HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Enlightened'' is an American
comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
television series that premiered on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
on October 10, 2011. The series was created by Mike White, who wrote every episode, and
Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...
. As signaled by its tagline "About a woman on the verge of a nervous breakthrough", ''Enlightened'' follows the story of Amy Jellicoe (Dern), a self-destructive executive, who, after the implosion of her professional life and a subsequent philosophical awakening in rehabilitation, tries to get her life back together. In 2012, Dern won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her role in the series. The show was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. After the completion of two seasons, HBO canceled the show in March 2013, partly due to low ratings, despite critical acclaim.


Plot

Amy Jellicoe is a 40-year-old woman who returns home to
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...
, after a two-month stay at a holistic treatment facility, a result of having a mental breakdown at work after finding herself
demoted ''Demoted'' is a 2011 American comedy film directed by J. B. Rogers and starring Michael Vartan, Sean Astin, Celia Weston, David Cross, Billy West and Sara Foster. Plot Rodney and Mike are two of the top salesmen at Treadline Tire Company. Desp ...
, which was triggered by her self-destructive ways (including heavy drinking and an affair with her married boss who likely demoted her as a way to keep the affair a secret), which in turn was triggered by a
miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
and a rather bitter divorce. Amy returns to her old life with a new cultivated approach and perspective, which includes daily meditation and exhorting the power of self-help and inner healing. Though Amy wants to be an "agent of change" in the world, the people who know her best are skeptical of her latest intentions. She moves in temporarily with her somewhat-estranged mother, Helen (
Diane Ladd Diane Ladd is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy A ...
, Dern's real-life mother), and reconnects with her ex-husband Levi (
Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...
), who is struggling with his own demons and addictions. While trying to heal Levi and mend her relationship with Helen, Amy also re-enters work at Abaddonn Industries. This is due in large part to the head HR representative Judy Harvey (
Amy Hill Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl'' where her character became the breakout character of the short-lived television serie ...
) discovering that with her diagnosis with
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
Amy could possibly sue Abaddonn for discrimination on the basis of illness/medical condition. Once a buyer in the company's Health and Beauty department, Amy is rehired, but assigned to a demeaning position in data processing, a department run by the flaky Dougie ( Timm Sharp). Amy views the transfer as an attempt to hasten her departure and keep her away from her former co-workers, including former assistant Krista ( Sarah Burns), who now has Amy's old job, and Damon ( Charles Esten), her former boss and ex-lover. However, while in this new position, Amy uncovers a range of corporate abuse and corruption occurring at Abaddonn, which ultimately fuels her quest to make a change in the lives of others, as well as validating her own change.


Cast


Main cast

*
Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...
as Amy Jellicoe, an ambitious and idealistic yet naïve and socially awkward buyer at Abaddonn Industries. After a humiliating nervous breakdown at her workplace, she goes to rehab and returns to her company with a new mindset but also a much less significant job. She contemplates becoming a
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
against Abaddonn. *
Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...
as Levi Callow, Amy's ex-husband. A former
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player for the Los Angeles Angels who was eventually cut due to his drug problems. Though the two still share feelings for each other, their relationship struggles due to Levi's problems with substance abuse which along with a miscarriage Amy suffered was what led to their subsequent divorce. *
Diane Ladd Diane Ladd is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy A ...
as Helen Jellicoe, Amy's quiet and rather
aloof Aloof may refer to: * The Aloof The Aloof were a British electronic music group. They formed in London, England, in 1990. The group consisted of Ricky Barrow, Gary Burns, Jagz Kooner, Richard Thair, and Dean Thatcher. They were active during t ...
yet protective mother with her own ghosts from the past. Amy lives at her house after returning from rehab. * Sarah Burns as Krista Jacobs, Amy's former assistant who now has her old job. Though Amy considers her a friend, Krista tries to keep their relationship at a distance. * Timm Sharp as Dougie Daniels, the obnoxious, socially oblivious VP of Cogentiva. * Mike White as Tyler, a shy, lonely coworker and friend of Amy at her new job. He used to be an IT worker for Abaddonn but was demoted after he got in trouble for hacking into a female co-worker's computer.


Recurring cast

*
Amy Hill Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl'' where her character became the breakout character of the short-lived television serie ...
as Judy Harvey, an HR representative at Abaddonn who encounters Amy when she returns to work from rehab. She is a lesbian in her personal life. * Charles Esten as Damon Manning, Amy's brash former boss and ex-lover. * Bayne Gibby as Connie, a deeply religious, conservative coworker at Cogentiva. * Jason Mantzoukas as Omar, a brusque coworker of Amy and Tyler who is a close associate of Dougie. * Michaela Watkins as Janice, Krista's best friend. She feels competitive, condescending, and resentful toward Amy. * Riki Lindhome as Harper, Krista's friend and Amy's former coworker. She has a rather bubbly personality and unlike Janice she is generally friendly around Amy. * Robin Wright as Sandy (Season 1), Amy's best friend from rehab in Hawaii. *
Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...
as Eileen (Season 2), the shy assistant to the CEO of Abaddonn Industries. She eventually dates Tyler. *
Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...
as Jeff Flender (Season 2), a confident reporter from the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' who develops a casual relationship with Amy. * James Rebhorn as Charles Szidon (Season 2), the mysterious CEO of Abaddonn Industries.


Production

The series appeared on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's development slate in August 2009 with
Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...
set to star as the lead, Amy Jellicoe. On September 9, 2009, HBO placed a
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
order. Mike White wrote and directed the pilot, as well as co-starring in the series as Tyler. The series is executive produced by White and Dern and co-executive produced by
Miguel Arteta Miguel Arteta (born 1965) is a Puerto Rican director of film and television, known for his independent film ''Chuck & Buck'' (2000), for which he received the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, and for the films ''The Good Girl'' (2002) ...
and
Edward Saxon Edward Bradley Saxon (born November 17, 1956) is an American film producer. Early life Saxon was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at Kirkwood High School from 1972 to 1976. He studied at McGill University from 1976 to 1980 ...
. David Bernad and Jason Weinberg are producers for the series. Casting announcements began in November 2009, with Sarah Burns cast as Krista Jacobs, Amy's workplace friend.
Diane Ladd Diane Ladd is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy A ...
,
Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...
and
Amy Hill Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl'' where her character became the breakout character of the short-lived television serie ...
then joined the series, with Ladd (who is Laura Dern's mother) playing Helen Jellicoe, Amy's mother. Luke Wilson is cast in the role of Levi, Amy's ex-husband and Amy Hill plays Judy, the head of human resources at Amy's workplace. Mos Def was cast in the role of Dougie, Amy's boss; however, he subsequently withdrew from consideration due to a dispute regarding the deal, and the role was recast with Timm Sharp. On April 10, 2010, HBO picked the pilot up to series, with a ten episode order. The series premiered on October 10, 2011. On December 20, 2011, HBO announced they renewed the series for a second season.


Episodes


Season 1 (2011)


Season 2 (2013)


Reception


Critical response

In its first season, the critical reaction to ''Enlightened'' was largely positive, scoring 74 out of 100 on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, indicating "Generally favorable reviews", based on 22 reviews. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the first season has a 79% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10 based on 29 reviews, with a critics consensus of, "''Enlightened'' is an outstanding and brave show, exemplifying how a television series can successfully present different elements of the human psyche." ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''s James Poniewozik wrote a piece titled "Enlightened: The Best New Show No One But You, If You Are Bothering to Read This Post, Is Watching". In it he writes that: "''Enlightened'', I guess, is
the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
of this TV season: that handful of people who are into the show are really into it. So here's one more effort to get you to consider watching this weird, perceptive show. And when I say 'you,' I'm talking about that guy over there. If you've read this far, I assume that you already watch it." In ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''s Melissa Maerz piece "Contrarian Corner: Why 'Enlightened' is the best show nobody's watching" she writes about the state of television and where ''Enlightened'' fits in: "There's a general feeling among cable TV fans that television needs to be dark in order to be taken seriously. And I get that. Most of my all-time favorite shows are about meth dealers and undertakers and stylishly dressed alcoholics. So there's something pretty brave about a show that's not cynical or sarcastic or defeatist, one that's not set on a street corner in Baltimore or inside Al Qaeda's torture barracks, and still manages to be absolutely heartbreaking. HBO's Enlightened is the most genuinely moving TV show that's debuted this fall. And none of the characters get cancer." The show appeared on several "best of" lists at the end of 2011, with some critics citing its ninth episode, "Consider Helen", as a standout. The second season received higher acclaim than the first, with the season receiving a Metacritic score of 95 out of 100, based on 7 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 9.2/10 based on 23 reviews, with a critics consensus of, "''Enlightened'' is a must-see, continuing to show Amy Jellicoe as an empathetic, uneasy character who inspires to live positively." Michelle Dean of ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' demands "everybody should be watching HBO's ''Enlightened''" writing that it "is one of the few strokes of real, original storytelling left in prestige television right now." Hank Stuever of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' in his review of the second season says "This HBO exercise in exquisite portraiture (I still won't call it a comedy) returns Sunday night, and it is the most hauntingly nuanced and carefully written show currently on TV." Maureen Ryan of ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' wrote in her review, "The show's must-see second season is one of the best stories I've experienced in a long time (HBO sent all eight Season 2 episodes for review). And -- appropriately for a show about a woman who wants to live a more vivid and connected life -- it is an experience." With continuing low ratings, creator Mike White in an interview spoke about the show's uncertain fate, in turn sparking a circle of critics to publish pieces on the show, pleading for more awareness and raving about its tremendous quality. In ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
''s review, they called ''Enlightened'' "TV's best show right now—and it needs more viewers. Jane Hu of Salon.com writes in her piece titled "HBO, please renew "Enlightened"!": "No matter when the tidal wave hits, we'll have had two perfect seasons. Meanwhile, I'm still holding out hope." Maureen Ryan of ''The Huffington Post'' published her own list of reasons for renewal, titled: 'Enlightened' Renewal: 8 Reasons HBO Must Bring Back This Show. Upon reviewing the season 2 finale, a longtime champion of the show, ''Time''s James Poniewozik touched on the renewal prospects, writing: "And in ''Enlightened'', whether it planned things this way, HBO has the best thing TV is doing right now—a show no other network would probably make, telling a story that the movies couldn't tell, not at such length and depth. Without HBO, this story would not exist, and HBO is a company in the without-us-nothing business. In other words, HBO doesn't owe it to us to keep ''Enlightened'' on the air; HBO owes it to itself. That's what you get when you bring something amazing into this beautiful, upsetting world."


Awards and nominations

For the 69th Golden Globe Awards,
Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...
won for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, while the series received a nomination for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Dern also received a nomination for Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical for the
17th Satellite Awards The 17th Satellite Awards is an award ceremony honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, home videos and interactive media, presented by the International Press Academy at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City ...
. For the
65th Primetime Emmy Awards The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2012 until May 31, 2013, were held on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. CBS televised the cere ...
, Dern was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and
Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...
was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.


Ratings


Cancellation

Despite the critical acclaim, on March 19, 2013, HBO confirmed that the show would not return for a third season.


Plans for season three

As envisioned by creators Mike White and Laura Dern, ''Enlightened'' was to span as a trilogy, "all having a very different moral compass and theme, it kind of being a trilogy of falling apart and then getting it back together." Mike White detailed plans for the story should ''Enlightened'' have continued. These include: * A focus on Amy's family and plans on bringing in her estranged sister Bethany (mentioned briefly in the Pilot and by Helen in "Consider Helen"), who has a child. * The fallout from the exposé. "Creatively, there's a lot more story to tell about the idea of Amy being recognized, the wish fulfillment and what comes with it." * Abaddonn Industries CEO Charles Szidon would make good on his threat to sue her. As Mike White puts it: "The whole thing is going to be the lawsuit. Abaddonn is going to sue Amy, and she's going to sue them. I think it'll be fun to do the send-up of the legal world in the way we did with the corporate stuff", White said. There will be depositions and testimony and character witnesses – and Amy's going to need her flak jacket. "It's going to be all the people we've introduced taking a position, and Amy's going to get a sense of what everyone really thinks of her." In July 2021, White told ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' that HBO has expressed interest over the last two or three years in "a one-off short season or a movie that wraps everything up." While White said he wouldn't rule it out, he noted that "right now, that doesn't feel like a bold decision" because "it would feel like it was pandering to the zeitgeist."


International distribution

In Canada, the series was
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
on HBO Canada and debuted on October 10, 2011. In the United Kingdom, the series was broadcast on Sky Atlantic. The first season premiered on December 6, 2011, and the second season on September 26, 2014.


Home media releases


References


External links

* * {{Mike White 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2011 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings English-language television shows HBO original programming Television series created by Mike White Television shows set in Los Angeles