The Return of Jezebel James

Last updated
The Return of Jezebel James
Return of jezebel james xlg.jpeg
Promotional poster
Genre Sitcom
Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino
Starring Parker Posey
Lauren Ambrose
Ron McLarty
Composer Grant-Lee Phillips
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7 (4 unaired)
Production
Executive producersAmy Sherman-Palladino
Daniel Palladino
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companies Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions
Regency Television
Fox Television Studios
Original release
Network Fox
ReleaseMarch 14 (2008-03-14) –
March 21, 2008 (2008-03-21)

The Return of Jezebel James is an American sitcom television series, starring Parker Posey as a successful children's book editor who, unable to have children herself, asks her estranged younger sister (Lauren Ambrose) to carry her baby. [1] The series was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame, who also directed the pilot, and executive produced the show with her husband, Daniel Palladino. The show was produced by Regency Television and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions.

Contents

The show premiered on the Fox television network on March 14, 2008, as a mid-season replacement. After airing only three episodes, it was cancelled due to what Fox called unacceptably low ratings. [2]

The remaining four unaired episodes were released on Apple iTunes on May 6, 2008.

Cast

Principal characters

Recurring characters

Episodes

Season 1 (2008)

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Pilot" Amy Sherman-Palladino Amy Sherman-PalladinoMarch 14, 2008 (2008-03-14)1ARJ01
In the pilot, bright, optimistic, successful children's book editor Sarah turns to her estranged and free-spirited younger sister, Coco, when she learns she cannot conceive a child herself. Coco decides to give it a try and relocates from a friend's couch to her sister's enormous loft, but gets less than she bargained for when she discovers she is relegated to a dismal unfinished bedroom.
2"Frankenstein Baby"Amy Sherman-PalladinoAmy Sherman-PalladinoMarch 14, 2008 (2008-03-14)1ARJ02
Coco is surprised once again when Sarah gives her an emergency Hello Kitty cellphone and then her parents arrive for a surprise visit that turns for the worse.
3"Needles & Schlag" Gail Mancuso Amy Sherman-PalladinoMarch 21, 2008 (2008-03-21)1ARJ03
Sarah is determined to sign a 15-year-old child prodigy and get the publishing rights to his new book, and she goes to great lengths to impress the eccentric kid. When great seats at a Knicks game do not interest him, she discovers that bed and bath items are what really get him going. Meanwhile, Sarah accompanies Coco to her first visit in a long time to the gynecologist's office and discovers what fears have been gnawing at Coco.
4"Return of the Crazy Jackal Shillelagh Lady" Daniel Palladino Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel PalladinoUnaired1ARJ04
When Talia drops in on Coco unexpectedly one too many times at the loft, Coco decides it is time to get out of the house and get a job. She quickly lines up a job walking a neighbor's dog and her plans to build a dog-walking empire quickly fall apart when Sarah reports the neighbor to their co-op board as pets are not allowed in the building. Later that evening, Sarah feels guilty for her actions and takes solace in Marcus's arms and accidentally spends the night at his place, breaking one of their cardinal rules.
5"I'm with Blank" Michael Zinberg Amy Sherman-PalladinoUnaired1ARJ05
Sarah is planning a party to celebrate the new book of one her most successful authors. However, when the author decides to read the latest draft of his book's sequel at the party, both Sarah and the young listeners discover that their favorite character may not live happily ever after. Meanwhile, an old friend of Coco's comes to town for a quick fling, but upon discovering his stay will be short-lived, Coco realizes she may not be okay with his plans.
6"Sarah Takes a Bullet" Jody Margolin Hahn Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel PalladinoUnaired1ARJ06
Sarah convinces Coco to make the dreaded trip home by promising to defend her against their parents' harsh criticisms. As expected, however, the family gathering soon becomes a Coco-bashing session. Is Sarah willing to taint her parents' perfect image of her to take the attention away from Coco?
7"Paragraph Two, Section Three"Michael ZinbergAmy Sherman-Palladino & Amy B. Harris Unaired1ARJ07
Sarah and Coco try to hammer out an agreement through a surrogacy lawyer but each has trouble agreeing to the other’s terms.

U.S. Nielsen Ratings

Weekly ratings
#EpisodeAir DateTimeslotRatingShare18-49 (Rating/Share)Viewers (m)Rank (Timeslot)Rank (Overall)
1"Pilot"March 14, 20088:00 P.M.2.241.0/43.17586
2"Frankenstein Baby"March 14, 20088:30 P.M.2.341.0/43.25585
3"Needles & Schlag"March 21, 20088:30 P.M.2.141.1/43.11576

Production

The series came into fruition when Fox gave it a put pilot commitment in July 2006. [3] It entered production and was named The Return of Jezebel James in December 2006 [4] before casting began in January 2007 when Scott Cohen was the first to be cast in the regular role of Marcus Sonti. [5] In February 2007, Parker Posey was cast in the lead role. [6] Casting continued throughout March 2007 with Emmy Award-nominee Lauren Ambrose, Michael Arden, Ron McLarty and Tony Award-nominee Dana Ivey all landing roles in the series. [7] [8] [9]

The series was greenlit and given a 13-episode order on May 11, 2007, [10] but in October 2007, it was cut to seven episodes in anticipation of the pending writers strike. [11]

The show was officially canceled after the third episode aired. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gilmore Girls</i> American comedy-drama television series (2000–2007)

Gilmore Girls is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. Gilmore Girls ran for seven seasons, the final season moving to The CW and ending its run on May 15, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Sherman-Palladino</span> American television writer, director, and producer (born 1966)

Amy Sherman-Palladino is an American television writer, director, and producer. She is the creator of the comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), Bunheads (2012-2013), and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parker Posey</span> American actress and musician (born 1968)

Parker Christian Posey is an American actress. She was labeled "Queen of the Indies" for starring in a succession of independent productions throughout the 1990s, such as Party Girl, The Doom Generation, Kicking and Screaming, The Daytrippers (1996), The House of Yes and Clockwatchers. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination, and two Independent Spirit Award nominations.

<i>Boston Legal</i> American legal dramedy television series (2004–2008)

Boston Legal is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to December 8, 2008. The series stars James Spader, William Shatner and Candice Bergen. It is a direct spin-off and continuation of the TV series The Practice, with several characters from the eighth season of that series moving to Boston Legal. While never a Nielsen ratings smash hit, the show was critically acclaimed. It received 26 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series in 2007 and 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Ambrose</span> American actress (born 1978)

Lauren Ambrose is an American actress.

<i>Aliens in America</i> American sitcom

Aliens in America is an American teen sitcom created by David Guarascio and Moses Port that aired on The CW for one season from October 1, 2007, to May 18, 2008. Guarascio and Port also served as executive producers of the show alongside Tim Doyle. Luke Greenfield directed the pilot. The show is about an American teenager in Wisconsin whose family takes in a Muslim foreign exchange student from Pakistan.

Daniel Palladino is an American television executive producer, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for his work on the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023), which earned him a WGA Award, two PGA Awards, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

The 2007–08 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers prime time hours from September 2007 through August 2008. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 2006–07 season. The schedule was affected by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. After that, the next disruption to the networks' primetime schedules would not occur until the 2020–21 season, whose network schedules were affected by the suspension of film and television productions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effect of the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike on television</span>

The 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which began on November 5, 2007, was a labor conflict that affected a large number of television shows that were due to be broadcast in the United States during the 2007–2008 television season. Negotiators for the striking writers reached a tentative agreement on February 8, 2008, and the boards of both guilds unanimously approved the deal on February 10, 2008. Striking writers voted on February 12, 2008, to end the strike immediately, and on February 26, the WGA announced that the contract had been ratified with a 93.6% approval among WGA members.

<i>Melrose Place</i> (2009 TV series) American drama television series

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.

<i>Lone Star</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Lone Star is an American drama television series which originally ran on Fox from September 20, 2010 to September 27, 2010, airing Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

<i>Breaking In</i> (TV series) American sitcom television series

Breaking In is an American sitcom television series, which ran on Fox from April 6, 2011 to August 22, 2012. The series debuted as a mid-season replacement following American Idol.

<i>Glee</i> (season 3) 2011–12 season of American musical comedy-drama

The third season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on May 23, 2010, by Fox while the first season aired. It aired between September 20, 2011, and May 22, 2012, and was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.

<i>The Mindy Project</i> 2010s American romantic comedy TV series

The Mindy Project is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its run of six seasons on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Universal Television and 3 Arts Entertainment.

<i>Growing Up Fisher</i> Television series

Growing Up Fisher is an American sitcom that began airing mid-season on NBC as part of the 2013–14 United States network television schedule. The semi-autobiographical single camera series was created by D. J. Nash.

"Bon Voyage" is the original series finale of the American comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls. The episode serves as the 22nd episode of the seventh season and the show's 153rd episode overall. Written by David S. Rosenthal and directed by Lee Shallat-Chemel, the episode was originally broadcast on The CW in the United States on May 15, 2007.

<i>Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life</i> American comedy-drama television miniseries

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is an American comedy-drama television miniseries created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. It is the unofficial eighth season and a sequel to the television series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007).

<i>Back to You</i> (TV series) American Sitcom

Back to You is an American sitcom which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007, to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling anchors of a news program.

Games People Play is an American drama television series, based on the novel Games Divas Play written by Angela Burt-Murray, that premiered on April 23, 2019, on BET.

References

  1. ↑ The Return of Jezebel James at The Futon Critic
  2. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (2008-03-24). "Exclusive: Fox Cuts Short Sherman-Palladino's Return". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29.
  3. ↑ "Development Update: July 31-August 4 (Weekly Round-Up)". The Futon Critic.
  4. ↑ "Development Update: December 11–15 (Weekly Round-Up)". The Futon Critic.
  5. ↑ "Development Update: Tuesday, January 23". The Futon Critic. 2007-01-23.
  6. ↑ Olsen, Mark (2007-06-17). "Parker Posey's secret? 'It's all hair and shoes'". Archived from the original on 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  7. ↑ "Development Update, Tuesday, March 6". The Futon Critic. 2007-03-06.
  8. ↑ "Development Update: Monday, March 19". The Futon Critic. 2007-03-19.
  9. ↑ "Development Update: Tuesday, March 20". The Futon Critic. 2007-03-20.
  10. ↑ "Fox Renews 'Death' Vows, Picks up Sextet". The Futon Critic.
  11. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (2007-10-12). "The Ausiello Report: Setback for AS-P's Jezebel James?". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07.
  12. ↑ Dahl, Oscar (March 24, 2008). "FOX Cancels 'The Return of Jezebel James' After Three Episodes". BuddyTV . Retrieved November 27, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.