Savannah is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prime timePrime time or primetime is the block of programming on television during the middle of the evening.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period, for example, from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm...
television
dramaDramatic programming is television content that is scripted and fictional. This excludes, for example, sports, news, reality and game shows, stand-up comedy and variety shows...
that ran from January 21, 1996 to February 24, 1997 on
The WBThe WB Television Network, or simply The WB, was a television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture of Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. As a replacement, on January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
. It was created by
Constance M. BurgeConstance 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 SpellingAaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's company holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits.-Early life:...
.
Plot
Set in the southern city of
SavannahSavannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, USA. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
, the series revolves around three female friends: 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 CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
; 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 robbed, 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
whodunitA 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 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 pages of the...
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 is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
actress
Shannon SturgesShannon Sturges is an American daytime and prime-time soap veteran actress.Shannon was born in Hollywood, California and is the granddaughter of Preston Sturges. She is married to motion graphic designer Michael Kelly and they have two sons, named Jack Enzo Kelley, born September 6, 2001 and...
, brunette
Robyn LivelyRobyn Elaine Lively is an American actress. Lively is best remembered for her role in the film Teen Witch, as well as for her roles in the TV shows Doogie Howser, M.D. and Twin Peaks....
played Lane and Peyton was portrayed by auburn-haired
Jamie LunerJamie 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-
CSICSI: 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 EadsGeorge Coleman Eads III is an American actor, best known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.-Personal 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 is an American television actress, best known for her role as Lexi Sterling on Melrose Place and Rachel Burke on Profiler....
|
Peyton Richards |
Robyn LivelyRobyn Elaine Lively is an American actress. Lively is best remembered for her role in the film Teen Witch, as well as for her roles in the TV shows Doogie Howser, M.D. and Twin Peaks....
|
Lane McKenzie |
Shannon SturgesShannon Sturges is an American daytime and prime-time soap veteran actress.Shannon was born in Hollywood, California and is the granddaughter of Preston Sturges. She is married to motion graphic designer Michael Kelly and they have two sons, named Jack Enzo Kelley, born September 6, 2001 and...
|
Reese Burton |
| David Gail |
Dean Collins |
| Beth Toussaint Beth Toussaint is an American actress, best known for her television performances....
|
Veronica Koslowski |
| 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 WiseRay Wise is an American actor, known for his roles as Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, as Leon Nash, right-hand henchmen to villain Clarence Boddicker in the sci-fi classic RoboCop, and most recently as the Devil in the CW television series Reaper.-Biography:Wise was born in Akron, Ohio and attended...
|
Edward Burton |
| 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.-Personal life:...
|
Travis Peterson (Season 1) / Nick Corelli (Season 2) |
| Alexia Robinson |
Cassie Wheeler (Season 2) |
Additional cast members
| Actor |
Character |
Mimi KennedyMimi Kennedy is an American actress and film director.-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" in...
|
Eleanor Alexander Burton |
| 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 is an award-winning 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,...
|
Brian Alexander |
| Taurean Blacque Taurean Blacque is an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Det. Neal Washington on the series Hill Street Blues...
|
Det. Michael Wheeler |
| 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 KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
in the summer of 1996 on
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television 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 is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
. Initially, exterior scenes were shot in both
SavannahSavannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-Software:* GNU Savannah, an aggregation of software development projects affiliated with the GNU project-Places in the USA:...
and Atlanta, Georgia. Locations and landmarks featured included the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge,
Forsyth ParkForsyth Park is a large city park that occupies in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. The park lies between Drayton and Whitaker Streets and contains walking paths, a children's play area, the Fragrant Garden for the Blind, and a large fountain...
, River Street, and
Bonaventure CemeteryBonaventure 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.