Scoundrels (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Scoundrels is an American television series that aired on the ABC
network. It is based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune
. The one-hour comedy-drama
premiered on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 9 pm. The eight-episode run ended on August 15, 2010.
, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang. (See also "Honest" starring Amanda Redman - a UK version of the New Zealand series which transmitted on ITV in 2008.) Lyn Greene and Richard Levine wrote the pilot
of Scoundrels for American television, and they serve as the series show runner
s. ABC green-lit the series in January 2010 with an eight episode order.
Madsen was cast in early February, followed by Flueger. Rambin came on board in late February, along with Neal McDonough
, who was originally cast as Wolf West. Filming began March 16, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three days into the shoot, McDonough was replaced by David James Elliot due to McDonough's strict religious beliefs and refusal to film sex scenes.
This is ABC's second attempt at reformatting Outrageous Fortune for an American audience. In 2008, a pilot named Good Behavior wasn't picked up by the network.
, Scoundrels currently holds 56% (mixed or average) based on 18 critic reviews. The show's second episode Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary got overall a better response than the pilot with it earning positive reviews. TV Fanatic gave the episode 3/5 saying "the episode was an improvement on the pilot, with the characters developing and the show overall finding its tone and footing a bit." and "there were decent dramatic moments and good laughs in “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary."
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network. It is based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune
Outrageous Fortune (TV series)
Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
. The one-hour comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
premiered on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 9 pm. The eight-episode run ended on August 15, 2010.
Plot
Cheryl West is a middle-aged woman with four children: twin brothers Logan and Cal, and daughters Heather, an aspiring model and Hope, the youngest and an aspiring filmmaker. After Cheryl's career criminal husband Wolf is sentenced to five years in prison, Cheryl forces her family to quit its criminal activities. However, even from jail, Wolf interferes with her attempts to reform their family.Cast
- Virginia MadsenVirginia MadsenVirginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
as Cheryl West - David James ElliottDavid James ElliottDavid James Elliott is a Canadian-born actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. In the Fall of 2010, Elliott was cast on CSI: NY.-Biography:...
as Wolfgang "Wolf" West - Patrick FluegerPatrick FluegerPatrick John Flueger is an American actor, known for his lead role in the television series The 4400.-Life and career:...
as Logan and Calvin "Cal" West (twins) - Leven RambinLeven RambinLeven Alice Rambin is an American actress. She is best known for playing look-alike half-sisters Lily Montgomery and Ava Benton on All My Children and her recurring roles in; Grey's Anatomy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, One Tree Hill and CSI: Miami.-Biography:Rambin was born in...
as Heather West - Vanessa MaranoVanessa MaranoVanessa Nicole Marano is an American actress. She has appeared on the TV series Without a Trace, Gilmore Girls, Scoundrels and The Young and the Restless, among others. She is currently a main character on Switched at Birth, where she stars as Bay Kennish.-Personal life:Vanessa Marano was born...
as Hope West - Carlos BernardCarlos BernardCarlos Bernard is an American actor, best known for his role as Tony Almeida in 24.-Biography:Bernard received a Master of Fine Arts degree from American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco after attending Illinois State University.He performed in A.C.T...
as Sergeant Mack
Development and production
The series is based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous FortuneOutrageous Fortune (TV series)
Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang. (See also "Honest" starring Amanda Redman - a UK version of the New Zealand series which transmitted on ITV in 2008.) Lyn Greene and Richard Levine wrote the pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of Scoundrels for American television, and they serve as the series show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s. ABC green-lit the series in January 2010 with an eight episode order.
Madsen was cast in early February, followed by Flueger. Rambin came on board in late February, along with Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
, who was originally cast as Wolf West. Filming began March 16, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three days into the shoot, McDonough was replaced by David James Elliot due to McDonough's strict religious beliefs and refusal to film sex scenes.
This is ABC's second attempt at reformatting Outrageous Fortune for an American audience. In 2008, a pilot named Good Behavior wasn't picked up by the network.
Critical reception
The series pilot "And Jill Came Tumbling After" received mixed reviews with The Boston Herald claiming the show was "wicked fun" and praised the show's cast. A reviewer from The Boston Globe was quoted to say "Not a single one of the characters were funny enough, or touching enough, to make me want to see more of them. If the Wests were thrown in jail, I’d be tempted to throw away the key." On the review collaboration site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, Scoundrels currently holds 56% (mixed or average) based on 18 critic reviews. The show's second episode Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary got overall a better response than the pilot with it earning positive reviews. TV Fanatic gave the episode 3/5 saying "the episode was an improvement on the pilot, with the characters developing and the show overall finding its tone and footing a bit." and "there were decent dramatic moments and good laughs in “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary."
Cancellation
On October 24, 2010 it was revealed on ABC's Twitter page that Scoundrels would not be returning for another season.Episodes
| Series # |
Season # |
Title | Directed by | Written by | U.S. viewers (in millions) |
Original air date |
|---|
Weekly ratings
| Episode Number | Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share Nielsen Ratings Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States... (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) |
Rank (Timeslot) |
Rank (Night) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "And Jill Came Tumbling After" | 3.5 | 6 | 1.3/4 | 5.17 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" | 3.3 | 4 | 1.1/3 | 3.63 | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" | 2.0 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 3.00 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | "Where Have You Been, Charming Billy?" | 2.1 | 4 | 0.7/2 | 3.16 | 4 | 14 |
| 5 | "Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir, Three Bags Full" | 2.1 | 3 | 0.6/2 | 3.10 | 4 | 14 |
| 6 | "Birds of a Feather Flock Together" | 2.0 | 3 | 0.7/2 | 3.22 | 4 | 13 |
| 7 | "That's the Way the Money Goes" | 2.1 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 3.33 | 4 | 14 |
| 8 | "Who's Afraid Of the Big Bad Wolf?" | 1.8 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 2.84 | 4 | 14 |
Seasonal ratings
| Season | Episodes | Original airing | Viewers (in millions) |
Network | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | TV Season | ||||
| 1 | 8 | 2009–2010 2009–2010 United States network television schedule The following is the 2009–2010 network television schedule for the five major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2009 through May 2010. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new... |
3.43 | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... |
||
Canadian Ratings
| Episode Number | Episode | Viewers (millions) |
Rank (Week) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "And Jill Came Tumbling After" | 1.041 | #17 |
| 2 | "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" | 1.260 | #15 |
| 3 | "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" | 0.936 | #28 |
| 4 | "Where Have You Been, Charming Billy?" | 0.925 | #28 |