Savannah (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Savannah is an American
prime time
television drama
that ran from January 21, 1996 to February 24, 1997 on The WB
. It was created by Constance M. Burge
and produced by Aaron Spelling
.
, Georgia
, the series revolves around three female friends: naive rich girl Reese, noble Lane and scheming bad girl Peyton. Lane McKenzie had left Savannah after graduating from college to become a successful journalist in New York City
; she returns for the wedding of her childhood best friend, Reese Burton, who is marrying Travis Peterson. Finding out that her apartment in New York has been burglarized, Lane tries to collect on an inheritance — only to find out that Travis has stolen every last penny of it. Reese finds out that Travis has been having an affair with a girl he calls "Bunny" and is devastated; the other woman is secretly Peyton, daughter of the Burton family maid and Reese's so-called friend — in fact Peyton envies Reese's wealth and is keen to marry for money.
Travis is soon found dead, and the first season revolves around the whodunit
murder mystery and subsequent court case. There is also considerable intrigue surrounding the identity of Peyton's father (who turns out to be Reese's father, Edward, making Peyton and Reese sisters) as well as the machinations of Tom Massick, a stranger in town with a score to settle.
actress Shannon Sturges
, brunette Robyn Lively
played Lane and Peyton was portrayed by auburn-haired Jamie Luner
, who would later appear as a vixen on Spelling's hit 1990s soap opera, Melrose Place. African-American actress Alexia Robinson was added to the cast in its second season as Cassandra 'Cassie' Wheeler, a longtime friend of the three other women. Savannah also starred a pre-CSI
George Eads
; though Eads' character, Travis, dies in the pilot episode, the show's producers recognized Eads' appeal and brought him back as Nick, Travis' identical twin.
The first season was broadcast in the United Kingdom
in the summer of 1996 on ITV
in a prime time slot and became the highest rated new American series of that year. However, the second season was not network broadcast, and was shown in different ITV regions at different times in the late 1990s.
. Initially, exterior scenes were shot in both Savannah
and Atlanta, Georgia. Locations and landmarks featured included the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge, Forsyth Park
, River Street, and Bonaventure Cemetery
.
Towards the end of season two, scenes were no longer filmed at the exterior locations for many of the shows main sets. These were replaced by stock establishing shot footage and scenes were filmed entirely in Atlanta.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
television drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
that ran from January 21, 1996 to February 24, 1997 on The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
. It was created by Constance M. Burge
Constance M. Burge
Constance M. Burge is the creator of the Charmed television series and short-lived Savannah series. Burge was also a writer for Judging Amy, Ally McBeal and Boston Public. She also worked as a producer for several shows. She left her executive producer position on Charmed because of disagreement...
and produced by Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
.
Plot
Set in the southern city of SavannahSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, the series revolves around three female friends: naive rich girl Reese, noble Lane and scheming bad girl Peyton. Lane McKenzie had left Savannah after graduating from college to become a successful journalist in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; she returns for the wedding of her childhood best friend, Reese Burton, who is marrying Travis Peterson. Finding out that her apartment in New York has been burglarized, Lane tries to collect on an inheritance — only to find out that Travis has stolen every last penny of it. Reese finds out that Travis has been having an affair with a girl he calls "Bunny" and is devastated; the other woman is secretly Peyton, daughter of the Burton family maid and Reese's so-called friend — in fact Peyton envies Reese's wealth and is keen to marry for money.
Travis is soon found dead, and the first season revolves around the whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
murder mystery and subsequent court case. There is also considerable intrigue surrounding the identity of Peyton's father (who turns out to be Reese's father, Edward, making Peyton and Reese sisters) as well as the machinations of Tom Massick, a stranger in town with a score to settle.
Behind the scenes
Reese was played by blonde daytime soapDaytime television
Daytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
actress Shannon Sturges
Shannon Sturges
Shannon Sturges is an American daytime and prime-time soap veteran actress. She played Molly Brinker on Days of our Lives, Reese Burton on Savannah, as well as recurring roles on Passions, Once and Again, and Port Charles....
, brunette Robyn Lively
Robyn Lively
Robyn Elaine Lively is an American actress. Lively is best known for her role in the film Teen Witch, as well as for her roles in the TV shows Doogie Howser, M.D., Twin Peaks, and Saving Grace.-Early life:...
played Lane and Peyton was portrayed by auburn-haired Jamie Luner
Jamie Luner
Jamie Michelle Luner is an American television actress, best known for her role as Lexi Sterling on Melrose Place and Rachel Burke on Profiler...
, who would later appear as a vixen on Spelling's hit 1990s soap opera, Melrose Place. African-American actress Alexia Robinson was added to the cast in its second season as Cassandra 'Cassie' Wheeler, a longtime friend of the three other women. Savannah also starred a pre-CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
George Eads
George Eads
George Coleman Eads III is an American actor, best known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.-Early life:...
; though Eads' character, Travis, dies in the pilot episode, the show's producers recognized Eads' appeal and brought him back as Nick, Travis' identical twin.
Principal cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Jamie Luner Jamie Luner Jamie Michelle Luner is an American television actress, best known for her role as Lexi Sterling on Melrose Place and Rachel Burke on Profiler... |
Peyton Richards |
| Robyn Lively Robyn Lively Robyn Elaine Lively is an American actress. Lively is best known for her role in the film Teen Witch, as well as for her roles in the TV shows Doogie Howser, M.D., Twin Peaks, and Saving Grace.-Early life:... |
Lane McKenzie |
| Shannon Sturges Shannon Sturges Shannon Sturges is an American daytime and prime-time soap veteran actress. She played Molly Brinker on Days of our Lives, Reese Burton on Savannah, as well as recurring roles on Passions, Once and Again, and Port Charles.... |
Reese Burton |
| David Gail | Dean Collins |
| Beth Toussaint Beth Toussaint Elizabeth Toussaint is an American actress. She is best known for her television performances.-Biography:Toussaint appeared in the 1984 music video for Bon Jovi's song "She Don't Know Me", Bob Seger's 1986 song "Like a Rock", and in the 1987 music video for SAGA's song "Only Time Will Tell".From... |
Veronica Koslowski |
| Paul Satterfield Paul Satterfield Paul Satterfield, Jr. is an American actor.Satterfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Paul Satterfield a Nashville firefighter who was killed in the line of duty and Singer Songwriter Priscilla Coolidge... |
Tom Massick |
| Ray Wise Ray Wise Raymond Nicolas "Ray" Wise is an American actor, known for his roles as Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, as Leon C. Nash, right-hand henchman to villain Clarence Boddicker in the science fiction classic RoboCop, and recently as the Devil in the CW television series Reaper.-Life and career:Wise was... |
Edward Burton |
| George Eads George Eads George Coleman Eads III is an American actor, best known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.-Early life:... |
Travis Peterson (Season 1) / Nick Corelli (Season 2) |
| Alexia Robinson | Cassie Wheeler (Season 2) |
Additional cast members
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Mimi Kennedy Mimi Kennedy Mimi Kennedy is an American actress, author and activist.-Early life:Kennedy was born Mary Claire Kennedy in Rochester, New York, the daughter of Nancy Helen and Daniel Gerald Kennedy. She got her start in theater with the Rochester Community Players, appearing in Agatha Christie's "Spider Web"... |
Eleanor Alexander Burton |
| Wendy Phillips Wendy Phillips Wendy Phillips is an American actress, noted for playing David Selby's last wife, Lauren Daniels, during the final season of Falcon Crest and for playing Gerald McRaney's wife, Claire Greene, on both Touched by an Angel and Promised Land... |
Lucille Richards |
| Scott Thompson Baker Scott Thompson Baker Scott Thompson Baker is an American television actor, from Golden Valley, Minnesota. Some of his most notable roles are Colton Shore on General Hospital, Craig Lawson on All My Children, and Connor Davis on The Bold and the Beautiful.-Life and career:Baker was born in Golden Valley, Minnesota... |
Brian Alexander |
| Taurean Blacque Taurean Blacque Taurean Blacque is an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Detective Neal Washington on the series Hill Street Blues... |
Det. Michael Wheeler |
| Russell Curry Russell Curry Russell Curry Russell Curry Russell Curry (born August 28, 1956 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA is an actor most notably recognized from his roles in soap operas: Tyus Robinson on Sunset Beach, Lt. Vic Boswell on Santa Barbara, Carter Todd on Another World and more.... |
Det. Sam Lucas |
| David Lee Smith | Vincent Massick |
| Denis Arndt | Martin Corelli |
Broadcast history
Savannahs first season was broadcast between January 21, 1996 and April 7, 1996. The first two episodes were shown together as a two-hour Saturday "sneak preview" of the upcoming series, with the remaining season one episodes shown on Sunday nights (The WB dubbing the evening "Savannah Sunday"). During its second season, Savannah was moved to Monday nights, the 22 second season episodes broadcast between August 26, 1996 and February 24, 1997.The first season was broadcast in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the summer of 1996 on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in a prime time slot and became the highest rated new American series of that year. However, the second season was not network broadcast, and was shown in different ITV regions at different times in the late 1990s.
Locations and filming
The show was filmed entirely on location in the U.S. state of GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Initially, exterior scenes were shot in both Savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
and Atlanta, Georgia. Locations and landmarks featured included the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge, Forsyth Park
Forsyth Park
Forsyth Park is a large city park that occupies in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. The park is bordered by Gaston Street on the North, Drayton Street on the East, Park Avenue on the South and Whitaker Street on the West...
, River Street, and Bonaventure Cemetery
Bonaventure Cemetery
Bonaventure Cemetery is a public cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the 1994 novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, and in the movie, directed by Clint Eastwood, based on...
.
Towards the end of season two, scenes were no longer filmed at the exterior locations for many of the shows main sets. These were replaced by stock establishing shot footage and scenes were filmed entirely in Atlanta.