Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)
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| Brothers & Sisters | |
|---|---|
| Image:Brothers & Sisters title card.jpg | |
| Format | Family Drama - Dramedy |
| Created by | Jon Robin Baitz |
| Starring | Dave Annable Sally Field Calista Flockhart Balthazar Getty Rachel Griffiths Matthew Rhys Ron Rifkin Patricia Wettig Emily VanCamp Kerris Lilla Dorsey Sarah Jane Morris John Pyper-Ferguson Rob Lowe |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 32 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jon Robin Baitz, Greg Berlanti, Ken Olin, Mark Perry (s2) |
| Running time | 41 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC
|
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV) |
| Original run | September 24, 2006 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Brothers & Sisters is an Emmy Award-winning American dramatic television series which centers around the upper class Walker family and their lives in Los Angeles, California.
It premiered on ABC on September 24, 2006 after Desperate Housewives and airs Sundays at 10 P.M. The acting ensemble includes two-time Oscar-winning actress Sally Field, Golden Globe-winning actress Calista Flockhart, and Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actress Rachel Griffiths. Sally Field won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in the series. Rachel Griffiths was also nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
[edit] Premise
The show is centered around the Walker family, an American family of Irish and Jewish heritages. Some of the family members are involved in the family-owned business running Ojai Food Co., a produce distributor. Most of the action is set in the Greater Los Angeles area. The family home is located in Pasadena, California. The main branches of the Walker family tree included father William (who is deceased) (guest star Tom Skerritt), mother Nora (Sally Field), and their five children. Nora's brother, Saul Holden (Ron Rifkin) helps run the Walker family business.
The Walker siblings are, in birth order:
- Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), a working mom and head of the Ojai Food Co.
- Kitty (Calista Flockhart), one of the only Republicans in the family (like her father), works as communications director for Senator Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe) of the same party
- Tommy (Balthazar Getty), also a Republican and a businessman in the Ojai Food Co.
- Kevin (Matthew Rhys), a gay lawyer
- Justin (Dave Annable), a veteran of the Afghanistan war and recovering drug addict
- Rebecca, (Emily VanCamp), the half-sister of the Walker siblings, who is William's child with his mistress Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig)
[edit] Plot points
The show's narrative launched with the death of William Walker at Kitty's birthday party. His death causes a number of secrets from his life to be revealed - secrets that impact the remainder of his family.
On the business side, Sarah and Tommy, who are the most involved of the siblings with the family business, learn that William inappropriately borrowed from company funds. The business revelation pales, however, to two major revelations on the personal front: William had a mistress, actress Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig) that he kept for decades, and the couple had a child, Rebecca (Emily VanCamp).
Aside from the siblings' spouses, several love interests for the characters have been featured, such as the addition of former West Wing actor Rob Lowe as Robert McCallister, a Senator from California who is running for President.
[edit] Production notes
The series is from producer Ken Olin (thirtysomething and Alias) and Jon Robin Baitz, one of Broadway's most prominent playwrights (The Substance of Fire). Noted producer Greg Berlanti was also an executive producer and "show-runner" during season one. Berlanti continues to serve on the series as consulting producer however Mark B. Perry, (The Wonder Years and One Tree Hill) is the current showrunner.
According to an interview conducted with TV Guide, Jon Robin Baitz has left the show. It was reported that he was unhappy with the networks increasing focus on the 20 something characters. He was quoted as saying that this network interference contributed to the problem of ageism in Hollywood.
After the series pilot was shot, and the show was picked up by ABC, the series underwent some moderate changes. Most notably, three of the roles were recast:
- The Walker family had originally been the March family, and the original matriarch of the show was Iva March, who'd been cast with veteran theater actress Betty Buckley. The role was ultimately renamed Nora and cast with Sally Field.
- The character of Kevin had originally been named Bryan, and had been cast with actor Jonathan LaPaglia. Like the current Kevin character, the Bryan version of the character was also gay, but had been married, and was going through a divorce. The Bryan incarnation of the character also had a child, and he and his ex-wife were going through a custody battle.
- The character of Jonathan, the man with whom Kitty was involved as the show began, had originally been cast with writer and actor Dan Futterman. They had previously acted along side each other as lovers in the film The Birdcage. The role was ultimately recast with actor Matthew Settle.
As a result of the changes, the show received some negative press, with some critics associating the retooling efforts with creative trouble. This press attention intensified when Marti Noxon, one of the producers working with Olin and Baitz, was let go. [1]
The show has subsequently received some positive press attention for the depiction of the character of Kevin Walker, and the realistic portrayal of a single gay man on television. The Kevin character has had several love interests, and has kissed his boyfriends on-screen.
- Cooper's role was recast after the pilot episode.
- Robert McCallister was the name of a character on a previous Greg Berlanti production, Jack & Bobby, about a boy who grew up to be the President of the United States. As with Brothers & Sisters, he had a wife named Courtney and a son named Jack.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Current main cast members
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sally Field | Nora Walker |
| Calista Flockhart | Katherine "Kitty" Walker McCallister |
| Dave Annable | Justin Walker |
| Rachel Griffiths | Sarah Walker |
| Matthew Rhys | Kevin Walker |
| Balthazar Getty | Tommy Walker |
| Emily VanCamp | Rebecca Harper (Joined the cast in season one) |
| Sarah Jane Morris | Julia Walker |
| Rob Lowe | Robert McCallister (Season Two, recurring previously) |
| Ron Rifkin | Saul Holden |
| Patricia Wettig | Holly Harper |
| Kerris Lilla Dorsey | Paige Whedon (Season Two, recurring previously) |
| Maxwell Perry Cotton | Cooper Whedon (Season Two, recurring previously) |
[edit] Former main cast members
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Pyper-Ferguson | Joseph "Joe" Whedon (Season One, recurring afterward) |
[edit] Recurring cast members
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Josh Hopkins | Warren Salter (Season 1) |
| Tyler Posey | Gabriel Whedon (Season 1) |
| Keri Lynn Pratt | Amber Trachtenberg (Season 1) |
| Eric Winter | Jason McCallister (Season 1, 2) |
| Peter Coyote | Mark August (Season 1) |
| Marika Dominczyk | Tyler Altamirano (Season 1, ?) |
| Jason Lewis | Chad Barry (Season 1) |
| Luke MacFarlane | Scotty Wandell (Season 1, 2) |
| Tom Skerritt | William Walker (Season 1, ?) |
| Margot Kidder | Emily Craft (Season 1) |
[edit] Episodes
[edit] DVD releases
Brothers & Sisters - The Complete First Season was released in the United States on September 18, 2007. Special features include an unaired episode, three behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentaries, outtakes and deleted scenes. The DVD was released in Norway on December 5, 2007 and is scheduled for release in Germany on March 6, 2008. It will also be released in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2008.
[edit] Ratings
[edit] USA TV Ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Brothers & Sisters on ABC:
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday 10:00 p.m. | September 24, 2006 | May 20, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #37 | 11.0[1] |
Season two has seen an increase in viewership with an average of over 12million viewers per episode, meaning the show is currently ranked within the top 20.[2]
[edit] UK TV Ratings
In the UK, the show fared well at the start for Channel 4 and started on the same viewing figures that Desperate Housewives's third season was for the channel, with around 2.4 million[2]. The show aired in the timeslot previously occupied by Desperate Housewives and was promoted heavily on magazine covers. The series debuted on Channel 4 on June 20 2007 at 20:30 with an audience of 2.221m, the second episode was screened the same evening at 22:00 with an audience of 1.443m[3] The series then settled down to a regular audience of around 600,000, quite low for a primetime show, and Channel4 started airing the remainder of the series in double bills from September 2007.[4]
[edit] NZ TV Ratings
The first series debuted in New Zealand on TVNZ's TV2 and received particularly low viewers. This led to TVNZ advertising and promoting the show rather extensively. After the fourth episode, the show gained an average of around 490,000 viewers. The increase in popularity was shown with Brothers and Sisters being TVNZ's first international show to be broadcast free from the tvnz.co.nz/ondemand website, where viewers can stream or download past episodes at any time for free.
[edit] Awards
Australian Film Institute
- 2007
- Nominated - Best international Actress (Rachel Griffiths)
Casting Society of America
- 2007
- Nominated - Best Dramatic Episodic Casting (Gillian O'Neill & Jeanie Bacharach)
BANFF World Television Award
- 2007
- Nominated - Continuing Series (Mistakes Were Made Pat 2)
Emmy Awards
- 2007
- Won - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sally Field)
- Nominated - Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (Jeanie Bacharach & Gillian O'Neill (casting directors))
- Nominated - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Rachel Griffiths)
GLAAD Media Awards
- 2007
- Won - Outstanding Drama Series
Golden Globe
- 2008
- Nominated - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Drama (Sally Field)
- Nominated - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Rachel Griffiths)
People's Choice Awards
- 2007
- Nominated - Favorite New TV Drama
SAG award
- 2008
- Nominated - Best Actress in a Drama Series (Sally Field)
Satellite Awards
- 2007
- Nominated - Best Actress in a Series, Drama (Sally Field)
- Nominated - Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Rachel Griffiths)
- Nominated - Best Television Series, Drama
Young Artist Awards
- 2007
- Nominated - Best Family Television Series (Drama)
[edit] References
- ^ "Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap", May 25 2007.
- ^ http://www.barb.co.uk/viewingsummary/weekreports.cfm?report=weeklyterrestrial&RequestTimeout=500
- ^ http://www.channel4sales.com/audience_data/overnights?thedate=2007-06-20.
- ^ http://www.channel4sales.com/audience_data/overnights?thedate=2007-08-29.
[edit] External links
- Brothers & Sisters - TV
- Brothers & Sisters at abc.com
- Brothers & Sisters at the Internet Movie Database
- Brothers & Sisters at TV.com
| Brothers & Sisters |
|---|
| Characters: Nora Walker | Kitty Walker | Justin Walker | Sarah Whedon | Kevin Walker | Tommy Walker | Rebecca Harper | Julia Walker | Robert McCallister | Saul Holden | Holly Harper | Joe Whedon |
| Episodes | Official Website] | Quotes |
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