Shark (American TV series)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2007) |
- For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation).
| Shark | |
|---|---|
| File:Shark - EP02 0001.jpg Title Card | |
| Directed by | Spike Lee |
| Starring | James Woods Jeri Ryan Samuel Page Danielle Panabaker Sophina Brown Sarah Carter Henry Simmons |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 22 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 Minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 21 2006 – present |
Shark is a legal drama series starring James Woods as Sebastian Stark, a notorious Los Angeles defense attorney who becomes a prosecutor. It premiered on CBS in Fall 2006, in the 10 p.m. Eastern timezone Thursday night spot. The pilot was directed by Spike Lee.
History
On October 20, 2006, it was announced that CBS had picked up the show for a full 22-episode season.[1] CBS announced on May 16, 2007 that Shark would return for a second season.[2]
In Shark's second season, it will move to Sunday Nights at 10:00pm, switching timeslots with Without a Trace, competing against another highly-rated series, Brothers & Sisters.
At one point Shark was in jeopardy of getting canceled before it even started, but James Woods gave the legal drama new life once he signed on to star in the pilot. Both James Woods and Spike Lee have spent most of their careers focusing on feature films, not television.
Cast members
Current Cast
The table below summarizes the main cast of Shark.
| Character | Actor/Actress |
|---|---|
| Deputy District Attorney Sebastian Stark | James Woods |
| Former District Attorney Jessica Devlin | Jeri Ryan |
| Julie Stark | Danielle Panabaker |
| Deputy District Attorney Casey Woodland | Samuel Page |
| Deputy District Attorney Raina Troy | Sophina Brown |
| Deputy District Attorney Madeline Poe | Sarah Carter |
| District Attorney Investigator Isaac Wright | Henry Simmons (Episode 8 - present) |
| District Attorney Lloyd Cutler | Kevin Pollak (Season 2 - present) [3] |
| Deputy District Attorney William Lyons | Kevin Alejandro (Season 2 - present) [3] |
Former Cast
The table below summarizes former cast members of Shark.
| Character | Actor/Actress |
|---|---|
| Deputy District Attorney Martin Allende | Alexis Cruz (Episodes 1-11) |
Episodes
Ratings
USA TV Ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Shark on CBS:
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday 10:00 P.M. | September 21, 2006 | May 3, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #24 | 13.7[4] |
| 2 | Sunday 10:00 P.M. | September 23, 2007 | May, 2008 | 2007-2008 |
Australian TV ratings
The first episode of Shark aired on August 6, up against new episodes of ER in the Monday 9.30pm timeslot. Shark only rated 813,000 mainland capital city viewers,[5] compared to ER's 910,000 viewers. The second episode dropped to 708,000 viewers.[6]
Cutthroat Manifesto
Stark has three rules, which he refers to as his "Cutthroat Manifesto:"
- "Trial is War. Second place is death."
- "Truth is relative. Pick one that works."
- "In a jury trial, there are only twelve opinions that matter and yours [speaking to his team] is not one of them."
Shark is slightly inaccurate in implying that the Los Angeles County District Attorney is controlled by the Mayor of Los Angeles. The District Attorney is actually an independently elected official of the county government. If anyone could pressure the D.A. to hire a former criminal defense attorney like Sebastian Stark, it would be the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who control the county budget. However, in the context of the program, the Mayor has a good deal of political influence and could pressure the D.A. to make an appointment. When the Mayor withholds his support, the D.A. is defeated for re-election.
Visual in-references
In episode four, during an exterior shot of a hotel right before a scene where Casey and Raina question a bartender, a bus with an ad for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip passes in front of the camera. CBS had previously lost a bidding war to NBC for the rights to Studio 60 in October 2005.
International Broadcasters
References
- ^ CBS Gets Chummy With Full 'Shark' Season
- ^ CBS ANNOUNCES 2007-2008 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (2007-07-09). "Pollak signs on to swim with "Shark"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap". May 25 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|source=ignored (help) - ^ "SMH - Stay In Touch". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 August.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "SMH - Stay In Touch". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 August.
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