South of Sunset: Difference between revisions

*South of Sunset*
South of Sunset
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Stan Rogow; John Byrum
Starring	Glenn Frey; Aries Spears; Maria Pitillo
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producers	Stan Rogow; John Byrum
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Stan Rogow Productions; Byrum Power & Light; Paramount Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	October 27, 1993

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South of Sunset is an American crime drama television series that aired on CBS in 1993. The program starred Glenn Frey, Aries Spears, and Maria Pitillo and premiered on October 27, 1993. The premiere episode performed poorly in the ratings, causing the network to cancel the series shortly thereafter. Four additional episodes were produced but never aired on CBS; these would be shown on VH1 years later.^[1]

Synopsis

Frey played Cody McMahon, former chief of security for a major motion picture studio who left his financially secure, yet unfulfilling job to become a private investigator. Cody's offices were located just south of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. As a result, he calls his business the Beverly Hills Detective Agency, despite the fact he's in the "low-end" part of town. Aries Spears co-starred as Cody's young assistant Ziggy Duane, and Maria Pitillo played his cute blond secretary (and aspiring actress) Gina Weston. The show was a combination of comedy and suspense, reminiscent of the series Moonlighting. The show was created by John Byrum, who wrote all six of the episodes that were produced, and served as co-executive producer with Stan Rogow.^[2]

Development

CBS had green-lighted South Of Sunset with a six episode buy. Pitillo became involved early on, in part because of her collaboration with the Rogow/Byrum team on the Middle Ages project. Spears was hired shortly after Pitillo, and both read with prospective actors auditioning for the part of Cody McMahon. After four months however, the producers still struggled to cast the male lead. It was only after Paramount execs saw Frey in concert, and recalled his previous acting experience, that they suggested him for the role of Cody McMahon.^[3]

Five of the seven scripts were produced. It remains unclear if Remember Me, and/or Chalk Lines were ever filmed.

Network run

The show was heavily promoted during the 1993 World Series by CBS. However, only the pilot of South of Sunset ever aired, and not even to the entire country. The October 27 premiere was pre-empted by several West Coast stations (including KCBS in Los Angeles itself) due to news coverage of wildfires in Malibu. (KCBS later aired the pilot the following Saturday, October 30 at 11:30pm.) Disappointed with the ratings of the pilot and unwilling to give it a chance to build a base, CBS immediately cancelled the show, much to Frey's chagrin.^[4]

Criticism

Delays in production pushed back the premiere date until October,^[4] and CBS came under criticism for choosing not to provide advance copies of the pilot to critics,^[2] leaving Rogow to comment after the cancellation:

"There was a perception we had something to hide, but we just didn't have the pilot ready," he said. "Forgive me, people in publicity, but how about trying the truth? Why not send the critics two other episodes we had finished and tell them the pilot was still being worked on? At least we would have been reviewed."^[4]

The network also came under fire from the production community, which was already unhappy with the networks new policy of purchasing shows in blocks of six instead of the usual eight, thirteen, or even a complete twenty-two episode season. CBS execs countered by saying that South of Sunset had almost no base audience to build on, and had negatively impacted the time-slot winner 48 Hours, which followed the premiere episode.^[4]

VH1 rebroadcast

VH1 re-aired the pilot and four more episodes as part of their Eagles Family Tree Week.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Satyricon"	Andy Tennant	Story by : John Byrum & Stan Rogow Teleplay by : John Byrum	October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27)
2	"Dream Girl"	TBD	TBD	unaired (unaired)
3	"Custody"	TBD	TBD	unaired (unaired)
4	"Family Affair"	Bruce Seth Green	Terry Curtis Fox	unaired (unaired)
5	"Newspaper Boy"	TBD	TBD	unaired (unaired)
6	"Remember Me"	TBD	TBD	unaired (unaired)

Cast

Glenn Frey as Cody McMahon
Maria Pitillo as Gina Weston
Aries Spears as Ziggy Duane

References

^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1104. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
^ ^a ^b Scott, Tony (2 November 1993). "Review: 'South of Sunset Satyricon'". Variety.
^ Bobbin, Jay. "Former Eagle Glenn Frey goes 'South of Sunset'". Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Strauss, Robert. "In the Dawn of 'Sunset's' Demise : Television: The CBS show starred a rock musician and got heavy promotion during the World Series, but still managed to join the ranks of an unenviable club". LA Times. L.A. Times. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

External links

[1] The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1104. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.

[sosvariety-2] Scott, Tony (2 November 1993). "Review: 'South of Sunset Satyricon'". Variety.

[sosocala-3] Bobbin, Jay. "Former Eagle Glenn Frey goes 'South of Sunset'". Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

[soslatimes-4] Strauss, Robert. "In the Dawn of 'Sunset's' Demise : Television: The CBS show starred a rock musician and got heavy promotion during the World Series, but still managed to join the ranks of an unenviable club". LA Times. L.A. Times. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Television series}}
 {{Infobox television
-| show_name = South of Sunset
+| image              = South Of Sunset Promo.jpg
+| image_size         = 250
-| image = [[File:South Of Sunset Promo.jpg|250px]]
-| genre = [[Crime drama]]
+| genre              = [[Crime drama]]
-| starring = [[Glenn Frey]]<br>[[Aries Spears]]<br>[[Maria Pitillo]]
+| creator            = [[Stan Rogow]]<br>[[John Byrum]]
+| starring           = [[Glenn Frey]]<br>[[Aries Spears]]<br>[[Maria Pitillo]]
-| country =USA
+| country            = United States
-| language = English
+| language           = English
-| runtime = 60 minutes
-| company = Stan Rogow Productions<br>Byrum Power & Light
+| executive_producer = Stan Rogow<br>John Byrum
+| runtime            = 60 minutes
-| distributor = [[Paramount Domestic Television]]<br>CBS Paramount Domestic Television<br>[[CBS Television Distribution]] (current as of 2007)
+| num_seasons        = 1
-| network = [[CBS]]
+| num_episodes       = 7
-| first_aired = October 27, 1993
+| company            = Stan Rogow Productions<br>Byrum Power & Light<br>[[Paramount Television]]
-| last_aired = October 27, 1993
+| network            = [[CBS]]
+| first_aired        = {{Start date|1993|10|27}}
+| last_aired         =
 }}
-'''''South of Sunset''''' is an American TV [[detective]] series, starring musician/actor [[Glenn Frey]], that [[List of television series canceled after one episode|only aired one episode]] on [[CBS]] in [[1993 in television|1993]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present|year=2003|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=0-345-45542-8|pages=1104}}</ref>
+'''''South of Sunset''''' is an American [[crime drama]] television series that aired on [[CBS]] in 1993. The program starred [[Glenn Frey]], [[Aries Spears]], and [[Maria Pitillo]] and premiered on October 27, 1993. The premiere episode performed poorly in the ratings, causing the network to [[List of television series cancelled after one episode|cancel the series]] shortly thereafter. Four additional episodes were produced but never aired on CBS; these would be shown on [[VH1]] years later.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present|year=2003|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=0-345-45542-8|pages=1104}}</ref>
 ==Synopsis==
-Frey played Cody McMahon, former chief of security for a major motion picture studio who left his financially secure, yet unfulfilling job to become a private investigator. Cody's offices were located just south of [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]]. As a result, he calls his business the '''''Beverly Hills Detective Agency''''', despite the fact he's in the "low-end" part of town. [[Aries Spears]] co-starred as Cody's young assistant Ziggy Duane, and [[Maria Pitillo]] played his cute blond secretary (and aspiring actress) Gina Weston. The show was a combination of comedy and suspense, reminiscent of the series ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]''. The show was created by [[John Byrum]], who wrote all six of the episodes that were produced, and served as co-executive producer with [[Stan Rogow]].<ref name=sosvariety>{{cite web|last1=Scott|first1=Tony|title=Review: ‘South of Sunset Satyricon’|url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/south-of-sunset-satyricon-1200434502/|website=Variety|publisher=Variety}}</ref>
+Frey played Cody McMahon, former chief of security for a major motion picture studio who left his financially secure, yet unfulfilling job to become a private investigator. Cody's offices were located just south of [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]]. As a result, he calls his business the Beverly Hills Detective Agency, despite the fact he's in the "low-end" part of town. [[Aries Spears]] co-starred as Cody's young assistant Ziggy Duane, and [[Maria Pitillo]] played his cute blond secretary (and aspiring actress) Gina Weston. The show was a combination of comedy and suspense, reminiscent of the series ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]''. The show was created by [[John Byrum]], who wrote all six of the episodes that were produced, and served as co-executive producer with [[Stan Rogow]].<ref name=sosvariety>{{cite web|last1=Scott|first1=Tony|title=Review: 'South of Sunset Satyricon'|url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/south-of-sunset-satyricon-1200434502/|website=Variety|date=2 November 1993 }}</ref>
 ===Development===
@@ Line 25: / Line 29: @@
 ===Network run===
-The show was heavily promoted during the [[1993 World Series]] by [[Major League Baseball on CBS|CBS]]. However, only the [[pilot episode|pilot]] of ''South of Sunset'' ever aired, and not even to the entire country. The October 27 premiere was pre-empted by several West Coast stations (including [[KCBS-TV|KCBS]] in [[Los Angeles]] itself) due to news coverage of wildfires in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]]. (KCBS later aired the pilot the following Saturday, October 30 at 11:30pm.) Disappointed with the [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] of the pilot and unwilling to give it a chance to build a base, [[CBS]] immediately cancelled the show, much to Frey's chagrin.<ref name=soslatimes>{{cite web|last1=Strauss|first1=Robert|title=In the Dawn of 'Sunset's' Demise : Television: The CBS show starred a rock musician and got heavy promotion during the World Series, but still managed to join the ranks of an unenviable club.|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-11-13/entertainment/ca-56382_1_world-series|website=LA Times|publisher=L.A. Times|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>
+The show was heavily promoted during the [[1993 World Series]] by [[Major League Baseball on CBS|CBS]]. However, only the [[pilot episode|pilot]] of ''South of Sunset'' ever aired, and not even to the entire country. The October 27 premiere was pre-empted by several West Coast stations (including [[KCBS-TV|KCBS]] in [[Los Angeles]] itself) due to news coverage of wildfires in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]]. (KCBS later aired the pilot the following Saturday, October 30 at 11:30pm.) Disappointed with the [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] of the pilot and unwilling to give it a chance to build a base, [[CBS]] immediately cancelled the show, much to Frey's chagrin.<ref name=soslatimes>{{cite news|last1=Strauss|first1=Robert|title=In the Dawn of 'Sunset's' Demise : Television: The CBS show starred a rock musician and got heavy promotion during the World Series, but still managed to join the ranks of an unenviable club.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-13-ca-56382-story.html|newspaper=LA Times|publisher=L.A. Times|access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>
 ===Criticism===
-Delays in production pushed back the premiere date until October,<ref name=soslatimes/> and CBS came under criticism for choosing not to provide advance copies of the pilot to critics,<ref name=sosvariety/> leaving Rogow to comment after the cancelation:
+Delays in production pushed back the premiere date until October,<ref name=soslatimes/> and CBS came under criticism for choosing not to provide advance copies of the pilot to critics,<ref name=sosvariety/> leaving Rogow to comment after the cancellation:
 <blockquote>''"There was a perception we had something to hide, but we just didn't have the pilot ready," he said. "Forgive me, people in publicity, but how about trying the truth? Why not send the critics two other episodes we had finished and tell them the pilot was still being worked on? At least we would have been reviewed."''<ref name=soslatimes/></blockquote>
-The network also came under fire from the production community, which was already unhappy with the networks new policy of purchasing shows in blocks of six instead of the usual eight, thirteen, or even a complete twenty-two episode season. CBS execs countered by saying that ''South of Sunset'' had almost no base audience to build on, and had negatively impacted the time-slot winner [[48 Hours (TV series)|''48 Hours'']], which followed the premiere episode.<ref name=soslatimes/>
+The network also came under fire from the production community, which was already unhappy with the networks new policy of purchasing shows in blocks of six instead of the usual eight, thirteen, or even a complete twenty-two episode season. CBS execs countered by saying that ''South of Sunset'' had almost no base audience to build on, and had negatively impacted the time-slot winner [[48 Hours (TV program)|''48 Hours'']], which followed the premiere episode.<ref name=soslatimes/>
 ===VH1 rebroadcast===
-[[VH1]] later re-aired the pilot and four more episodes as part of their ''[[The Eagles|Eagles]] Family Tree Week.''
+[[VH1]] re-aired the pilot and four more episodes as part of their ''[[The Eagles|Eagles]] Family Tree Week.''
-==Episode list==
+==Episodes==
+{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; background:#fff;"
-* Episode One - Satyricon (Pilot)
+|-
-* Episode Two - Dream Girl
+! style="background:#;"| No.
-* Episode Three - Custody
+! style="background:#;"| Title
-* Episode Four - Family Affair
+! style="background:#;"| Directed by
-* Episode Five - Newspaper Boy
+! style="background:#;"| Written by
-* Episode Six - Remember Me - (unaired)
+! style="background:#;"| Original air date
-* Episode Seven - Chalk Lines - (unaired)
+{{Episode list
+ |EpisodeNumber = 1
+ |Title = Satyricon
+ |DirectedBy = [[Andy Tennant]]
+ |WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=John Byrum|s=John Byrum & [[Stan Rogow]]}}
+ |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1993|10|27}}
+ |ShortSummary =
+ |LineColor =
+}}
+{{Episode list
+ |EpisodeNumber = 2
+ |Title = Dream Girl
+ |DirectedBy =
+ |WrittenBy =
+ |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|unaired}}
+ |ShortSummary =
+ |LineColor =
+}}
+{{Episode list
+ |EpisodeNumber = 3
+ |Title = Custody
+ |DirectedBy =
+ |WrittenBy =
+ |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|unaired}}
+ |ShortSummary =
+ |LineColor =
+}}
+{{Episode list
+ |EpisodeNumber = 4
+ |Title = Family Affair
+ |DirectedBy = Bruce Seth Green
+ |WrittenBy = Terry Curtis Fox
+ |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|unaired}}
+ |ShortSummary =
+ |LineColor =
+}}
+{{Episode list
+ |EpisodeNumber = 5
+ |Title = Newspaper Boy
+ |DirectedBy =
+ |WrittenBy =
+ |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|unaired}}
+ |ShortSummary =
+ |LineColor =
+}}
+{{Episode list
+ |EpisodeNumber = 6
+ |Title = Remember Me
+ |DirectedBy =
+ |WrittenBy =
+ |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|unaired}}
+ |ShortSummary =
+ |LineColor =
+}}
+|}
 ==Cast==
 * [[Glenn Frey]] as Cody McMahon
-* [[Aries Spears]] as Ziggy Duane
 * [[Maria Pitillo]] as Gina Weston
+* [[Aries Spears]] as Ziggy Duane
 ==References==
@@ Line 57: / Line 116: @@
 *[https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/south-of-sunset-satyricon-1200434502/ Review: ‘South of Sunset Satyricon’. Variety. November 1, 1993 | 11:00PM PT]
 *[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19931023&id=DHhRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4QcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4917,1989344 Former Eagle Glenn Frey Goes 'South Of Sunset. Ocala Star Banner-Google News Archive Oct 23, 1993]
-*[http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-24/entertainment/ca-49146_1_glenn-frey TELEVISION : He's Got a Peaceful TV Feeling : It's a new gig for ex-Eagle Glenn Frey. L.A. Times Oct 24, 1993]
+*[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-24-ca-49146-story.html TELEVISION : He's Got a Peaceful TV Feeling : It's a new gig for ex-Eagle Glenn Frey. L.A. Times Oct 24, 1993]
-*[http://articles.latimes.com/1993-11-13/entertainment/ca-56382_1_world-series In the Dawn of 'Sunset's' Demise : Television: The CBS show starred a rock musician and got heavy promotion during the World Series, but still managed to join the ranks of an unenviable club.]
+*[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-13-ca-56382-story.html In the Dawn of 'Sunset's' Demise : Television: The CBS show starred a rock musician and got heavy promotion during the World Series, but still managed to join the ranks of an unenviable club.]
 *[http://www.glennfreyonline.com/solo/moviestv/southofsunset.htm Glenn Frey Online L.A. Times. Nov 13,1993]
 *[http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=22768 A TV Series Review by Michael Shonk: SOUTH OF SUNSET (1993).]
 *{{IMDb title|id=0106142|title=South of Sunset}}
-[[Category:1990s American television series]]
+[[Category:CBS original programming]]
-[[Category:CBS network shows]]
+[[Category:1990s American crime television series]]
-[[Category:American crime television series]]
+[[Category:Television series by CBS Studios]]
-[[Category:Television series by CBS Television Studios]]
 [[Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles]]
-[[Category:VH1 television series]]
+[[Category:VH1 original programming]]
-[[Category:English-language television programs]]
+[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
 [[Category:1993 American television series debuts]]
 [[Category:1993 American television series endings]]