''CBS Summer Playhouse'' is an American

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

that ran from June 12, 1987 to August 22, 1989 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. It aired unsold

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

s during the summer season.

Overview

Tim Reid Timothy Lee Reid (born December 19, 1944) is an American actor, comedian and film director best known for his roles in prime time American television programs, such as Venus Flytrap on ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1978–82), Marcel "Downtown" Brown ...

and

Daphne Maxwell Reid Daphne Etta Maxwell Reid (née Maxwell; July 13, 1948) is an American actress, comedian, designer and former model. She is best known for her role as the second Vivian Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from 1993 to 1996. ...

acted as hosts during the first season, introducing each pilot. Viewers were also encouraged to call a 1-800 number at the end of each episode, to voice their preference. However, the "winning" pilot chosen by the viewers was never picked up as a series. The series was revamped during the second and third seasons, and featured no hosts or viewer voting.

Reception

David Bianculli David Bianculli is an American TV critic, columnist, radio personality, non-fiction author and university professor. Bianculli has served as the television critic for NPR's radio show ''Fresh Air'' since the Philadelphia-based show went national ...

of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' criticized the anthology series, writing that it "may be the most inaccurate title ever given to a TV program". Bianculli cited two aspects, that the show premiered just before summer began in 1987 and that none of the episodes originated from theatrical playhouses.

Episodes

Season 1 (1987)

Season 2 (1988)

Season 3 (1989)

References

External links

* {{Aaron Spelling 1987 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American anthology television series

Summer Playhouse ''Summer Playhouse'' is a 30-minute CBS television anthology series. It was a summer replacement series made up of unsold pilots for projected regular series, airing sporadically from 1964 to 1967. It was produced by Don Fedderson, and among its ...

Interactive television Television pilots not picked up as a series English-language television shows