Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the
ABCThe 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. Created by
Gary David GoldbergGary David Goldberg is a United States writer and producer for television and film. Goldberg is best known for his work on Family Ties , Spin City , and his semi-autobiographical series Brooklyn Bridge .-Background:Gary David Goldberg was born on June 25, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of...
and
Bill LawrenceWilliam Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
as Mike Flaherty, the Deputy Mayor of New York. The show was cancelled in 2002 due to low ratings from the 2001–2002 season and a change in target demographics.
In 2000,
Paramount Domestic TelevisionParamount Domestic Television was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the TV arm of Paramount Pictures...
(which produced Michael J. Fox's earlier sitcom,
Family TiesFamily Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
) began syndicating the series to local stations (Paramount parent
ViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
would later buy the show's producer
DreamWorksDreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
). It and successor companies owned distribution rights until 2009, when DreamWorks became independent again. The syndication rights are held by ABC's syndication arm, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures began distributing DreamWorks live-action films in 2009.
Premise
The series focuses on the Mayor of New York City, Randall Winston (
Barry BostwickBarry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
), and his staff as they run the city—although the main person in charge is
Deputy MayorDeputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
Mike Flaherty (
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
). Mike is excellent at his job, dealing with
spinIn public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure...
and lies, but not so good with his personal life, which he often neglects. Other members of staff at City Hall include press secretary Paul Lassiter (
Richard KindRichard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...
), the office cheapskate, suck-up, and noted coward, who has a habit of being a loudmouth and is often kept in the dark about things; chief of staff Stuart Bondek (
Alan RuckAlan Ruck is an American film, stage and television actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Stuart Bondek on Spin City.-Early life:...
), who loves the ladies and is often very sexist; and head of minority affairs Carter Heywood (
Michael BoatmanMichael Patrick Boatman is an Image Award-nominated American actor and writer. He is best known for his roles as U.S. Army Specialist Samuel Beckett in the ABC drama series China Beach, as New York City mayoral aide Carter Heywood in the ABC sitcom Spin City, and as sports agent Stanley Babson in...
), a gay black man with a suicidal dog named
RagsThe Griffon Bruxellois or Brussels Griffon is a breed of toy dog, named for their city of origin: Brussels, Belgium. The Griffon Bruxellois may refer to three different breeds, the Griffon Bruxellois, the Griffon Belge and the Petit Brabançon...
. Carter Heywood was seen as a revelation in modern television. As one writer noted: "Far too often whenever a character is gay on television its always a white person. In North America gayness equals whiteness and gay black men are displaced due to race, gender, and sexual orientation. Finally, the writers and producers of Spin City got it right. Carter was a well adjusted young black man he wasn’t on the down low, he also wasn’t confused or conflicted about his homosexuality." Despite their overwhelming personal differences, Stuart and Carter actually become roommates and best friends. Also on the staff are speech writer James Hobert (
Alexander ChaplinAlexander Chaplin is an American actor. Chaplin's most prominent role was that of speechwriter James Hobert on the sitcom Spin City...
), who is easily led and quite naive; Mike's secretary Janelle Cooper (
Victoria DillardVictoria Dillard is an American actress. She is best known for her co-starring role as Janelle Cooper in the ABC sitcom Spin City.-Life and career:...
); and accountant Nikki Faber (
Connie BrittonConnie Britton is an American actress. She is best known for the roles of Nikki Faber on Spin City and on Friday Night Lights as Tami Taylor. Her most notable films are Friday Night Lights and A Nightmare on Elm Street...
). Janelle later becomes the mayor's secretary and Stacy Paterno (
Jennifer EspositoJennifer Esposito is an American actress, dancer and model, known for her appearances in films such as I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer of Sam and Crash and in television series such as Spin City, The Looney Tunes Show and Samantha Who?.-Early life:Esposito, an Italian-American, was...
) joins the show as Mike's secretary and Paul's arch-enemy. Together this group helps run City Hall, improve the Mayor's image, and cover for his frequent gaffes—while sorting out their personal lives.
At the start of the series, Mike is dating reporter Ashley Schaffer (
Carla GuginoCarla Gugino is an American actress known for her roles of Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, Dr. Vera Gorski in Sucker Punch, Lucille in Sin City, Amanda Daniels in seasons 3, 5 and 7 of Entourage, Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids film trilogy, and as the lead characters of the television series Karen Sisco...
). In early promos for the series, this relationship is shown to be the main premise of the show. After just a few episodes into the series, Gugino decided to leave.
The nature of Carter and Stuart's relationship became a running gag during the series. The two ended up becoming so close that their friendship was mocked by others, and their arguments sounded so much like husband and wife that a whole episode was dedicated to the notion that the two argued like a married couple. The two ended up meeting an older duo of best friends (one black and one white) that were virtual twins of Carter and Stuart in terms of personality; when it was discovered that the two older versions had become a couple, it ended up scaring Stuart quite a bit. For his part, Stuart tends to be very possessive of his time with Carter, going so far as to be genuinely jealous when Carter spends more and more time with new campaign manager Caitlin (
Heather LocklearHeather Deen Locklear is an American actress best known for her television roles as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty, Officer Stacy Sheridan on T.J...
)
[see below]. In spite of all the jokes and innuendo, they prove to be best friends willing to do anything for both their friends and each other. This two was considered an important moment in television history: "I love the fact that the writers of Spin City explored the fact that gay men and heterosexual men can be friends. The straight man doesn’t have to worry that the gay man might hit on him."
During the fourth season, Stacy was replaced by James. Her absence was never explained, nor was she mentioned again after James took over her duties.
The later years
In 1998, Michael J. Fox announced that he had
Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. As a result, a new character, Caitlin Moore (
Heather LocklearHeather Deen Locklear is an American actress best known for her television roles as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty, Officer Stacy Sheridan on T.J...
) was introduced at the start of the 1999–2000 season to help share Mike's workload. Caitlin was Mayor Winston's campaign manager as he decided to run for Senator, and there was much friction between Mike and Caitlin about who was in charge of the Mayor. Their relationship was more complex than a simple rivalry and there were hints that it would become more than platonic.
In 2000, as his symptoms worsened, Fox announced that he was leaving the show at the end of the season to spend more time with his family and to raise money for awareness of and research into Parkinson's. His character left City Hall at the end of the show's 4th season, taking the blame for an alleged Mafia link that the Mayor unknowingly had. He later moved to Washington, D.C. as an environmental lobbyist, there meeting a senator named Alex P. Keaton (the name of the
character Fox playedAlex P. Keaton is a fictional character on the American television sitcom, Family Ties, which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. Family Ties reflected the move in the United States away from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s...
on
Family TiesFamily Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
). Executive Producer/co-creator
Bill LawrenceWilliam Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
also left the show, along with a few cast members and writers/producers.
The remaining producers decided to carry on the series with a new lead. For the show's 5th season, production moved from New York to Los Angeles, and
Charlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
as new Deputy Mayor Charlie Crawford, joining Caitlin, Paul, Stuart, Carter, and the Mayor. The characters of Nikki, Janelle and James were not carried over (like Stacy, their absences are presumed to be because the actors felt the show should not go on without Fox), replaced by assistant Angie Ordonez (
Lana ParrillaLana Parrilla is a Puerto Rican-American actress, best known for her roles on Spin City, 24, Boomtown and Miami Medical...
), who likewise left after one season without explanation (Parrilla feeling the character was underused).
Ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of
Spin City.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
| Season |
Season premiere |
Season finale |
TV season |
Ranking |
Viewers
(in millions) |
| 1st |
September 17, 1996 |
May 13, 1997 |
1996–1997 |
#17 |
11.7 |
| 2nd |
September 24, 1997 |
May 20, 1998 |
1997–1998 |
#47 |
11.2 |
| 3rd |
September 22, 1998 |
May 25, 1999 |
1998–1999 |
#28 |
13.1 |
| 4th |
September 21, 1999 |
May 24, 2000 |
1999–2000 |
#33 |
12.4 |
| 5th |
October 18, 2000 |
May 23, 2001 |
2000–2001 |
#56 |
7.1 |
| 6th |
September 25, 2001 |
April 30, 2002 |
2001–2002 |
#78 |
8.4 |
Awards
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
won one Primetime Emmy, out of four nominations. The show won four Golden Globes (three for
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
and one for
Charlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
), out of its nine nominations
DVD releases
Shout! FactoryShout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
has released the first 5 seasons of
Spin City on DVD in Region 1, with season 6 being released on December 13, 2011.
DreamWorks released two best-of sets entitled "Michael J. Fox – His All Time Favorites" Vols. 1 and 2 in 2003, both containing eleven episodes. All 22 episodes are taken from the four seasons containing Fox, each starting with a brief interview in which he describes what he likes about the episode. In the 2003 interviews, Fox shows symptoms of his ongoing illness. Both DVD boxes contain bonus material with fund-raising TV commercials for Parkinson's Disease research, starring the
Spin City cast.
| DVD Name |
Ep # |
Release Date |
| The Complete First Season |
24 |
November 4, 2008 |
| The Complete Second Season |
24 |
April 28, 2009 |
| The Complete Third Season |
26 |
November 3, 2009 |
| The Complete Fourth Season |
26 |
February 15, 2011 |
| The Complete Fifth Season |
23 |
August 16, 2011 |
| The Complete Sixth Season |
22 |
December 13, 2011 |
External links