Melrose Place | |
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Genre | Soap opera [1] |
Created by | Darren Star |
Starring | Linden Ashby Josie Bissett Thomas Calabro David Charvet Marcia Cross Kristin Davis Rob Estes Brooke Langton Laura Leighton Amy Locane Jamie Luner Alyssa Milano John Haymes Newton Lisa Rinna Kelly Rutherford Doug Savant Grant Show Andrew Shue Courtney Thorne-Smith Jack Wagner Vanessa A. Williams Daphne Zuniga Heather Locklear |
Theme music composer | Tim Truman |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 226 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Running time | 44 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | Fox |
Release | July 8, 1992 – May 24, 1999 |
Related | |
Melrose Place is an American prime-time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex in West Hollywood, California. The show was created by Darren Star for Fox and executive produced by Aaron Spelling for his company, Spelling Television. It was the second series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. Season one and season two were broadcast on Wednesday at 9 pm, after Beverly Hills, 90210 . In 1994, for its third season and for the rest of its run, the show moved to Monday at 8 p.m.
The show had many cast changes during the run. Thomas Calabro and Heather Locklear were the only cast members to remain on the series for all seven seasons, with Calabro being the only cast member to remain on the series throughout its entire run from the pilot episode to the series finale.
The show earned several Golden Globe nominations and placed No. 51 on Entertainment Weekly 's "New TV Classics" list. [2]
Melrose Place premiered on Fox on July 8, 1992. [3] The series follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex at 4616 Melrose Place in West Hollywood, California. [3]
Melrose Place ran for seven seasons, and its final episode aired on May 24, 1999. [4]
The first season featured eight main characters: Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro), a physician who works at Wilshire Memorial Hospital and changes from a kind, devoted husband in season 1 to a mean, adulterous villain from season 2 on; Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett), his budding fashion designer wife; Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue), a struggling writer adapting to life out of his parents' control; Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith), [5] a receptionist at D&D Advertising; Jake Hanson (Grant Show), a struggling manual laborer and motorcycle enthusiast; Matt Fielding (Doug Savant), a gay social worker; Rhonda Blair (Vanessa A. Williams), an aerobics instructor; and Sandy Harling (Amy Locane), a Southern belle and struggling actress who moonlights as a waitress at a local bar called Shooters, the group's main hangout. Locane was written off after 13 episodes and replaced by Daphne Zuniga as Jo Reynolds, a photographer running away from her abusive husband. Williams was not brought back for the second season, her character having become engaged to a wealthy restaurant entrepreneur.
Actress Heather Locklear, who in season one had guest starred as Alison's ambitious and merciless boss Amanda Woodward, was promoted to series regular status in the second season after her character bought and moved into the Melrose Place apartment building. Although she was always billed as a "special guest star", Locklear remained with the show for the rest of its run. [6] [7] Guest Laura Leighton, recurring as Jane's trouble-making younger sister Sydney Andrews in the first two seasons, was upgraded to series regular for season three. Marcia Cross, recurring as Dr. Kimberly Shaw in season 1 and early season 2, became a series regular by the end of the second season (though she was not credited in the opening until the start of season four).Janet Carroll appeared in several episodes as Marion Shaw, Kimberly's domineering mother. Beata Pozniak was featured in the second season in 7 episodes as Dr. Katya Petrova Fielding, a doctor with a daughter from a previous marriage who befriends and ultimately marries Matt (for a green card), who becomes an endearing father figure for her child.
Season four saw two new regular characters: Peter Burns (Jack Wagner), the ruthless hospital Chief of Staff introduced in season three; and Brooke Armstrong (Kristin Davis), a young, conniving intern at D&D Advertising also recurring the previous season. Davis's character was subsequently killed off in the middle of the fourth season, while Zuniga left the series at the end of the season. Patrick Muldoon also arrived in the third season as the villainous Richard Hart. Although Muldoon was not billed with the main cast (though he appeared in numerous promotional photos with them), he appeared in most of the fourth season's episodes and is also Melrose Place's longest recurring character (i.e. not in the opening credits) in terms of number of episodes.
The fifth season saw the addition of Rob Estes as restaurateur Kyle McBride, Lisa Rinna as his opportunistic wife Taylor, and Brooke Langton as Samantha Reilly, an artist and a new tenant in the apartment complex. Bissett and Cross left the series towards the end of the fifth season; Kelly Rutherford was brought in as Megan Lewis, a prostitute hired by Kimberly Shaw to have an affair with Michael Mancini, and David Charvet played Craig Field, Amanda's new co-worker and later Sydney's boyfriend. The season finale featured the exits of series regulars Thorne-Smith, Show, and Leighton.
The season premiere of season six featured the departure of original cast member Doug Savant while Alyssa Milano (recurring as Michael's sister Jennifer Mancini since season five) was bumped to series regular, with Linden Ashby joining the cast as Dr. Brett Cooper and Jamie Luner as his seductive and rich ex-wife, Lexi Sterling.
Charvet was written out in the middle of season 6, and the beginning of season seven saw the departure of Shue, Langton, Rinna, Milano, and Ashby. The show's seventh season introduced John Haymes Newton as Ryan McBride, Kyle's younger brother, and Rena Sofer as Eve Cleary, a woman from Amanda's past who marries Peter. Sofer was not billed with the main cast. Bissett reprised her role as Jane for the seventh season.
Character | Actor | Seasons | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||
Jane Mancini | Josie Bissett | Main [a] | Main [b] | |||||
Michael Mancini | Thomas Calabro | Main | ||||||
Sandy Harling | Amy Locane | Main [c] | ||||||
Matt Fielding | Doug Savant | Main [d] | ||||||
Jake Hanson | Grant Show | Main | ||||||
Billy Campbell | Andrew Shue | Main [e] | ||||||
Alison Parker | Courtney Thorne-Smith | Main | ||||||
Rhonda Blair | Vanessa Williams | Main | ||||||
Jo Reynolds | Daphne Zuniga | Main [f] | ||||||
Amanda Woodward | Heather Locklear | Recurring | Main [g] | |||||
Sydney Andrews | Laura Leighton | Guest | Recurring | Main | ||||
Kimberly Shaw | Marcia Cross | Recurring | Main [h] | |||||
Brooke Armstrong | Kristin Davis | Recurring | Main [i] | |||||
Peter Burns | Jack Wagner | Recurring | Main | |||||
Kyle McBride | Rob Estes | [j] | Main | |||||
Samantha Reilly | Brooke Langton | Guest | Main [e] | |||||
Taylor McBride | Lisa Rinna | Main [e] | ||||||
Megan Lewis | Kelly Rutherford | Main [k] | ||||||
Craig Field | David Charvet | Main [l] | ||||||
Brett Cooper | Linden Ashby | [m] | Main [e] | |||||
Jennifer Mancini | Alyssa Milano | Recurring | Main [e] | |||||
Lexi Sterling | Jamie Luner | Main [n] | ||||||
Ryan McBride | John Haymes Newton | Main [o] |
Filming for the series took place at a studio in Santa Clarita, California. [8] Stages were located 30 miles outside of Los Angeles. [9] The scenes filmed outside reveal the original facade of the building at 4616 Greenwood Place in Los Angeles serving as the main backdrop for Melrose Place. [10] The D&D Advertising building is the same complex where the offices of Spelling Entertainment are located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. [11]
The production filmed episodes back-to-back, according to Rolling Stone in 1994. [12] A dozen directors were employed during each season to direct the thirty episodes. Charles Correll is by far the main director of the series with 47 episodes to his credit over the entire production period, far ahead of the 27 episodes directed by Chip Chalmers.
In 1997, the filming of the sixth season was brought forward by two weeks because of Heather Locklear's pregnancy, which was not included in the story. A body liner was used for around ten shots. [13] The actress also doubled her filming time and her screen time was reduced to finish filming in mid-September 1997. [14] Lisa Rinna (Taylor) was also pregnant during filming at the end of the sixth season. However, her pregnancy was integrated into the plot. [15] This was also the case for the pregnancy of Josie Bissett (Jane) during the seventh season. Estes and Bissett welcomed their first child, son Mason True, on July 21, 1999. [16]
Season | Rank | Rating | US viewers (in millions) |
---|---|---|---|
1) 1992–93 | No. 94 | 8.35 | 11.9 |
2) 1993–94 | No. 50 | 10.24 | 14.8 |
3) 1994–95 | No. 57 [17] | 9.64 | 14.1 |
4) 1995–96 | No. 61 | 9.37 | 13.2 |
5) 1996–97 | No. 58 | 8.48 | 11.8 |
6) 1997–98 | No. 80 [18] | 7.47 | 9.5 |
7) 1998–99 | No. 95 [19] | 6.14 | 8.4 |
Melrose Place debuted on July 8, 1992, at No. 19 on the Nielsen ratings with a 10.3/19 share and 16 million viewers.[ citation needed ] In December 1993, Meredith Berkman of Entertainment Weekly called the show "arguably the hottest one-hour drama on television." [20] Though ratings dropped slightly over the first season, [21] the addition of Heather Locklear as Amanda is credited for improving ratings and bringing the show from No. 94 to No. 50 in the second season. [20]
The series finale was watched by 10.38 million viewers.[ citation needed ]
Melrose Place received mixed reviews from critics. As of September 2014, season 1 has a critics' rating of 4.7/10 at Metacritic. [22] One of the critics, Time 's Richard Zoglin, who gave the season a 2.0/10 score, wrote that the soap is "tapping into nothing more than worn plot lines from The Young and the Restless ". [23] Conversely, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, gave the first season a B− rating, writing: "Hey, I make fun of Melrose Place — but I'm hypnotized by it. As warm-weather escapism, it takes all the issues facing this country, from unemployment to sexual harassment, and turns them into crises that can be solved in an hour." [24] During the second season, David Wild of Rolling Stone wrote: "After debuting in 1992 with a troubled first season that at times rivaled that of the 1962 New York Mets, Melrose Place made a few key trades. The show acquired a journeywoman heavy hitter in the lovely form of Locklear and wisely swapped bothersome Issues and Morals for infinitely more palatable Sex and Villains, emerging as a big winner, particularly with that attractive twentysomething demographic." [25] The third season received positive reviews from critics: "After a couple lukewarm yet entertaining seasons, Melrose Place exploded in season three with the over-the-top, addictive storylines. Remember the crazy Kimberly-Michael-Sydney drama? And then Kimberly tried to keep Jo's baby! Really, this is daytime-soap-drama, heated up for primetime." [26] In 1997, Mark Harris, who gave the soap's sixth season a D rating, stated: "Although the ever-game, deserves-better Heather Locklear still spits out even the worst lines with snappish authority, and the diabolical-doctor duo of Jack Wagner and Thomas Calabro at least try to look interested, they can't sustain a show that has lost its best asset — a twisted joy in its own trashiness." [27]
The series won the People's Choice Award in 1993 for 'Favorite New TV Dramatic Series'. [28]
Heather Locklear was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama for her role as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place, in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. Laura Leighton was nominated in 1995 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series for her role as Sydney Andrews.
In May 1994, at the height of the show's popularity, the female stars, Heather Locklear, Laura Leighton, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Daphne Zuniga and Josie Bissett, were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone . [29] [30]
TV Guide ranked Amanda Woodward at No. 2 in the short list of "The Biggest TV Bitches", only behind Joan Collins' iconic Alexis Carrington Colby, with whom Locklear co-starred on Dynasty . [31] In Entertainment Weekly, Heather Locklear said about playing her: "Not trying to be a bitch. Just trying to be strong and do what you are supposed to do". [32]
In 2012, Entertainment Weekly reunited Melrose favorites Heather Locklear, Marcia Cross, Laura Leighton, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Josie Bissett, Daphne Zuniga, Andrew Shue, Grant Show and Doug Savant, and they appeared on the cover. [33]
The original series produced a spin-off series, Models Inc. , which ran for one season in 1994–95. That series focused on a Los Angeles modeling agency run by Hillary Michaels (played by Linda Gray), the mother of Melrose's Amanda Woodward; the show was cancelled after a single season due to low ratings. [34] [35]
A continuation of the series, also called Melrose Place , premiered on September 8, 2009, on The CW Television Network. [36] The new series featured primarily a new cast, although five actors from the original series made appearances: Thomas Calabro, Laura Leighton, Josie Bissett, Daphne Zuniga and Heather Locklear. The revival series suffered from low ratings and negative reviews, and was cancelled in 2010 after one season. [37]
In April 2024, another revival of the series was announced to be in development at CBS Studios, to be written by Lauren Gussis and with Locklear, Leighton and Zuniga attached to reprise their roles from the original series. [38] [39] [40]
On October 10, 2015, a television movie called The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story was released. It tells the behind-the-scenes making-of story of the show, finishing with the filming of the season three finale. [41]
In 1996, actress Hunter Tylo was cast in Melrose Place and opted to leave daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful to take the role. However, she was fired by Melrose Place producer Aaron Spelling prior to filming any episodes for the series, when she announced she was pregnant. The character she was to play, Taylor McBride, was recast, Lisa Rinna taking the role. Tylo quickly returned to The Bold and the Beautiful. Tylo sued Spelling on grounds of discrimination for being pregnant and won $4.8 million from a Los Angeles jury. Spelling argued that Tylo's pregnancy rendered her unable to play the character, who was supposed to be a sexy seductress. During the trial, Tylo published pictures of herself while pregnant which showed that she retained a slim figure. Prior to trial, during the discovery phase of the litigation, Tylo's lawyers won a partial victory in an interlocutory appeal challenging a lower court's order compelling her to answer a broad range of personal questions. The Court of Appeal established Tylo's right to refuse to answer questions in her deposition about marital problems and psychological treatment, although the Court sustained the portion of the order which compelled her to answer questions about her efforts to become pregnant, her husband's ability or inability to impregnate her, and communications with her agent with respect to her efforts and ability to become pregnant. The case is widely recognized as an important one in establishing the right of privacy in deposition and the right of female actors to continue to work while pregnant. [42] [43]
CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) have released all seasons of Melrose Place on DVD in Region 1.
The series has also been released on DVD in Region 2 and 4 by Paramount Home Entertainment.
Due to music licensing issues, most of the original music has been replaced on these DVD releases, and some episodes are edited from their original broadcast versions.
The soundtrack "Melrose Place" containing 11 tracks was released in 1994 on Giant records; in 1998 "Melrose Place Jazz" containing 16 tracks was released by Windham Hill Jazz.
The series is rated M in Australia and M in New Zealand for its sex scenes and offensive language.
DVD Name | No. of episodes | Release dates | Special features | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 (USA) | Region 2 (Scandinavia) | Region 2 (UK) | Region 4 (Australia) | |||
The First Season | 32 | November 7, 2006 | November 13, 2006 | November 13, 2006 | November 1, 2006 | Season 1 episode recaps Behind the scenes featurette Mini featurettes Cast Interviews |
The Second Season | 32 | May 1, 2007 | April 1, 2007 | March 13, 2007 | May 3, 2007 | Audio Commentary by Series Creator Darren Star Melrose Place: Meet The Neighbours Melrose Place: Complex Relationships Melrose Place: The Best of the Worst |
The Third Season | 32 | November 13, 2007 | December 2, 2007 | May 18, 2009 | April 9, 2008 | Melrose Place: According to Jake Melrose Place: Seven Minutes in Hell Everything You Need To Know About Melrose Place Season 3 |
The Fourth Season | 34 | April 15, 2008 | March 11, 2009 | March 22, 2010 | April 2, 2009 | None |
The Fifth Season (Volume One) | 19 | February 10, 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A | None |
The Fifth Season (Volume Two) | 15 | November 24, 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A | None |
The Sixth Season (Volume One) | 13 | May 3, 2011 | N/A | N/A | N/A | None |
The Sixth Season (Volume Two) | 14 | July 19, 2011 | N/A | N/A | N/A | None |
The Sixth Season | 27 | N/A | N/A | N/A | February 6, 2019 | None |
The Seventh Season (Volume One) | 18 | July 31, 2012 | N/A | N/A | N/A | None |
The Seventh Season (Volume Two) | 17 | July 31, 2012 | N/A | N/A | N/A | None |
The Seventh Season | 35 | N/A | N/A | N/A | March 6, 2019 | None |
Melrose Place (Seasons 1–3) | 96 | N/A | N/A | N/A | April 3, 2019 | Season 1 Episode Recaps Behind the scenes Featurette (season 1) Mini featurettes (season 1) Cast Interviews (season 1) Audio Commentary by Series Creator Darren Star (season 2) Melrose Place: Meet The Neighbours (season 2) Melrose Place: Complex Relationship (season 2) Melrose Place: The Best of the Worst (season 2) Melrose Place: According to Jake (season 3) Melrose Place: Seven Minutes in Hell (season 3) Everything You Need To Know About Melrose Place (season 3) |
Melrose Place (Seasons 4–7) | 130 | N/A | N/A | N/A | June 5, 2019 | None |
Melrose Place: The Complete Series | 226 | October 4, 2022 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
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A group of artists and Melrose Place producers formed the GALA Committee, headed by artist Mel Chin, to bring artworks out of galleries and into primetime television. GALA artists designed artworks that were used as props by Melrose Place characters in the fourth and fifth seasons, often with hidden political messages:
Chin compared the works to viruses, symbiotic and invisible. The project was called In the Name of the Place, as part of the "Uncommon Sense" art show at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, California in 1997. A portion of the fifth season was filmed at the Geffen Contemporary where the project was displayed. The artwork was also shown at the 1997 Kwangju Biennale in Kwangju, Korea and at Grand Arts in Kansas City, Missouri in 1998. Sotheby's Auction house auctioned almost fifty of these artworks for charity. [44]
Heather Deen Locklear is an American actress famous for her role as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She is also known for her role as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty from 1981 to 1989, her first major television role, which began a longtime collaboration with producer Aaron Spelling.
Courtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, and Cheryl Mabel on According to Jim, as well as her recurring role on Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy.
Laura Diane Leighton is an American actress. She played Sydney Andrews on the television series Melrose Place (1993–1997) and its continuation (2009–2010), and Ashley Marin on Freeform's series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017).
Models Inc. is an American prime time soap opera that aired on Fox during the 1994–95 television season. A spinoff of Melrose Place, it is the third series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. The series was created by Frank South and Charles Pratt Jr., and executive produced by Aaron Spelling, South, Pratt, and E. Duke Vincent. Models Inc. revolves around a Los Angeles modeling agency run by Hillary Michaels, the mother of Melrose Place's Amanda Woodward. The series lasted only a single season.
Jolyn Christine Heutmaker, known professionally as Josie Bissett, is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jane Mancini on the television series Melrose Place (1992–1999), and for her television film appearances over the past three decades.
Beverly Hills, 90210 is a media franchise created by Darren Star and owned by Paramount Global under CBS Studios. comprises of the American television series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990); Melrose Place (1992); Models Inc. (1994); 90210 (2008); Melrose Place (2009); and the 2019 revival BH90210, which takes place outside of the franchise continuity.
Melrose Place is an American drama television series that aired on The CW from September 8, 2009, to April 13, 2010. The series is a revival of the 1990s Fox series of the same name and is the fifth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living at the fictitious Melrose Place apartment complex in West Hollywood, California. Smallville producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer were showrunners of the series.
Sydney Andrews is a fictional character in the American soap opera, Melrose Place, and its 2009 continuation. She is portrayed by Laura Leighton.
Matthew Fielding, Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series Melrose Place, portrayed by Doug Savant. Matt was an openly gay man working as a social worker in Los Angeles. Initially Matt was not the focus of ongoing storylines, a situation that would not substantially change until the series became a serial drama in its second season. Matt Fielding appeared as a regular character from 1992 until 1997, when he moved to San Francisco. He was later killed off-screen in a car crash.
Amanda Woodward is a fictional character on the primetime serial drama Melrose Place, portrayed by Heather Locklear. The character was brought onto the show in order to boost its ratings, a ploy that was successful. Amanda was brought back for The CW's 2009 reboot, but her appearance was not enough to prevent the show's cancellation.
Michael Mancini, M.D., portrayed by Thomas Calabro, is a fictional character from the 1990s prime time drama Melrose Place and the 2009 series revival of the same name.
The first season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on July 8, 1992. The season one finale aired on May 26, 1993, after 32 episodes.
The second season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on September 8, 1993. The season two finale aired on May 18, 1994, after 32 episodes.
The third season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on September 12, 1994. The season three finale aired on May 22, 1995, after 32 episodes.
The fourth season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on September 11, 1995. The season four finale aired on May 20, 1996, after 34 episodes.
The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story is a 2015 television drama film directed by Mark Griffiths and written by Dana Schmalenberg. The film stars Ciara Hanna, Frank Rose Bailey IV, Ryan Bruce, Chloe McClay, Chelsea Hobbs, Joseph John Coleman and Brandon Barash. The film premiered on Lifetime on October 10, 2015.
The fifth season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on September 9, 1996. The season five finale aired on May 19, 1997, after 34 episodes.
The sixth season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on September 8, 1997. The season six finale aired on March 30, 1998, after 27 episodes.
The seventh and final season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on July 27, 1998. The series finale aired on May 24, 1999, after 35 episodes.
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