Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to December 26, 2000. The series was created by Clyde Phillips and starred Brooke Shields in her first regular series. Shields played Susan Keane, a glamorous San Francisco magazine writer who begins to adjust to being single, and who learns to be independent-minded after having been taken care of all her life. The series was developed by Gary Dontzig and Steven Peterman, who also served as executive producers during the first three seasons, and was produced by Warner Bros. Television.
| Suddenly Susan | |
|---|---|
 1997 promotional Emmy advertisement | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Clyde Phillips |
| Developed by | |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme |
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| Composer(s) | Ed Alton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 93 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Camera setup | Videotape; multi-camera |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Warner Bros. Television |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | September 19, 1996 – December 26, 2000 |
Synopsis
Susan Keane (Brooke Shields) has always been taken care of by someone else. She worked as a copy editor at The Gate, a fictional San Francisco magazine. On her wedding day, she realizes that she and her wealthy, vain fiancé, Kip, are not meant for each other and that there is more to life than just being known as the "s" in "The Kip Richmonds", she abruptly leaves him at the altar. Now, she’s suddenly just Susan. Susan's parents, played by guest stars Swoosie Kurtz and Ray Baker, were less than ecstatic about their daughter deciding to end her engagement to Kip, though her grandmother and confidant, Nana (Barbara Barrie) stands as a pillar of support for Susan.
The day after the wedding, Susan goes to her boss, Jack Richmond (Judd Nelson), the rebellious brother of Susan's former fiancé, Kip, begging for her job back. Instead, Jack assigns Susan to write a regular column about being suddenly single. Susan's coworkers include photographer Luis Rivera (Nestor Carbonell), boyish rock music reporter Todd Stities (David Strickland), restaurant critic Vicki Groener (Kathy Griffin), and, in later episodes, investigative reporter and Susan's old enemy Maddy Piper (Andréa Bendewald).
In the show's final season, The Gate is taken over by Ian Maxtone-Graham (Eric Idle) and overhauled into a men's magazine that's run out of an old warehouse in Chinatown. Along with this, Ian brings his own team of workers, including executive assistant and U.S. Navy veteran Miranda Charles (Sherri Shepherd), sports writer Nate Knaborski (Currie Graham), and freelance photographer Oliver Browne (Rob Estes). Susan is faced with a new set of problems and has to prove herself all over again.
Besides the task of putting together a magazine and focusing on the lead character's life, Suddenly Susan also focuses on the private lives of many employees in the show.
Cast
- Brooke Shields as Susan Keane
- Nestor Carbonell as Luis Rivera (Susan's co-worker)
- Kathy Griffin as Vicki Groener (Susan's co-worker)
- Barbara Barrie as Helen 'Nana' Keane (Susan's grandmother)
- Judd Nelson as Jack Richmond (Susan's boss)
- David Strickland as Todd Stities (Susan's co-worker)
- Andrea Bendewald as Maddy Piper (Susan's co-worker)
- Sherri Shepherd as Miranda Charles
- Eric Idle as Ian Maxtone-Graham
Episodes
Season 1 (1996–97)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "First Episode" | Andy Ackerman | Teleplay by: Gary Dontzig & Steven Peterman & Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore & Clyde Phillips Story by: Clyde Phillips | September 19, 1996 |
| 2 | 2 | "Dr. No" | Steve Zuckerman | Dan O'Shannon | September 26, 1996 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Best Laid Plans" | Shelley Jensen | Mimi Friedman & Jeanette Collins | October 3, 1996 |
| 4 | 4 | "Suddenly Susan Unplugged" | Steve Zuckerman | Rick Singer & Andrew Green | October 10, 1996 |
| 5 | 5 | "Hoop Dreams" | Shelly Jensen | Heather MacGillvray & Linda Mathious | October 17, 1996 |
| 6 | 6 | "Lie! Lie! My Darling" | Shelley Jensen | Ian Praiser | October 31, 1996 |
| 7 | 7 | "Golden Girl Friday" | Shelley Jensen | Rick Singer & Andrew Green | November 7, 1996 |
| 8 | 8 | "Beauty and the Beasty Boy" | Steve Zuckerman | Maryanne Melloan | November 14, 1996 |
| 9 | 9 | "Cold Turkey" | Rod Daniel | Teleplay by: Dan O'Shannon Story by: Gary Dontzig & Steven Peterman | November 21, 1996 |
| 10 | 10 | "Was It Something I Said?" | Steve Zuckerman | Marc Flanagan | December 12, 1996 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Walk-Out" | Barnet Kellman | Heather MacGillvray & Linda Mathious | December 19, 1996 |
| 12 | 12 | "The Me Nobody Nose" | Shelley Jensen | Mimi Friedman & Jeanette Collins | January 9, 1997 |
| 13 | 13 | "The Ways and Means" | Gail Mancuso | Jana Barto | February 27, 1997 |
| 14 | 14 | "What a Card" | Shelley Jensen | Rick Singer & Andrew Green | March 6, 1997 |
| 15 | 15 | "Love and Divorce American Style: Part 1" | Shelley Jensen | Ian Praiser | March 13, 1997 |
| 16 | 16 | "Love and Divorce American Style: Part 2" | Pamela Fryman | Dan O'Shannon | March 20, 1997 |
| 17 | 17 | "Love and Divorce American Style: Part 3" | Pamela Fryman | Susan Fales | March 27, 1997 |
| 18 | 18 | "With Friends Like These" | Shelley Jensen | Maryanne Melloan | April 10, 1997 |
| 19 | 19 | "Where the Wild Things Aren't" | Shelley Jensen | Maryanne Melloan | April 17, 1997 |
| 20 | 20 | "A Boy Like That" | Shelley Jensen | Gary Dontzig & Steven Peterman | April 24, 1997 |
| 21 | 21 | "Family Affairs" | Gail Mancuso | Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen | May 1, 1997 |
| 22 | 22 | "I'll See That and Raise You Susan" | Shelley Jensen | Neil J. Deiter | May 8, 1997 |
Season 2 (1997–98)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "I Love You, I Think" | Tom Moore | Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig | September 22, 1997 |
| 24 | 2 | "Past Tense" | Tom Moore | Mimi Friedman & Jeanette Collins | September 29, 1997 |
| 25 | 3 | "Truth and Consequences" | Pamela Fryman | Christopher Vane | October 6, 1997 |
| 26 | 4 | "Next Stop, Heaven" | Shelley Jensen | Becky Hartman Edwards | October 13, 1997 |
| 27 | 5 | "Susan's Minor Complication" | Shelley Jensen | Chuck Tatham | October 20, 1997 |
| 28 | 6 | "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Maddy World" | Shelley Jensen | Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen | November 3, 1997 |
| 29 | 7 | "It's My Nana and I'll Cry If I Want To" | Pamela Fryman | Chuck Tatham | November 10, 1997 |
| 30 | 8 | "A Kiss Before Dying...on Stage" | Tom Moore | Drew Vaupen & Phil Baker | November 17, 1997 |
| 31 | 9 | "The Old and the Beautiful" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Rick Singer & Andrew Green | November 24, 1997 |
| 32 | 10 | "I Didn't Write This" | Pamela Fryman | Lisa Albert | December 8, 1997 |
| 33 | 11 | "Yule Never Know" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Mimi Friedman & Jeanette Collins | December 15, 1997 |
| 34 | 12 | "A Kiss is Just Amiss" | Tom Moore | Christopher Vane | January 5, 1998 |
| 35 | 13 | "The Big Shalom" | Alan Rafkin | Rick Singer & Andrew Green | January 12, 1998 |
| 36 | 14 | "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" | Alan Rafkin | Becky Hartman Edwards | January 19, 1998 |
| 37 | 15 | "Car Trouble" | Shelley Jensen | Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen | January 26, 1998 |
| 38 | 16 | "Ready...Aim...Fong!" | Shelley Jensen | Chuck Tatham | February 2, 1998 |
| 39 | 17 | "Daddy Piper" | Joyce Gittlin | Dan O'Shannon | March 9, 1998 |
| 40 | 18 | "Not in This Life" | Leonard R. Garner, Jr. | Christopher Vane | March 16, 1998 |
| 41 | 19 | "Models and Strippers and Wasps, Oh My!" | Tom Moore | David Kirkwood | April 6, 1998 |
| 42 | 20 | "Poetry in Notion" | Joanna Kerns | Becky Hartman Edwards | April 6, 1998 |
| 43 | 21 | "Pucker Up" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Andrew Green | April 13, 1998 |
| 44 | 22 | "5,947 Miles" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Jana Barto | April 20, 1998 |
| 45 46 | 23 24 | "A Tale of Two Pants" | Roger Christiansen Alan Rafkin | Michael McCarthy Rick Singer | May 4, 1998 |
| 47 48 | 25 26 | "Oh, How They Danced" | Shelley Jensen | Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig | May 18, 1998 |
Season 3 (1998–99)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 1 | "Birds Do It, Bees Do It, Even Some of These Do It" | Shelley Jensen | Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig | September 21, 1998 |
| 50 | 2 | "Feels Like the First Time" | Shelley Jensen | Christopher Vane | September 28, 1998 |
| 51 | 3 | "Don't Tell" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Maria Semple | October 5, 1998 |
| 52 | 4 | "Sleeping with the Enemy" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen | October 12, 1998 |
| 53 | 5 | "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Susan's Party" | Alan Rafkin | Chuck Tatham | October 26, 1998 |
| 54 | 6 | "War Games" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Rick Singer | November 2, 1998 |
| 55 | 7 | "Seems Like Old Times" | Alan Rafkin | Becky Hartman Edwards | November 9, 1998 |
| 56 | 8 | "Trash-Test Dummies" | Alan Rafkin | Andrew Green | November 16, 1998 |
| 57 | 9 | "The Thanksgiving Episode" | Shelley Jensen | Chuck Tatham | November 30, 1998 |
| 58 | 10 | "The Apartment Hunt" | Shelley Jensen | Maria Semple | November 30, 1998 |
| 59 | 11 | "Merry Ex-Mas" | Shelley Jensen | Rick Singer | December 14, 1998 |
| 60 | 12 | "Wedding-Bell Blues" | Leonard R. Garner, Jr. | Christopher Vane | January 11, 1999 |
| 61 | 13 | "On a Clear Day You Can Hear Forever" | Leonard R. Garner, Jr. | Becky Hartman Edwards | January 18, 1999 |
| 62 | 14 | "One Man's Intervention Is Another Man's Tupperware Party" | Roger Christiansen | Gary Dontzig & Steven Peterman | January 25, 1999 |
| 63 | 15 | "Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut" | Shelley Jensen | Polly Levy | February 8, 1999 |
| 64 | 16 | "Ben Rubenstein, Meet Joe Black" | Shelley Jensen | Andrew Green | February 22, 1999 |
| 65 | 17 | "The Song Remains Insane" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Michael McCarthy | March 1, 1999 |
| 66 | 18 | "Revenge of the Gophers" | Roger Christiansen | Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen | March 15, 1999 |
| 67 | 19 | "In This Corner...Susan Keane!: Part 1" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Chuck Tatham | May 3, 1999 |
| 68 | 20 | "In This Corner...Susan Keane!: Part 2" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Andrew Green | May 10, 1999 |
| 69 | 21 | "The First Picture Show" | Michael Kelly | Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen | May 17, 1999 |
| 70 | 22 | "Bowled Over" | Shelley Jensen | Jana Barto | May 24, 1999 |
| 71 | 23 | "A Day in the Life" | Alan Rafkin | TBA | May 24, 1999 |
Season 4 (1999–2000)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 1 | "The New Gate" | Lee Shallat Chemel | Mark Driscoll & Maria Semple | September 20, 1999 |
| 73 | 2 | "The Billboard" | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Mark Driscoll & Maria Semple | September 27, 1999 |
| 74 | 3 | "The Pushkin Letters" | Lee Shallat-Chemel | David Babcock | October 4, 1999 |
| 75 | 4 | "Vicki Moves In" | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Sylvia Green | October 11, 1999 |
| 76 | 5 | "Halloween" | Andrew Tsao | Ellen Idelson & Rob Lotterstein | October 18, 1999 |
| 77 | 6 | "Cheerleaders" | Andrew Tsao | David Flebotte | November 1, 1999 |
| 78 | 7 | "The Wish List" | Andrew Tsao | Ellen Idelson & Rob Lotterstein | December 6, 1999 |
| 79 | 8 | "First Date" | Alan Rafkin | David Babcock | December 13, 1999 |
| 80 | 9 | "The Birthday Party" | Roger Christiansen | Joel H. Cohen | December 20, 1999 |
| 81 | 10 | "Susan's Ex" | Craig Zisk | Roger Peacock | December 27, 1999 |
| 82 | 11 | "Luis Gets His Groove Back" | Lee Shallat-Chemel | Ed Yeager | December 27, 1999 |
| 83 | 12 | "Dinner Party" | Andrew Tsao | Teleplay by: Stacy Traub Story by: David Wright | January 3, 2000 |
| 84 | 13 | "Stock Tip" | Andrew Tsao | Geoff Tarson | January 3, 2000 |
| 85 | 14 | "I Love You" | Andrew Tsao | Teleplay by: Sylvia Green Story by: Anne Rovak | June 6, 2000 |
| 86 | 15 | "The Break Up" | Andrew Tsao | Stacy Traub | June 13, 2000 |
| 87 | 16 | "Girls Night Out" | Dana deVally Piazza | Robert Peacock | June 20, 2000 |
| 88 | 17 | "The Bird in the Wall" | Gordon Hunt | Lisa K. Nelson & Tod Himmel | June 27, 2000 |
| 89 | 18 | "The Gay Parade" | Alan Rafkin | Lisa K. Nelson & Tod Himmel | December 26, 2000 |
| 90 | 19 | "Susan and the Professor" | Roger Christiansen | Beth Seriff | December 26, 2000 |
| 91 | 20 | "The Reversal" | Michael Kelly | Teleplay by: Joel H. Cohen Story by: Mike Dieffenbach | December 26, 2000 |
| 92 | 21 | "The Finale: Part 1" | Andrew Tsao | Ellen Idelson & Rob Lotterstein | December 26, 2000 |
| 93 | 22 | "The Finale: Part 2" | Andrew Tsao | Ellen Idelson & Rob Lotterstein | December 26, 2000 |
Original pilot
In the show's original pilot, written by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore and based on a dramatic script by Clyde Phillips, Susan worked at a publishing house editing children's books. After breaking up with her live-in boyfriend Ted (Brian McNamara), Susan finds herself "single" for the first time in years. Concurrently, Susan faces even greater challenges at work when her boss, Eric (Philip Casnoff), assigns her the task of working as an editor with Charlotte (Elizabeth Ashley), a hugely successful and highly opinionated romance novelist. Always on hand to provide support is Susan's grandmother, Nana (Nancy Marchand), her co-workers, acerbic best friend Marcy (Maggie Wheeler) and Neil (David Krumholtz), who has a crush on Susan.
When the series was picked up, Brian McNamara's "Ted" character did not return, though McNamara did later play the part of Cooper Elliot, who took Susan to Italy at the end of season one. Other changes between the pilot and the series were Barbara Barrie replacing Nancy Marchand in the role of Nana, while Swoosie Kurtz and Ray Baker replaced Kurt Fuller and Caroline McWilliams as Susan's parents, Bill and Liz. In the series, though the setting switches from a publishing house to a magazine, the main office set retained most of its features from the pilot; the most noticeable difference was that the elevator was to the right. While the pilot's storyline featuring Elizabeth Ashley as one of the publishing house's clients was not used in the series, a cardboard cut out of Ashley that was featured in the pilot appears throughout the first three seasons of the show – it can be seen briefly behind Susan's desk, near the filing cabinets along the back wall.
The actual location for the exterior shots of the office was the Newhall Building at 260 California Street in San Francisco.
Death of David Strickland
David Strickland committed suicide in a Las Vegas hotel room on March 22, 1999. Strickland's death was later incorporated into the show's third season finale, which killed off his character, Todd Stities. Todd has gone missing, and throughout the episode, Susan desperately tries to find him. As the episode progresses, Susan learns about a number of good deeds that Todd had done around his neighborhood that she never knew about. Out-of-character interviews with the supporting cast also appear throughout the episode, with each actor sharing their personal experiences they had with Strickland before his death. As the episode comes to an end, Todd's favorite song, "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim, plays outside in the street as Susan and her co-workers sit in a circle praying for Todd's well-being. At last, the phone in the middle of the room rings, but the camera cuts away before the news of Todd's fate can be revealed. The episode ends with an archive video footage of Strickland and its titles: "The Gods of comedy looked down upon you and smiled".
Fourth season and cancellation
At the beginning of the fourth and final season, Judd Nelson and Andrea Bendewald left the show; series developers and executive producers Steven Peterman and Gary Dontzig also left the series, and the show replaced almost its entire writing staff (with the exception of new co-showrunner Maria Semple, who joined the series the previous season). The Gate was transformed into a men's magazine by its new owner, Ian Maxtone-Graham (Eric Idle), and relocated from its trendy uptown offices overlooking the bay to a dingy former warehouse in Chinatown. In tow, Ian brought his own team of workers, including executive assistant and U.S. Navy veteran Miranda Charles (Sherri Shepherd), sports writer Nate Knaborski (Currie Graham), and freelance photographer Oliver Browne (Rob Estes). Faced with new challenges, Susan suddenly had to prove herself all over again.
Airing between Seinfeld and ER during its first season, Suddenly Susan was initially a ratings success, attracting almost 25 million viewers per episode,[1] despite mostly unfavorable critical reviews. When the show was moved to Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. (against the Top 30 hit Cosby) in the second season, the show experienced a large ratings fall, sliding from #3 to #71 in one year, bringing in less than 11 million viewers. The ratings failed to bounce back, and in its final season, the show barely ranked in the top 100, prompting NBC to pull it from the prime-time lineup with four episodes left unaired in June 2000. This final quartet of shows were burned off from 2:00 to 4:00 am (EST) on December 26, 2000, where they aired during the NBC All Night block.
Ratings history
| Season | TV Season | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale | Time slot (ET) | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996–97 | 22 | September 19, 1996 | May 8, 1997 | Thursday at 9:30 pm (Episodes 1-12) Thursday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 13–22) |
#3[2] | 16.5[2] |
| 2 | 1997–98 | 26 | September 22, 1997 | May 18, 1998 | Monday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–19, 21–23, 25) Monday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 20, 24, 26) |
#65[3] | 7.9[3] |
| 3 | 1998–99 | 23 | September 21, 1998 | May 24, 1999 | Monday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–9, 11–22) Monday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 10, 23) |
#81[4] | 9.5[4] |
| 4 | 1999–2000 | 22[a] | September 20, 1999 | June 27, 2000[b] | Monday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–10, 12) Monday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 11, 13) Tuesday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 14–17) |
#94[5] | 6.6[5] |
^[a] Twenty-three episodes were produced for season four, but episode 18, "The Gay Parade" was never broadcast.[6] ^[b] End of the series' original broadcast run. Last four episodes were aired six months later.[7]
References
- LOWRY, BRIAN (23 May 1997). "A Milestone Year, for a Decidedly Dubious Reason" – via LA Times.
- "TV Ratings: 1996–1997". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- "Final Ratings for '97–'98 TV Season". San Francisco Chronicle. May 25, 1998.
- "Final ratings for the 1998–1999 TV season". The Place. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29.
- "Top TV Shows For 1999–2000 Season". Variety. August 6, 2000. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- "Suddenly Susan Season 4, Episode 18: "The Gay Parade" - Trivia". TV.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- "Suddenly Susan (a Titles and Air Dates Guide)". February 5, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-09.