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Deadline

Deadline NBC

Format Drama
Picture Format
Running Time 60 minutes
Created by Dick Wolf
Starring Oliver Platt
Bebe Neuwirth
Tom Conti
Lili Taylor
Hope Davis
Damon Gupton
Christina Chang
Narrated By
Opening Theme
Country of origin United States
Language English
Original channel NBC
Original run October 2, 2000
Finale April 7, 2001
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13 (8 unaired)
List of episodes
IMDB profile
TV.com summary
related shows Law & Order franchise

Deadline is a television series created by Dick Wolf that was shown on NBC from October 2, 2000 to April 7, 2001 in the 2000-2001 season. It starred Oliver Platt as Wallace Benton, who worked for the New York Ledger. This was a daily newspaper which was seen in many episodes of Law & Order.

Cast and Characters

Production

Platt had been approached numerous times to do a television show but it was Wolf's reputation and the chance to do it in his hometown so that he could be close to his family that persuaded him.[1] Wallace Benton was modeled on veteran New York journalist Jimmy Breslin, Mike McAlary, and other New York tabloid columnists.[2] To research for the role, Platt spent time with crime reporters Phil Messing of the New York Post, Lenny Levitt of Newsday, and Juan Gonzalez and Jim Dwyer of the New York Daily News.[2] The actor went out on stories with them, watched them interview and listened to them work the phones. During lunches, he remembers that he "got them to tell me their trade secrets."[2]

The New York Ledger's offices were constructed at the old New York Post building on South Street in New York City. The show based their look of the their offices on old black and white photographs of the newspaper.[2] The Post allowed the show to shoot the pilot episode in its old offices and then agreed to a short-term lease through November 2000.[2] Shooting started in mid-July 2000 and the first episode debuted on October 2, 2000. Deadline was scheduled to run Mondays at 9 pm opposite ABC's Monday Night Football and Fox's Ally McBeal.

Episodes

  1. Pilot (Originally Aired 10/2/2000)
  2. Lovers And Madmen (Originally Aired 10/9/2000)
  3. Perception (Originally Aired 10/16/2000)
  4. Daniel In The Lion's Den (Originally Aired 10/23/2000)
  5. Howl (Originally Aired 10/30/2000)
  6. The Old Ball Game (Originally Aired 3/17/2001)
  7. Don't I Know You? (Originally Aired 3/17/2001)
  8. The Undesirables (Originally Aired 3/24/2001)
  9. Somebody's Fool (Originally Aired 3/24/2001)
  10. The First Commandment (Originally Aired 3/31/2001)
  11. Just Lie Back (Originally Aired 3/31/2001)
  12. Shock (Originally Aired 4/7/2001)
  13. Red Herring (Originally Aired 4/7/2001)

Reception

Variety magazine praised Platt's work on the show in their review: "Platt, best-known for his work on the big screen, is a colorful choice for Benton, and, judging from the first episode, he can carry the bulk of the action."[3] USA Today criticized the show's authenticity in their review: "The only thing accurate about Deadline is the sense of urgency implied by the title. Someone had better fix this show fast, before it becomes yesterday's news."[4] The Boston Globe found fault with some of the characters on the show: "Benton's merry band of journalism students are silly, and the show should replace them with an expanded cast of Ledger co-workers."[5]

The Pilot episode was seen by 14.3 million viewers but its rating declined steadily afterwards with 6.8 million viewers watching the last episode. NBC cancelled the show after five episodes.[6]

References

  1. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gg
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named liebeskind
  3. Fries, Laura. "Deadline", Variety, October 2-8, 2000. 
  4. Bianco, Robert. "Deadline", USA Today, October 2, 2000. 
  5. Gilbert, Matthew. "Deadline Misses, and That's a Crime", Boston Globe, October 2, 2000. 
  6. Andreeva, Nellie. "NBC Reports Deadlines Demise", Hollywood Reporter, November 1, 2000. 

External links

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