Spin City

Last updated

Spin City
Spin City - title.jpg
Season 1 intertitle
Genre
Created by
Starring
Theme music composer Spin Doctors (seasons 2–3)
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes145 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Camera setup Film; Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Distributor Paramount Domestic Television
(2000–2006)
CBS Paramount Domestic Television
(2006–2007)
CBS Television Distribution
(2007–2013)
Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution
(2013–present)
Release
Original network ABC
Picture format
Original releaseSeptember 17, 1996 (1996-09-17) 
April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30)

Spin Cityis an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's office, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike Flaherty, the Deputy Mayor of New York. Fox departed in 2000 at the conclusion of Season 4 due to symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and Charlie Sheen became the new lead as Charlie Crawford for the final two seasons. The series was cancelled after six seasons in May 2002.

Contents

Premise

The series presents a fictionalized version of the local government of New York City, and follows its mayor Randall Winston (Barry Bostwick) and his staff as they run the city, although the main person in charge is Deputy mayor Mike Flaherty (Fox). Mike is talented at his job, dealing with political spin and office chaos, but not so good managing his personal life, which he neglects. Other members of staff at City Hall include press secretary Paul Lassiter (Richard Kind), the office snitch and a manipulative coward, who has a habit of being a troublemaker and is often kept in the dark about things; chief of staff Stuart Bondek (Alan Ruck), who thinks of himself as a lothario and is highly sexist; and head of minority affairs Carter Heywood (Michael Boatman), a gay black man with a suicidal dog named Rags.

Carter Heywood was seen as a revolution in modern television. As the writer Orville Lloyd Douglas noted on his blog GayBlackCanadianman, "Far too often whenever a character is gay on television it's always a white person. In North America gayness equals whiteness and gay black men are displaced due to race, gender, and sexual orientation. Finally, the writers and producers of Spin City got it right. Carter was a well adjusted young black man he wasn't on the down low, he also wasn't confused or conflicted about his homosexuality." [1] Despite their overwhelming personal differences, Stuart and Carter actually become roommates and best friends.

Also on the staff are speech writer James Hobert (Alexander Chaplin), who is weak-willed and gullible; Mike's secretary Janelle Cooper (Victoria Dillard); and accountant Nikki Faber (Connie Britton). Janelle later becomes the mayor's secretary and Stacey Paterno (Jennifer Esposito) joins the show as Mike's secretary and Paul's nemesis. Together, this group helps run City Hall, improves the Mayor's image, and covers for his frequent mistakes—while sorting out their own personal issues.

At one point in development, the show was simply called Spin, which was changed when ABC was unable to secure rights to the name from the magazine of the same name. [2] At the start of the series, Mike is dating reporter Ashley Schaeffer (Carla Gugino). In early promos for the series, the relationship is shown to be the main premise of the show. After just a few episodes, however, Ashley and Mike separated and the character was written out.

The nature of Carter and Stuart's relationship became a running gag during the series. The two ended up becoming so close, their friendship was mocked by others, and their arguments sounded so much like husband and wife, a whole episode was dedicated to the notion that the two argued like a married couple. The two ended up meeting an older duo of best friends (one black and one white) who were virtual twins of Carter and Stuart in terms of personality; when it was discovered that the two older versions had become a couple, it ended up scaring Stuart quite a bit. For his part, Stuart tends to be very protective of his time with Carter, going so far as to be genuinely jealous when Carter spends more time with new campaign manager Caitlin (Heather Locklear). In spite of all the jokes and flirtations, they prove to be best friends willing to do anything for each other. This, too, was considered an important moment in television history, with Douglas noting, "I love the fact that the writers of Spin City explored the fact that gay men and heterosexual men can be friends. The straight man doesn't have to worry that the gay man might hit on him." [1]

Later years

In 1998, Michael J. Fox announced he had Parkinson's disease. As a result, a new character, Caitlin Moore (Locklear) was introduced at the start of the 1999–2000 season to help lessen Fox's workload. Caitlin was Mayor Winston's campaign manager as he decided to run for Senator, and much conflict occurred between Mike and Caitlin about who was in charge of the mayor. Their relationship was more complex than a simple feud, and hints were dropped that it would become romantic.

In 2000, as his symptoms got more severe, Fox announced he was leaving the show at the end of the season to spend more time with his family and to raise awareness of Parkinson's. [3] His character left City Hall at the end of the show's fourth season, taking the blame for an alleged Mafia link the mayor unknowingly had. [4] A brief coda to the fourth-season finale revealed that the character moved to Washington, D.C., becoming an environmental lobbyist and there meeting a young senator named Alex P. Keaton, the character Fox played on Family Ties . [4] [5] Executive producer and co-creator Bill Lawrence also left the show, along with a few cast members and writers/producers.

The remaining producers decided to carry on the series with a new lead. For the show's fifth season, Charlie Sheen, as new Deputy Mayor Charlie Crawford, joined Caitlin, Paul, Stuart, Carter, and the mayor. The characters of Nikki, James, and Janelle were written out, to be replaced by assistant Angie Ordonez (Lana Parrilla), although she left without explanation for the sixth and final season. With the change of the lead character, also came a change in its production location, from Fox's home in the New York City area to Los Angeles. [6] The show would carry on with Sheen for two seasons.

Characters

ActorRoleYearsSeasonsEpisodes
Michael J. Fox Mike Flaherty1996–2000, 20011–4, 6 (3 episodes)103
Carla Gugino Ashley Schaeffer1996, 19981 (12 episodes), 3 (1 episode)13
Richard Kind Paul Lassiter1996–20021–6145
Alan Ruck Stuart Bondek140
Michael Boatman Carter Heywood145
Barry Bostwick Mayor Randall Winston144
Connie Britton Nikki Faber1996–20001–4100
Alexander Chaplin James Hobert100
Victoria Dillard Janelle Cooper1996–20001 (recurring), 2–4 (starring)91
Jennifer Esposito Stacey Paterno1997–19992 & 346
Heather Locklear Caitlin Moore1999–20024–671
Charlie Sheen Charlie Crawford2000–20025 & 645
Lana Parrilla Angie Ordonez2000–2001521
Faith Prince Claudia Sachs1996–1999, 20001–3 (recurring), 5 (guest)21
Taylor StanleyKaren1996-19971 (recurring)08
Beth Littleford Deirdre West1998-20003, 4 (recurring)08
Paula Marshall Laurie Parres1997-19982, 3 (recurring)07
Heidi Klum Heidi Klum1998-19993, 4 (recurring)07
Rags the DogRags the Dog1998–20023–6 (recurring)20

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankAvg. rating [lower-alpha 1] /
Avg. viewers [lower-alpha 2]
First airedLast aired
1 24September 17, 1996 (1996-09-17)May 13, 1997 (1997-05-13)1711.7
2 24September 24, 1997 (1997-09-24)May 20, 1998 (1998-05-20)4712.0
3 26September 22, 1998 (1998-09-22)May 25, 1999 (1999-05-25)2813.1
4 26September 21, 1999 (1999-09-21)May 24, 2000 (2000-05-24)3312.4
5 23October 18, 2000 (2000-10-18)May 23, 2001 (2001-05-23)5310.8
6 22September 25, 2001 (2001-09-25)April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30)788.4

Awards and nominations

Michael J. Fox won one Primetime Emmy, out of four nominations. The show won four Golden Globes (three for Fox and one for Charlie Sheen), out of its nine nominations.

Syndication

Initially distributed by the original Paramount Television, Spin City entered off-network syndication on UPN, Fox and The WB affiliates from fall 2000 until fall 2005 and aired on FX from fall 2005 until fall 2010. As of 2019, Spin City has not aired on cable channels since then. In August 2015, the series started airing on digital multicast television network Laff. In July 2020, every episode was added to Australian streaming service Stan. In February 2021, the entire series was added to Pluto TV (which is owned by Paramount Global, the current entity distributing the series) in the United States.

Home media

Shout! Factory and DreamWorks Home Entertainment has released all six seasons of Spin City on DVD in Region 1. [8]

DreamWorks Home Entertainment released two best-of sets entitled "Michael J. Fox – His All Time Favorites" Vols. 1 and 2 in 2003, each containing 11 episodes. All 22 episodes are taken from the four seasons containing Fox, each starting with a brief interview in which he describes what he likes about the episode. In the 2003 interviews, Fox shows symptoms of his ongoing illness. Both DVD boxes contain bonus material with fund-raising TV commercials for Parkinson's disease research, starring the Spin City cast.

DVD NameEp #Release Date
The Complete First Season24November 4, 2008
The Complete Second Season24April 28, 2009
The Complete Third Season26November 3, 2009
The Complete Fourth Season26February 15, 2011
The Complete Fifth Season23August 16, 2011
The Complete Sixth and Final Season22December 13, 2011

See also

Notes

  1. In households; season 1 only
  2. In millions; seasons 2-5

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Fox</span> Canadian-American actor (born 1961)

Michael Andrew Fox, known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989).

<i>Family Ties</i> American television sitcom (1982–1989)

Family Ties is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This culture was particularly expressed through the relationship between young Republican Alex P. Keaton and his ex-hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Sheen</span> American film and television actor (born 1965)

Carlos Irwin Estévez, known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), Young Guns (1988), The Rookie (1990), The Three Musketeers (1993), and The Arrival (1996). In the 2000s, when Sheen replaced Michael J. Fox as the star of ABC's Spin City, his portrayal of Charlie Crawford earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He then starred as Charlie Harper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003–11), for which he received multiple Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nominations, and as Dr. Charles "Charlie" Goodson on the FX series Anger Management (2012–14). In 2010, Sheen was the highest-paid actor on television, earning US$1.8 million per episode of Two and a Half Men.

<i>Two and a Half Men</i> American television sitcom series, 2003–2015

Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, the series was about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper, his uptight brother, Alan, and Alan's mischievous son, Jake. As Alan's marriage falls apart and divorce appears imminent, he and Jake move into Charlie's beachfront Malibu house and complicate Charlie's freewheeling life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jed Bartlet</span> Fictional character

Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character from the American television serial drama The West Wing created by Aaron Sorkin and portrayed by actor Martin Sheen. The role earned Sheen a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2001, as well as two SAG Awards.

A television pilot, in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distributor. A pilot is created to be a testing ground to gauge whether a series will be successful. It is, therefore, a test episode for the intended television series, an early step in the series development, much like pilot studies serve as precursors to the start of larger activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Ruck</span> American actor (born 1956)

Alan Douglas Ruck is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's best friend, in John Hughes's film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986); Stuart Bondek, a lecherous, power-hungry member of the mayor's staff in the ABC sitcom Spin City; and Connor Roy, the eldest son of a media magnate, in the HBO series Succession. His other notable parts include those in Bad Boys (1983), Three Fugitives (1989), Young Guns II (1990), Speed (1994), and Twister (1996). In 2016, he co-starred with Geena Davis in an updated Fox TV adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel The Exorcist.

<i>Picket Fences</i> Television series

Picket Fences is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States. It sometimes struggled to maintain a stable primetime audience and had fluctuating ratings, due in part to its Friday night death slot. In its first season on the air it placed 63rd in the prime-time Nielsen ratings and in its second season it moved to 61st. The show's exteriors were shot in the L.A. suburb of Monrovia, California, with many of the townspeople appearing in the background of episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Cryer</span> American actor

Jonathan Niven Cryer is an American actor, writer, director and producer. Born into a show business family, he made his motion picture debut as a teenage photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair; his breakout role came in 1986, in the John Hughes-written film Pretty in Pink. In 1998, he wrote and produced the independent film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five.

Politics is a common theme in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, and this phenomenon has had some crossover with real American politics. The local politics of the fictional town Springfield feature prominently in many episodes, and character archetypes represent different political concepts within a community. The show satirizes ideas across the political spectrum, though overall it is described as having left-wing and anti-establishment bias. Politicians have been caricatured in many episodes of The Simpsons, including an episode following President George H. W. Bush in response to his public criticism of the show. References to the show also feature in real-world politics. The Simpsons addresses contemporary issues including substance abuse, the economy, education, environmentalism, gun politics, health politics, LGBT rights, immigration and criminal justice. Episodes of the show have also caused international political dispute for its portrayal of foreign countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marita Covarrubias</span> Fictional character from the X-Files

Marita Covarrubias is a fictional character on the American science fiction television series The X-Files. She was initially introduced as an informant, leaking diplomatic information to FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder to aid his investigation of paranormal cases, dubbed X-Files. However, she was revealed to be an agent of the secretive Syndicate, although ultimately betraying that organization on several occasions. Introduced in the fourth season opener "Herrenvolk", the character remained a recurring presence until the series' finale, "The Truth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kind</span> American actor (born 1956)

Richard Bruce Kind is an American actor and comedian, known for his roles as Dr. Mark Devanow in Mad About You, Paul Lassiter in Spin City (1996–2002), Andy in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2002–2021), and as Arthur in A Serious Man (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex P. Keaton</span> Fictional American tv series character

Alex P. Keaton is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Family Ties, which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. Family Ties reflected the move in the United States away from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between Young Republican Alex and his hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton. President of the United States Ronald Reagan once stated that Family Ties was his favorite television show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Boatman</span> American actor and writer (born 1964)

Michael Patrick Boatman is an American actor and writer. He is known for his roles as New York City mayoral aide Carter Heywood in the ABC sitcom Spin City, as U.S. Army Specialist Samuel Beckett in the ABC drama series China Beach, as 101st Airborne soldier Motown in the Vietnam War movie Hamburger Hill, and as sports agent Stanley Babson in the HBO sitcom Arli$$. He also starred in The Good Fight, the Paramount+ spinoff of The Good Wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Lorre</span> American film director

Charles Michael Lorre is an American film & television director, writer, producer, composer and actor.

Victoria Dillard is an American advocate for Parkinson's disease research. She is also a former television and film actress who is best known for her co-starring roles as Janelle Cooper in the ABC sitcom Spin City, as one of the royal bathers in the 1988 Eddie Murphy romantic comedy Coming to America, and as the wife of Denzel Washington's main character in the 1991 action thriller film Ricochet.

<i>Two and a Half Men</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of Two and a Half Men, an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, aired its pilot episode on September 22, 2003, at 9:30 p.m., ET/PT, on CBS, a U.S. broadcast television network. The pilot received great reviews and an Artios Award nomination for Best Casting for TV, Comedy Pilot. In the week of October 1, 2003, the series was ranked 7th highest in the top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research, with an average 12.1/18 rating. Thanks to this, the series was able to air another 23 episodes, and was renewed for a second season in 2004. The DVD set was released on Region 2 on September 12, 2005, and on Region 1 on September 11, 2007. Its bonus material included: a blooper, outtakes, a backstage tour with Angus T. Jones and a behind-the-scenes special, with the cast and crew of Two and a Half Men.

The X-Files is an American science fiction–thriller media franchise created by Chris Carter. The franchise generally focused on paranormal or unexplained happenings. The first franchise release—simply titled The X-Files—debuted in September 1993 and ended in May 2002. The show was a hit for Fox, and its characters and slogans became pop culture touchstones in the 1990s. 1996 saw the premiere of a second series set in the same universe but covering a storyline independent of the X-Files mythology, titled Millennium. In 1998, the first X-Files feature film titled The X-Files was released, eventually grossing over $180 million. A spin-off—The Lone Gunmen—was released in 2001 and abruptly canceled. Six years after the initial television series was canceled, another film—The X-Files: I Want to Believe—was released. In January 2016, a tenth season of The X-Files aired, featuring Carter as executive producer and writer, and starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. An eleventh season premiered in January 2018. An animated comedic spin-off entitled The X-Files: Albuquerque is currently in development.

<i>Anger Management</i> (TV series) American television sitcom

Anger Management is an American television multi-camera sitcom created by Bruce Helford that premiered on FX on June 28, 2012. The series is loosely based on the 2003 film of the same title and stars Charlie Sheen in a variation of the Jack Nicholson character in the film. The series received 5.74 million viewers in its debut, breaking the record as the most-watched sitcom premiere in US cable television history. On November 7, 2014, FX announced that the series would end after its 100th episode, which aired on December 22, 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 "Carter On Spin City Was A Breakthrough Black Gay Male Character". March 25, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011.
  2. "The Art of Picking TV Titles: 9 Do's and Don'ts". yahoo.com. March 9, 2012. Spin City, for instance, started as Spin, but ABC couldn't get the rights from the magazine of the same name.
  3. Rice, Lynette (January 18, 2000). "'Spin' Out, The three-time Emmy nominee plans to devote himself to his family". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Goodbye Pt. 2". Spin City. Season 4. Episode 26. May 24, 2000. ABC.
  5. "Poobala.com". Crossover between Family Ties and Spin City. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  6. Braxton, Greg (September 23, 2001). "Taking One More Spin". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2022. Eyebrows were also raised when Hollywood "bad boy" Sheen was brought in. But the transition was smoother than anticipated, even with the production moving from New York to Los Angeles.
  7. Diuguid, Carol (September 8, 1997). "Esposito joins cast of 'Spin City'". Variety.
  8. "Spin City DVD news: Announcement for Spin City - The Complete 6th Season - TVShowsOnDVD.com". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.