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Inside Schwartz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Inside Schwartz
GenreSitcom
Created byStephen Engel
Starring
ComposerBen Vaughn
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (4 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerStephen Engel
ProducerJohn Ziffren
Production locations20th Century Fox Studios
10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California
CinematographyPeter Smokler
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 27, 2001 (2001-09-27) –
January 3, 2002 (2002-01-03)

Inside Schwartz is an American sitcom television series created by Stephen Engel, that aired on NBC from September 27, 2001, until January 3, 2002, starring Breckin Meyer as the title character. The show was produced by 20th Television and NBC Studios and first aired on NBC on Thursday Night at 8:30 EST.

Plot

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After losing a long-time girlfriend, minor-league sportscaster Adam Schwartz's (Meyer) dating life is illustrated by sports highlights (as presented by Fox Sports Net) in which various pro sports personalities appear. For instance, when Adam's date reveals that she has three children a referee appears and makes the call "Too many players on the field".

Cast

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Recurring

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Pamela FrymanStephen EngelSeptember 27, 2001 (2001-09-27)1AFP7922.52[1]
2"Let's Go to the Videotape"Pamela FrymanStephen EngelOctober 4, 2001 (2001-10-04)1AFP0120.59[2]
3"The Pinch Hitter"Gil JungerGail LernerOctober 18, 2001 (2001-10-18)1AFP0515.09[3]
4"Event Night"Michael LembeckGail Lerner & Bill KunstlerOctober 25, 2001 (2001-10-25)1AFP0716.56[4]
5"Comic Relief Pitcher"Gail MancusoStory by : Stephen Leff & Jim Patterson
Teleplay by : Bill Kunstler
November 29, 2001 (2001-11-29)1AFP0914.26[5]
6"Roommates"Gail MancusoStory by : Michael Gannon & Jon Hotchkiss
Teleplay by : Jack Burditt
December 6, 2001 (2001-12-06)1AFP1115.22[6]
7"Play-Action Fake Boyfriend"Gail MancusoStory by : Debora Cahn
Teleplay by : Gail Lerner
December 20, 2001 (2001-12-20)1AFP1010.57[7]
8"Eve's Date with Schwartz's Destiny"Gil JungerJeff Lowell & Marc SedakaDecember 27, 2001 (2001-12-27)1AFP1210.69[8]
9"Kissing Cousin"Gil JungerStephen Leff & Jim PattersonJanuary 3, 2002 (2002-01-03)1AFP0810.51[9]
10"It's All in the Footwork"Gil JungerJim PattersonUnaired (Unaired)1AFP02N/A
11"Service, Schwartz?"Gail MancusoStephen LeffUnaired (Unaired)1AFP03N/A
12"Bless Me Father, for I Have Fired You"Gil JungerStephen EngelUnaired (Unaired)1AFP04N/A
13"He Ain't Funny, He's My Brother"Gail MancusoStephen EngelUnaired (Unaired)1AFP06N/A

Cancellation

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The series followed Friends, which was in its 8th and highest-rated season. Inside Schwartz debuted with 22.5 million viewers. Of the 9 episodes to air, 5 followed new episodes of Friends. But despite having an average household rating of 9.8 and being ranked 16th among all programs in the ratings, Inside Schwartz was cancelled as network executives believed that the valuable time slot could get higher ratings.[10]

The time slot was filled with a new series, Leap of Faith, which aired for six episodes, and finally NBC simply aired repeat episodes of Friends which had higher ratings than either Inside Schwartz or Leap of Faith.

Legacy

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Prominent television writer and producer Dan Harmon cited the premiere of Inside Schwartz as a watershed moment in the history of television and the end of an era for traditional network programming.[11]

In September of 2001 everything really changed, and the way we perceive television changed, because of a tragedy called the premiere of NBC's Inside Schwartz. It was at that point that we realized television was broken and could never be fixed.

— Dan Harmon, XOXO Festival Keynote (2012)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Top 20 Network Primetime Report". Zap2it. Archived from the original on October 6, 2001. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  2. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 1-7)". The Los Angeles Times. October 10, 2001. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  3. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 15-21)". The Los Angeles Times. October 24, 2001. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  4. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 22-28)". The Los Angeles Times. October 31, 2001. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  5. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 26-Dec. 2)". The Los Angeles Times. December 5, 2001. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  6. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 3-9)". The Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2001. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  7. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 17-23)". The Los Angeles Times. December 28, 2001.
  8. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 24-30)". The Los Angeles Times. January 4, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  9. ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 30-Jan. 6)". The Los Angeles Times. January 9, 2002. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  10. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present.
  11. ^ Harmon, Dan (September 2012). XOXO Keynote (Speech). XOXO Festival. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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