 with five episodes unaired. The show returned to the schedule on April 23 to finish its run. The show was retitled Jerry Bruckheimer’s Chase in the UK. The lead role had been offered to Maria Bello, Téa Leoni and Christina Applegate.

September 20 – The Event

Cast: Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Laura Innes, Blair Underwood, Ian Anthony Dale, Scott Patterson, Lisa Vidal, Bill Smitrovich, Clifton Collins Jr., Željko Ivanek, Taylor Cole
Guest Cast: Heather McComb, D.B. Sweeney, Hal Holbrook, Scott Michael Campbell, Necar Zadegan, Clea DuVall, Roger Bart
Network: NBC
Synopsis: The plot centers on a group of extraterrestrials, some of whom have been detained by the United States government for sixty-six years since their ship crashed in Alaska, while others have secretly assimilated among the general populace.
Broadcast History: One season, 22 episodes, last broadcast on May 23, 2011
Trivia: The series used flashbacks to develop the characters’ stories, but the flashbacks were removed after the show returned from its winter hiatus and the story was told in a linear fashion. Producers answered viewer questions on Twitter after the pilot aired, such as the fate of the plane that disappeared through a portal before it could crash, and the show’s characters also had Twitter accounts, while one had a blog at truthseeker5314.com.

September 20 – Lone Star

Cast: James Wolk, Adrianne Palicki, Bryce Johnson, David Keith, Eloise Mumford, Alexandra Doke, Jon Voight, Mark Deklin
Network: FOX
Synopsis: Robert Allen (Wolk), a Texan con-man, leads a secret double life. As ‘Bob’, he is married to Cat and living in Houston while working for his oil-tycoon father-in-law. Four hundred miles away in Midland, he is ‘Robert’ in a second life with girlfriend Lindsey. As he schemes to take control of the oil business and finds himself torn between the love of two women, he must fight to keep his web of lies from falling apart.
Broadcast History: One season, 6 episodes, 4 unaired, last broadcast on September 27, 2010
Trivia: The first cancellation of the 2010-2011 season after two episodes. Andie MacDowell and Rosa Blasi were reported to be joining the cast, but neither appeared in the two episodes that aired. The pilot received rave reviews with The A.V. Club calling it ‘the best network pilot of the year’ and possibly the best since Friday Night Lights. Despite the praise, the debut drew just 4.1 million viewers, and lost a million of those with the second episode.

September 20 – Mike & Molly

Cast: Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, Rondi Reed, Cleo King, Louis Mustillo, David Anthony Higgins, Swoosie Kurtz
Guest Cast: Holly Robinson Peete, Gerald McRaney, Reginald VelJohnson, Eric Allan Kramer, Marianne Muellerleile, Kathy Bates, Margo Martindale, Steve Valentine, Jim Beaver, William Sanderson, Howard Hesseman, Tim Conway, Mo Gaffney, John Michael Higgins, Edie McClurg, Jenny O’Hara, Vernee Watson, Wallace Langham, David Mazouz, Jon Polito, June Squibb
Network: CBS
Synopsis: The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly, a couple who meet in a Chicago Overeaters Anonymous group and fall in love.
Broadcast History: Six seasons, 127 episodes, last broadcast on May 16, 2016
Trivia: The set from Roseanne was used as Molly’s home, shot from different angles so Roseanne fans wouldn’t notice. Following McCarthy’s success with films Identity Thief and The Heat, she became more prominently featured in Season 4 with CBS billing the show as ‘the new Mike & Molly‘ although nothing really changed except Molly’s career. Katy Mixon and Reno Wilson were the first actors cast, followed by Gardell, Kurtz and Nyambi. McCarthy was the last to be cast. McCarthy won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011.

September 21 – Detroit 1-8-7

Cast: Michael Imperioli, James McDaniel, Aisha Hinds, Jon Michael Hall, Shaun Majumder, Natalie Martinez, Erin Cummings, D.J. Cotrona
Guest Cast: Tessa Thompson, Glynn Turman, Dee Wallace, Xzibit, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Alicia Coppola, Raphael Sbarge, Giancarlo Esposito, Chadwick Boseman, Della Reese, Jocko Sims, Sterling K. Brown, Jai Rodriguez
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The everyday trials and tribulations of Detroit’s homicide unit.
Broadcast History: One season, 18 episodes, last broadcast on March 20, 2011
Trivia: The 1-8-7 of the title is a specific reference to the California Penal Code designation for homicide, which has become a slang term for murder. The show’s original title was 187 Detroit. The pilot was filmed in Atlanta, but the series was filmed in Detroit. The show was intended to be a mockumentary but the format was abandoned after the Detroit Police Department suspended ride-alongs by camera crews after a controversial shooting was filmed during production of A&E’s The First 48.

September 21 – Raising Hope

Cast: Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt, Shannon Woodward, Cloris Leachman, Baylie & Rylie Cregut, Gregg Binkley, Todd GIebenhain. Kate Micucci
Guest Cast: Bijou Phillips, Eddie Steeples, Ethan Suplee, Wilmer Valerrama, Jason Lee, Amy Sedaris, Shirley Jones, Tichina Arnold, Lee Majors, Jaime Pressly, Greg Germann, Melanie Griffith, Jenny Slate, Mike O’Malley, Molly Shannon, Jeffrey Tambor, David Krumholtz, Leslie Jordan, Nancy Grace, Timothy Stack, Elsie Fisher, Brigitte Nielsen, Stephen Root, J.K. Simmons, Jerry Van Dyke, Travis Van Winkle, Andrew Dice Clay, Sam McMurray, Anthony Anderson, Vivica A. Fox, Chris Klein, Katy Perry, Chris Pontius, Ashley Tisdale, Fred Willard, Diedrich Bader, Brian Doyle-Murray, Hilary Duff, Christopher Lloyd, Luke Perry, Keith Carradine, Tommy Chong, Judith Light, Michael Rapaport, Valerie Mahaffey, Malcolm Barrett, Tippi Hedren, Michelle Hurd, Bernie Kopell, Phil LaMarr, Kenny Loggins, Mary Gross, Mindy Sterling, Patton Oswalt, Clyde Kusatsu, Emily Rutherfurd, Richard Dean Anderson, Paul F. Thompkins, Leann Hunley, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Ed Begley Jr., Jackie Hoffman, Amy Hill
Network: FOX
Synopsis: James ‘Jimmy’ Chance is a 23-year-old living in the surreal fictional town of Natesville who impregnates a serial killer during a one-night stand. Earning custody of his illegitimate daughter, Hope, after the mother is sentenced to death, Jimmy relies on his unorthodox but well-intentioned family for support in raising her.
Broadcast History: Four seasons, 88 episodes, last broadcast on April 4, 2014
Trivia: Olesya Rulin was originally cast as Sabrina in the pilot. Woodward was recast in the role after the pilot was filmed. Micucci was cast as Jimmy’s cousin in the pilot, and then the role was rewritten as male with Skyler Stone cast in the role. Micucci’s role was changed to Sabrina’s cousin. Plimpton and Leachman were nominated for Emmys in 2011.

September 21 – Running Wilde

Cast: Will Arnett, Keri Russell, Stefania LaVie Owen, Mel Rodriguez, Robert Michael Morris, Peter Serafinowicz, David Cross
Guest Cast: Ana Gasteyer, Andy Richter, Drea de Matteo, Paul Shaffer, Rob Corddry, Jeffrey Tambor
Network: FOX
Synopsis: Will Arnett stars as Steve Wilde, a self-centered, idle bachelor and heir to an oil fortune. The series follows Wilde’s awkward attempts to regain the affection of his childhood sweetheart, Emmy, an environmentalist who had been living in the South American jungle, but whose young daughter does not want to return there and who secretly enlists Steve’s help to keep Emmy at his mansion, leading to farcical situations and misunderstandings.
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on May 21, 2011
Trivia: Creator Mitchell Hurwitz, Arnett and Cross had worked together previously on Arrested Development, and the series appears to take place in the same universe as the Bluth Company is responsible for the design of the nightclub in the show’s penultimate episode. This was Peter Serafinowicz’s first role on US network television. The show was cancelled after airing nine episodes. The remaining four episodes were broadcast on FX. The series was filmed on Long Island, allowing Russell and Arnett to commute from their homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, respectively. Jayne Houdyshell and Joseph Nunez were cast in the pilot for roles that eventually went to Robert Michael Morris and Mel Rodriguez. Though they never appeared in the series, Houdyshell and Nunez are given credit in the first episode. Andy Daly played David Cross’ role in the pilot because a volcanic eruption stopped Cross from traveling out of the UK in time for the shoot. Daly was under contract to The Paul Reiser Show and understood he’d be replaced by Cross if the pilot was picked up to series.

September 22 – Better with You

Cast: JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Jennifer Finnigan, Josh Cooke, Jake Lacy, Kurt Fuller, Debra Jo Rupp
Guest Cast: Valerie Mahaffey, Reba McEntire, Michael Feinstein, Edward Herrmann, Larry King, Leslie Grossman, Derek Hough
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The series revolved around three different relationships that are tightly intertwined in one family, as it follows a couple, Maddie and Ben, who had been dating for nine years and are happy just living together despite not taking the next step, marriage. Maddie’s life is thrown for a loop when her younger sister Mia announces that she is pregnant and is about to marry Casey, a guy whom she has only known for seven weeks. To make matters worse, Maddie is stunned that their parents, who have been married for 35 years and have their issues, approve of the union, leaving Maddie and Ben questioning themselves about their own relationship. The story followed their lives and struggles.
Broadcast History: One season, 22 episodes, last broadcast on May 11, 2011
Trivia: The show had several titles before Better With You: Better Together, Couples, Leapfrog and That Couple. This was the second sitcom Cooke and Finniagn appeared in after 2005’s Committed. Cooke and Fuller also starred together in 2006 series Big Day.

September 22 – The Defenders

Cast: Jim Belushi, Jerry O’Connell, Jurnee Smollett, Tanya Fischer, Teddy Sears
Guest Cast: Glynn Turman, Natalie Zea, Frank Sinatra Jr., Arye Gross, Dan Aykroyd, Romeo Miller, Lana Parilla, Laura San Giacomo, Dean Norris, Kathleen Wilhoite, Steven Culp, Ryan Pinkston, Stephen Tobolowsky, Wings Hauser, Penn Jillette, Sam Jones III, Nora Dunn, Raphael Sbarge, Jessica Tuck, James Brolin, Leah Pipes, William Russ, Anthony Starke, Robert Pine, Justin Willman, Mary Gross, Brynn Thayer, Brent Briscoe, Stephen Root, Daniel J. Travanti, Frederick Koehler, Camilla Luddington, Mackenzie Astin, Kathy Griffin, Max Adler
Network: CBS
Synopsis: Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the show involves a pair of defense attorneys who go all out to help their clients while keeping their personal lives in order. The show is loosely based on real-life Vegas lawyers Michael Cristalli and Marc Saggese, and is not related to the 1960s CBS series of the same name.
Broadcast History: One season, 18 episodes, last broadcast on March 11, 2011

September 22 – Pair of Kings

Cast: Ryan Ochoa, Kelsey Asbille, Larramie Doc Shaw, Geno Segers,Mitchell Musso, J.D. Higham, Kevin Acevedo, Bobby Joyner
Guest Cast: James Hong, Vincent Pastore, Tichina Arnold, Eden Sher, Edie McClurg, Jennifer Elise Cox, John O’Hurley, Abraham Benrubi, Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, Michael Carbonaro, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse
Network: Disney XD
Synopsis: The series tells the story of brothers Brady (Musso) and Boomer (Shaw), a pair of teenage fraternal twins raised by their aunt and uncle in Chicago who live a normal existence. However, when Mason (Segers), the royal adviser to the throne of the island of Kinkow, arrives at their high school, they learn that they are the heirs to the throne of the island, and after Mason tells Brady and Boomer of their lineage, they begin to realize that their lives are about to change drastically and will try to be brave and face their fears.
Broadcast History: Three seasons, 67 episodes, last broadcast on February 18, 2013
Trivia: Musso was replaced with Adam Hicks, playing the twins’ long-lost triplet, for the third season. After the third season premiere, any mention of Musso’s character was removed from the official website.

September 22 – Undercovers

Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Boris Kodjoe, Ben Schwartz, Mekia Cox, Carter MacIntyre, Gerald McRaney, Brad Grunberg, Nancy Wetzel
Guest Cast: Alan Dale, Chad Everett, Channon Roe, Sean Maguire, Chris McKenna, Harry Lenix, David Anders, Max Greenfield, Lee Majors
Network: NBC
Synopsis: Five years after leaving the CIA to open a catering company, Steven and Samantha Bloom are recruited back into the agency by Carlton Shaw. They take on special missions the average agent cannot handle. Having made a pact to never discuss their pasts with each other, the Blooms find surprising new things about their spouse in the course of each mission. They are aided by Leo Nash, a top agent who was once Samantha’s boyfriend, and geeky computer expert Bill Hoyt, who worships Steven. Lizzy is Samantha’s sister, a recovering alcoholic who helps run the catering business and is unaware of what the Blooms are really up to. The Blooms are unaware that Shaw has a secret agenda for reactivating them.
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, two unaired, last broadcast December 29, 2010.
Trivia: The two unaired episodes did air in Australia and the UK. This was the second spy series produced by J.J. Abrams following Alias, with Abrams directing the pilot, the first he’d directed since the Lost pilot in 2004. Abrams blames himself for the show’s failure saying it was meant to be fun and frivolous but ended up being too frivolous and simple.

September 22 – The Whole Truth

Cast: Rob Morrow, Maura Tierney, Eamonn Walker, Anthony Ruivivar, Sean Wing, Stephanie Lemelin, Ellen Gerstein, Christine Adams
Guest Cast: Erik Palladino, Amy Aquino, Annabella Sciorra, Wade Williams, Dean Norris, Harold Perrineau, Max Greenfield, Scoot McNairy, Adina Porter, William Russ, Lupe Ontiveros, Wayne Knight, Tim Russ, Judd Hirsch, Philip Casnoff, Tricia Helfer, Mandy Patinkin, Judith Ivey, Frances Fisher, Ralph Maccio
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The show chronicled legal cases from the points of view of both the prosecution and the defense, set in both New York City and Los Angeles.
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, seven unaired, last broadcast on October 27, 2010
Trivia: The unaired episodes were broadcast in Australia and The Netherlands. Joely Richardson was cast as the female lead and shot the pilot but dropped out for personal reasons and was replaced by Tierney, who refilmed Fisher’s scenes in the pilot. Tierney was also appearing in a recurring role on Rescue Me at the time.

September 23 – My Generation

Cast: Daniella Alonso, Mehcad Brooks, Kelli Garner, Jaime King, Julian Morris, Keir O’Donnell, Michael Stahl-David, Anne Son, Sebastian Sozzi
Network: ABC
Synopsis: The series follows a group of young adults whose lives were being filmed for a documentary just before their graduation from fictional Greenbelt High School in Austin, Texas in 2000.
Broadcast History: One season, 8 episodes, 6 unaired, last broadcast on September 20, 2010
Trivia: Based on the Swedish series God’s Highway. The show’s original title was Generation Y. ABC made the six unaired episodes available online.

September 23 – Outsourced

Cast: Ben Rappaport, Anisha Nagarajan, Diedrich Bader, Parvesh Cheena, Pippa Black, Rebecca Hazelwood, Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan
Guest Cast: Leslie Grossman, Ravi Patel
Network: NBC
Synopsis: The series is set in a call center in Mumbai, India, where an American novelties company has recently outsourced its order processing. A lone American manages the call center and must explain American popular culture to his employees as he tries to understand Indian culture.
Broadcast History: One season, 22 episodes, last broadcast on May 12, 2011
Trivia: Based on the film of the same name. When the show was not announced for renewal with other NBC shows, the cast and crew launched a campaign to get fans to request NBC renew the series. It didn’t work.

September 23 – $h#! My Dad Says

Cast: William Shatner, Jonathan Sadowski, Nicole Sullivan, Will Sasso
Guest Cast: Jean Smart, Sam Pancake, Missi Pyle, John Mahoney, Stephanie Faracy, Cybill Shepherd, Vincent Vintresca, Curtis Armstrong, Ed Begley Jr., Joel Brooks, Laura Kightlinger, CLyde Kusatsu, Don Lake, Riki Lindhome, Lee Majors, Tila Tequila, Cedric Yarbrough
Network: CBS
Synopsis: Ed is a very opinionated 72-year-old who has been divorced three times. His two adult sons, Henry and Vince, are accustomed to his unsolicited and often politically incorrect rants. When Henry, a struggling writer and blogger, can no longer afford his rent, he is forced to move back in with Ed, which creates new problems in their tricky father–son relationship.
Broadcast History: One season, 18 episodes, last broadcast on February 17, 2011
Trivia: Based on the Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern which consisted of quotes from his father Sam. Ryan Devlin was cast in the role of Henry for the pilot but was replaced by Sadowski for the series. The series was protested by the Parents Television Council due to the title’s allusion to profanity.

September 24 – Blue Bloods

Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Len Cariou, Tom Selleck, Sami Gayle, Amy Carlson, Marisa Ramirez, Vanessa Ray, Robert Clohessy, Abigail Hawk, Tony Terraciano, Gregory Jbara
Guest Cast: Steve Schirripa, Jennifer Esposito, Mark Linn-Baker, Bebe Neuwirth, Stacy Keach, Lorraine Bracco, Dylan Walsh, Lou Diamond Phillips, Treat Williams, Bobby Cannavale, Method Man, Nick Cordero, Christine Ebersole, Richard Kline, Dan Hedaya, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Imperioli, Kevin Dillon, Frank Whaley, Kirk Acevedo, Teddy Sears, Steven Bauer, Patricia Kalember, Joanna Gleason, Esai Morales, William Sadler, Dan Lauria, James Le Gros, Chazz Palminteri, Dash Mihok
Network: CBS
Synopsis: The series follows the Reagans, a family who has a history of work in law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the Police Commissioner. Frank’s oldest son Danny is an NYPD detective, his youngest son Jamie is an NYPD sergeant, and his daughter Erin works as an assistant district attorney. Frank’s second son Joe (though the series mistakenly refers to him as the oldest in more recent episodes) was murdered by a crooked cop in the line of duty in events that pre-date the series, when he was involved with an FBI investigation of a group of corrupt NYPD cops known as the Blue Templar.Frank’s father Henry is a former NYPD beat cop who rose through the ranks to become Police Commissioner.
Broadcast History: Ten seasons, 218 episodes to date. The series is still in production.
Trivia: Selleck was drawn to the series because of the strong pilot script but didn’t want to commit to a long-term series as he was involved in the Jesse Stone series of TV movies.

September 26 – Sister Wives

Cast: Kody Brown, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, Robyn Brown
Network: TLC
Synopsis: The show documents the life of a polygamist family, which includes father Kody Brown, his four wives (Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn) and their 18 children. The family began the series living in Lehi, Utah but has since moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2011 and the unincorporated township of Baderville, Arizona (northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona) in mid-2018
Broadcast History: 14 seasons, 162 episodes to date, the series is still in production
Trivia: The series led to the Brown family being investigated for possible prosecution, and the family later sued the state of Utah challenging its criminal polygamy laws. They intially prevailed in a 2013 ruling but the case was dismissed in 2016.

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