Austin Stories
Encyclopedia
Austin Stories is MTV
's first ever prime time
situation comedy
, which debuted September 10, 1997, and aired Wednesday nights at 10:30 pm. The show aired twelve episodes filmed on location in Austin
, Texas
.
An MTV search brought executives James Jones and Lisa Berger to Austin in 1994. Jones had previous produced The Ben Stiller Show
and Berger was vice-president and director of development at the network. MTV scouts were drawn to the city's emerging comedy scene and noticed Laura House, Howard Kremer and Brad "Chip" Pope. They were all discovered at a showcase for MTV at the Laff Stop for professional comics. All three had to pull strings to get on the showcase as none of them had been paid for their comedy. House was a junior high journalism teacher when she was cast on the show. Both she and Brad "Chip" Pope were University of Texas graduates. Originally, the show was only guaranteed 13 episodes on the channel. In March 1997, MTV flew House, Kremer and Pope to Los Angeles
to write two scripts in three days. Austin Stories was green-lighted on March 20, 1997 and they often spent 16-hour days working on the show with taping wrapping in November.
Their contract expired on May 8, 1998 and MTV extended it for three more weeks before permanently canceling the show on June 1, 1998.
gave the show three-and-a-half stars out of four and called it, "one of the season's coolest, funniest and most genuinely offbeat treats." In her review for The New York Times
, Caryn James wrote, "With its meandering style, and its sense of wry comic absurdities rather than yuck-it-up one-liners, the series owes almost everything to Richard Linklater
's Slacker
(including their shared Austin setting). What it hasn't got from that film it owes to Jim Jarmusch
's work, especially Stranger Than Paradise
. But instead of seeming derivative, Austin Stories comes across as a first-rate sequel, proof that this laid-back sensibility can thrive on television as well as in films.
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's first ever prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, which debuted September 10, 1997, and aired Wednesday nights at 10:30 pm. The show aired twelve episodes filmed on location in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
An MTV search brought executives James Jones and Lisa Berger to Austin in 1994. Jones had previous produced The Ben Stiller Show
The Ben Stiller Show
The Ben Stiller Show was the name of two sketch comedy television shows that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 1992 to January 1993. The Fox show starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Character actor John F. O'Donohue also appeared in every...
and Berger was vice-president and director of development at the network. MTV scouts were drawn to the city's emerging comedy scene and noticed Laura House, Howard Kremer and Brad "Chip" Pope. They were all discovered at a showcase for MTV at the Laff Stop for professional comics. All three had to pull strings to get on the showcase as none of them had been paid for their comedy. House was a junior high journalism teacher when she was cast on the show. Both she and Brad "Chip" Pope were University of Texas graduates. Originally, the show was only guaranteed 13 episodes on the channel. In March 1997, MTV flew House, Kremer and Pope to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to write two scripts in three days. Austin Stories was green-lighted on March 20, 1997 and they often spent 16-hour days working on the show with taping wrapping in November.
Their contract expired on May 8, 1998 and MTV extended it for three more weeks before permanently canceling the show on June 1, 1998.
Episodes
- 1-01 10/Sep/97 "Rambling Prague Vest"
- 1-02 17/Sep/97 "I Want Candy"
- 1-03 24/Sep/97 "Suspicion"
- 1-04 01/Oct/97 "Stalker of a Sales Band"
- 1-05 08/Oct/97 "Cults"
- 1-06 15/Oct/97 "Party"
- 1-07 22/Oct/97 "Roots"
- 1-08 05/Nov/97 "Road Trip"
- 1-09 12/Nov/97 "Chicks With Discs"
- 1-10 19/Nov/97 "Austin Sex Stories"
- 1-11 26/Nov/97 "The Story of Cereal"
- 1-12 07/Jan/98 "My Brother's Creeper"
Response
USA TodayUSA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave the show three-and-a-half stars out of four and called it, "one of the season's coolest, funniest and most genuinely offbeat treats." In her review for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Caryn James wrote, "With its meandering style, and its sense of wry comic absurdities rather than yuck-it-up one-liners, the series owes almost everything to Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's Slacker
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
(including their shared Austin setting). What it hasn't got from that film it owes to Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
's work, especially Stranger Than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
. But instead of seeming derivative, Austin Stories comes across as a first-rate sequel, proof that this laid-back sensibility can thrive on television as well as in films.