''Good Morning, Miami'' is an American
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
created by
David Kohan and
Max Mutchnick. The series ran on
NBC from September 26, 2002, to December 18, 2003, and centered around the personal and professional life of Jake (
Mark Feuerstein), the executive producer of an incredibly low-rated
morning show
Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...
in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. The series was one of the first on NBC to be fully originated in
high definition.
The series was launched as a part of the network's highly-rated "
Must See TV
Must See TV was an American advertising slogan that was used by NBC to brand its primetime blocks during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured some of its most popular sitcoms and drama series ...
" lineup, where it struggled in the ratings when compared to other sitcoms in the lineup, such as Kohan and Mutchnick's own ''
Will & Grace''. Midway through the second season, NBC pulled the series after Kohan and Mutchnick sued the network. The series never returned, and the final nine episodes were ultimately left unaired. These episodes were later shown on
TG4 in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in the United Kingdom.
Synopsis
Wunderkind producer Jake Silver decides to accept the job leading the lowest-rated
morning show
Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...
in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. He falls in love with the show's beautiful, down-to-earth hairdresser, Dylan. The carnival of clowns at the station includes pompous and insulting on-air host Gavin; Jake's sardonic assistant, Penny; and highly insecure station manager, Frank.
Early in the first season, Gavin's morning co-host was Lucia, and Sister Brenda was the station's nun/weather-girl. Eventually, Jake's foul-mouthed grandmother, Claire, becomes the on-screen co-host. Both Lucia and Sister Brenda were written out early in the series as the producers were still searching for the "center" of their program.
During the second season, Jake and Dylan begin a relationship, even considering relocation to New York together. Victoria Hill, a new station boss, took over the show to get higher ratings, and Gavin struggled to warm up to her. Claire left the show and a new weather girl, Joni, was also introduced—much to Gavin's dismay.
The series ended with Gavin and Penny deciding to start a relationship (as Penny is pregnant with his baby), Frank marrying Gavin's mother as a publicity stunt, and Jake and Dylan agreeing to go their separate ways (Jake leaves the station and goes to produce at NBC in Manhattan, while Dylan returns to her home town of
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
).
Cast and characters
Main
*
Mark Feuerstein - Jake Silver
*
Ashley Williams as Dylan Messinger
*
Matt Letscher - Gavin Stone
*
Constance Zimmer
Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence playing Dana Gordon on the HBO series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' (2005–11) and List of Boston Legal characters#Claire Simms, Claire Sim ...
- Penelope "Penny" Barnes Barrington
*
Jere Burns as Frank Jennifer Alfano
*
Tessie Santiago as Lucia Rojas-Klein, Gavin's morning co-host (episodes 1-11)
*
Brooke Dillman as Sister Brenda Trogman, a nun who is also the station's weather girl (episodes 1-11)
*
Suzanne Pleshette as Claire Arnold Silver, Jake's grandmother (season 1)
Recurring
* Stephon Fuller as Robby
*
Tiffani Thiessen
Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress. Her roles as List of Saved by the Bell characters#Kelly Kapowski, Kelly Kapowski on NBC's ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993) and its Saved by the Bell#Spin-offs, spin-off me ...
as Victoria Hill, a new station boss in season two
*
Jillian Barberie as Joni, the station's new weather girl in season two
*
Bob Clendenin as Carl, a station camera man
*
Tracy Vilar as Stacey
* Edward James Gage as Tiny, the station helicopter pilot
*
Fran Drescher as Roberta, the new talent agent
Guest Stars
*
Andrea Savage as Cindy, Dylan's best friend
*
Bess Armstrong as Louise Messinger, Dylan's Mother
*
Tom Poston as Lenny, Claire's maintenance man
*
Nick Offerman as Officer Nick, a police officer
*
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Hollis
*
John Aylward as Mr Fowler
*
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
as Judy Silver, Jake's Mother
*
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' while studying at Denison University. H ...
as Jim Templeton
*
Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Johnathan Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Booger in the '' Revenge of the Nerds'' films, Herbert Viola on the TV series '' Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film '' Risky ...
as Milton, a jewelry store owner
*
Valerie Mahaffey as Sara, Frank's ex-wife
*
Joanna Cassidy as Catherine Stone, Gavin's Mother
*
George Wyner as Larry, Jake's network boss
Production
The sitcom was filmed at
CBS Studio Center's Stage 16. The theme song, entitled "Once in a Lifetime", is played by
John Rzeznik of the
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986.
After starting ...
. In the second season, exterior footage of
NBC affiliate
WPTV-TV's studio complex in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
, was used to portray the exteriors of the fictional ''Good Morning, Miami'' studios.
In the original, unaired test
Pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
the part of Gavin was played by actor
Burke Moses.
The part of Penny was played by an uncredited actress and the character was completely different.
Episodes
Series overview
During the original run of the series, the first episodes were broadcast out of intended production order by NBC as the series struggled in the ratings. First, completely discarding the episode titled, "It Didn't Happen One Night," then failing to run the Christmas themed episode until the second week of January, after first running another new episode during the first week of January.
Despite renewing the series, only half of the second season was ever broadcast in the United States by NBC. The entire series was aired on
TG4 in Ireland several times in a daily morning time slot.
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
UK also broadcast the entire series.
Season 1 (2002–03)
Season 2 (2003)
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0320018
2000s American multi-camera sitcoms
2000s American workplace comedy television series
2002 American television series debuts
2003 American television series endings
American English-language television shows
Television series about television
Television shows set in Miami
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
NBC sitcoms