Beggars and Choosers (TV series)

*Beggars and Choosers*
Beggars and Choosers
Genre	Comedy drama
Created by	Peter Lefcourt ; Brandon Tartikoff
Written by	Brad Buckner; Chris Cluess; Wendy Goldman; Charlie Hauck; Peter Lefcourt; Scott Kaufer; Eugenie Ross-Leming; Julia Sayres; Lynn Seifort; David Shore
Directed by	George Bloomfield; Fred Gerber ; Joanna Kerns ; Sheldon Larry; Richard J. Lewis ; Stuart Margolin ; George Mendeluk ; Ron Oliver ; Ron Orieux; Michael Ritchie ; Helen Shaver ; Sandy Smolan ; Anne Wheeler ; Charles Winkler
Starring	Beau Bridges ; Justin Carroll ; Colin Cunningham ; Kaj-Erik Eriksen ; Isabella Hofmann ; Carol Kane ; Keegan Connor Tracy ; Brian Kerwin ; Rudolf Martin ; William McNamara ; Bill Morey ; Paul Provenza ; Klodyne Rodney; Charlotte Ross ; Tuc Watkins
Theme music composer	David Schwartz
Composers	Ferocious Fish; Terry Frewer; David Schwartz; Stanley A. Smith; Jim Guttridge
Country of origin	United States; Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	42
Production
Executive producers	Kim Fleary; Peter Lefcourt ; Scott M. Siegler; Lilly Tartikoff
Producer	Cal Shumiatcher
Cinematography	Ron Orieux
Editors	Lee Haxall; Kevin Krasny
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Granada Entertainment USA ; H. Beale Company
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	June 19, 1999 –; February 6, 2001

Last updated March 04, 2025

Beggars and Choosers is an American comedy-drama television series broadcast by Showtime. Developed by Peter Lefcourt and Brandon Tartikoff, the series was a comedic, behind-the-scenes look at network television. Its 42 episodes aired between June 19, 1999, and February 6, 2001.

Synopsis

The tongue-in-cheek series centered on Rob Malone, President of LGT, and his efforts to boost the network's sagging ratings with Lori Volpone, the scheming vice-president of Development, and Malcolm Laffley, a gay man who came out of the closet to clear himself of sexual harassment charges levied against him by a woman. Each episode provided amusing insight into how a network runs, from how its executives deal with temperamental stars to how they make big budget deals while trying to keep the network financially stable.

Characters

Rob Malone (Brian Kerwin)
Lori Volpone (Charlotte Ross): The ambitious Vice President of Development for LGT
Malcolm Laffley (Tuc Watkins)
Kelly Kramer (Christina Hendricks)
Cecile Malone (Isabella Hofmann): Rob's wife
Brad Advail (William McNamara): An agent who is a thorn in Rob's side
Parker Meridian (Paul Provenza): The egomaniacal star of the hit LGT show Parker's Pals who is romantically involved with Rob's daughter Audrey
Audrey Malone (Keegan Connor Tracy): Rob and Cecile's slightly flaky 21-year-old daughter
Emory "E.L." Luddin (Bill Morey): The frequently comatose founder and former CEO of LGT
Lydia "L.L." Luddin (Carol Kane): E.L.'s wife, whose plans for an eponymous variety show are thwarted when Dan Falco buys the network
Casey Lenox (Sherri Saum): A young ambitious new hire at LGT that Lori Volpone fears could threaten her career path
Dan Falco (Beau Bridges): A Buddhist who acquires ownership of LGT after obtaining 53% of the company's stock during a power struggle between the Luddins
Wayne (Alex Zahara)

Episodes

Season 1: 1999–2000

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"The Mountainmen"	Michael Ritchie	Peter Lefcourt	June 19, 1999 (1999-06-19)
2	2	"The Mountainmen"	Michael Ritchie	Peter Lefcourt	June 19, 1999 (1999-06-19)
3	3	"Once More Unto the Breach"	George Bloomfield	Peter Lefcourt	June 26, 1999 (1999-06-26)
4	4	"Hat Trick"	Charles Winkler	Peter Lefcourt	July 3, 1999 (1999-07-03)
5	5	"The Ethel Merman Story"	Sandy Smolan	Peter Lefcourt	July 10, 1999 (1999-07-10)
6	6	"The Deal"	Stuart Margolin	David Shore	July 17, 1999 (1999-07-17)
7	7	"Sex, Drugs & Videotape"	Fred Gerber	Charlie Hauck	July 24, 1999 (1999-07-24)
8	8	"Unsafe Sex"	Stuart Margolin	Peter Lefcourt	July 31, 1999 (1999-07-31)
9	9	"The Velvet Curtain"	Unknown	David Shore	August 7, 1999 (1999-08-07)
10	10	"Touched by an Angel"	Rick Wallace	Story by : Lynn Siefert & David Shore & Charlie Hauck Teleplay by : David Shore & Charlie Hauck	August 14, 1999 (1999-08-14)
11	11	"Is It Good or Bad for the Jews?"	Sandy Smolan	Charlie Hauck	August 21, 1999 (1999-08-21)
12	12	"White Woman's Burden"	Charles Winkler	Julie Sayres and Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner	August 28, 1999 (1999-08-28)
13	13	"Shakedown in Puerto Vallarta"	Sandy Smolan	Peter Lefcourt	September 4, 1999 (1999-09-04)
14	14	"Don't Try This at Home"	Charles Winkler	David Shore	September 11, 1999 (1999-09-11)
15	15	"Star Whores"	Richard Martin	Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming	November 27, 1999 (1999-11-27)
16	16	"Always Leave 'Em Laughing"	Unknown	Peter Lefcourt	December 4, 1999 (1999-12-04)
17	17	"Faith, Hope & Chastity"	Unknown	Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner	December 11, 1999 (1999-12-11)
18	18	"Russian Roulette"	Fred Gerber	Unknown	February 19, 2000 (2000-02-19)
19	19	"Death in Malibu"	Unknown	Peter Lefcourt	February 26, 2000 (2000-02-26)
20	20	"Fasten Your Seatbelts"	Unknown	Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner	March 4, 2000 (2000-03-04)
21	21	"Disinformed Sources"	Joanna Kerns	Peter Lefcourt	March 11, 2000 (2000-03-11)
22	22	"The Cherry Orchard"	Unknown	Peter Lefcourt	March 18, 2000 (2000-03-18)

Season 2: 2000–01

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
23	1	"PMS.com"	Joanna Kerns	Peter Lefcourt	June 27, 2000 (2000-06-27)
24	2	"Fifty Three Percent Solution"	Anne Wheeler	Scott Kaufer	July 4, 2000 (2000-07-04)
25	3	"Sex and Violence"	Richard J. Lewis	Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming	July 11, 2000 (2000-07-11)
26	4	"Dog Day Afternoon"	Sheldon Larry	Peter Lefcourt	July 18, 2000 (2000-07-18)
27	5	"The Naked Truth"	Richard J. Lewis	Scott Kaufer	July 25, 2000 (2000-07-25)
28	6	"An Asian in the Sun"	Ron Oliver	Chris Cluess	August 1, 2000 (2000-08-01)
29	7	"The Leak"	Fred Gerber	Wendy Goldman	August 8, 2000 (2000-08-08)
30	8	"Hello Dalai"	Stuart Margolin	Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner	August 15, 2000 (2000-08-15)
31	9	"Zero Tolerance"	George Mendeluk	Peter Lefcourt	August 22, 2000 (2000-08-22)
32	10	"The Wartime Consigliere"	Stuart Margolin	Scott Kaufer	August 29, 2000 (2000-08-29)
33	11	"Be Careful What You Wish For"	Helen Shaver	Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming	September 5, 2000 (2000-09-05)
34	12	"Killer Sushi"	George Bloomfield	Peter Lefcourt	September 12, 2000 (2000-09-12)
35	13	"The Woodhouse Conundrum"	Ron Oliver	Scott Kaufer	December 5, 2000 (2000-12-05)
36	14	"Moles, Meatloaf & Myrna Loy"	David Warry-Smith	Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner	December 12, 2000 (2000-12-12)
37	15	"Fathers & Sons"	Helen Shaver	Peter Lefcourt	January 2, 2001 (2001-01-02)
38	16	"Hitting the Bottle"	Charles Winkler	Scott Kaufer	January 9, 2001 (2001-01-09)
39	17	"Golf War Syndrome"	Cal Shumiatcher	Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming	January 16, 2001 (2001-01-16)
40	18	"We'll Always Have Burbank"	Charles Winkler	Scott Kaufer	January 23, 2001 (2001-01-23)
41	19	"From Russia with Love"	Stuart Margolin	Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner	January 30, 2001 (2001-01-30)
42	20	"The Long Goodbye"	Richard J. Lewis	Peter Lefcourt	February 6, 2001 (2001-02-06)

Production notes

The series was created by former NBC television executive Brandon Tartikoff who based the series on his own experiences. Tartikoff, whose wife Lily served as a producer on the series, died of Hodgkin's Disease two years before the series debuted.^[1]

Filmed in Vancouver, Beggars and Choosers was produced for Showtime by Granada Entertainment USA and distributed by Buena Vista Television.^[2]

Reception and cancellation

Beggars and Choosers garnered very positive reviews from critics and, according to Showtime executive vice president of original programming Gary Levine, had a loyal audience,^[1] but ratings for the series remained low. Showtime canceled the series after two seasons in December 2000.^[2]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2000	Casting Society of America	Best Casting for TV, Comedy Pilot	Marc Hirschfeld, Meg Liberman, and Joel Thurm	Nominated
2000	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Carl Reiner	Nominated
2001	Canadian Comedy Awards	Television – Pretty Funny Direction – Series	Charles Winkler	Nominated
2001	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding TV Comedy Series	Beggars and Choosers	Nominated

References

1 2 De Vries, Hilary (July 2, 2000). "The Makers of TV Are Happy to Mine Their Own Business". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
1 2 Steven J., Stark (December 18, 2000). "'Beggars' Signs Off At Showtime". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2009.

External links

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[nytimes-1] 1 2 De Vries, Hilary (July 2, 2000). "The Makers of TV Are Happy to Mine Their Own Business". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2009.

[hollywood-2] 1 2 Steven J., Stark (December 18, 2000). "'Beggars' Signs Off At Showtime". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2009.

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