''Grapevine'' is an American sitcom created by
David Frankel
David Frankel (born April 2, 1959) is an American filmmaker. Most known as the director of 2006 film, '' The Devil Wears Prada'', he is an executive producer and the director of the first and fourth episodes of the Netflix miniseries ''Inventing ...
, premiered as a six-episode summer series 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 ...
from June 15 to July 27, 1992. It was not renewed.
A revival of the series, with a different cast, premiered on CBS in February 2000, lasting five episodes.
1992 version
Summary
David owned a restaurant in Miami Beach on Ocean Drive. His girlfriend Susan worked for a cruise line. His brother Thumper was a sportscaster. The series was a 1990s take on ''
Love, American Style
''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
'' in its couple-of-the-week format. Each episode presented the story of a couple, as told through short scenes interwoven with the regular characters, the couple, friends, associates talking to the camera about the couple as if speaking to an unseen interviewer. Editing allowed for jokes to be set up by one "interview" with the punch line delivered by another character, sometimes completely unrelated. Example: A husband who had sex with his estranged wife's sister says to the camera, "What we did wasn't a crime?" Quick cut to "People have been shot for less," in a medium Hispanic accent from a middle-aged City of Miami police officer first heard from earlier in the episode discussing a bizarre jewelry heist that ended with the female thief shot dead. The background music ranged from quiet jazz piano to, for outdoor scenes of relaxation and imbibing, a wailing saxophone.
Stories were contained within a half-hour. Sometimes the couples stayed together, and other times they broke up.
Realism was heightened by the show making full use of actually being shot in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, instead of the common practice of shooting establishing shots in a locale then shooting the rest in Los Angeles. All of David's interviews and the scenes in his restaurant used Ocean Drive's Cafe Milano as it was at the time, without set dressing (at the start of The Billy and Lisa Story episode, the green awning with the Cafe Milano name is visible and legible for several seconds). Thumper, allegedly based on creator David Frankel's brother John Frankel, then working in Miami television for the ABC affiliate, worked for the CBS affiliate and some of his interviews used the affiliate's studios. The Katie and Adam Story involved two of Thumper's employees having an affair, so the station's actual trucks, offices and news sets were used (when the philandering pair leaves one set, the camera follows them until it lingers on the background for a popular consumer news segment called "Shame on You.") Susan's interviews usually put her in her office with a view of Biscayne Bay or the MacArthur Causeway behind her. Other characters were shot in front of notable Miami buildings or South Florida-style establishments.
The series aired for six episodes as a summer replacement series and enjoyed popularity among critics and many viewers in their 20s, especially in Miami. The show logged several notable guest stars, such as a young
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, director and philanthropist. The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Peopl ...
(appearing as Katie in the episode, "The Katie and Adam Story"). CBS, with what was famously and infamously the oldest audience on television, opted not to pick up the show. Fox Network was rumored to be interested. Years later, when CBS revived the show, creator David Frankel told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that Fox asked him to create the same show but with a different title.
Cast
Main
*
Jonathan Penner
Jonathan Lindsay Penner (born March 5, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, television personality, and film producer, known for producing and starring in the film ''The Last Supper'', as well as acting in the television series '' Rude Awa ...
as David Klein
*
Steven Eckholdt as Thumper Klein
*Lynn Clark as Susan Crawford
Guest stars
*
Dean Cain
Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' a ...
as Brian
*
Stan Ivar
Stan Ivar (born January 11, 1943) is an American actor who is best known for his role as John Carter in ''Little House on the Prairie'', and also known for his roles as Ben Robinson in '' NCIS'', Daniel Scott in ''Days of Our Lives'', Mark Johnso ...
as Henry
*
Patrick Warburton
Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor.
On television, he has played David Puddy on '' Seinfeld'', the title character on ''The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less Than Perfect'', Jeff Bingham on '' Rules of Engagement'' and L ...
as Billy
*
Courtney Thorne-Smith
Courtney Thorne-Smith (born November 8, 1967) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on ''Melrose Place'', Georgia Thomas on '' Ally McBeal'', Cheryl Mabel in ''According to Jim'' and her recurring role on ...
as Lisa
*
Brenda Strong
Brenda Lee Strong (born March 25, 1960) is an American actress. She began her career in television, including guest starring appearances in ''Twin Peaks'', '' Party of Five'', ''Seinfeld'', '' Scandal'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' ...
as Allison
*
Brett Cullen
Peter Brett Cullen (born August 26, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Dan Fixx in ''Falcon Crest'' (1986-1988), Sam Cain in '' The Young Riders'' (1989-1990), Governor Ray Sullivan in ''The West Wing'' (2005-2006), Go ...
as Ken
Episodes
2000 version
Summary
The original ''Grapevine''s interview style was cited as an influence on HBO hit ''
Sex and the City
''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
''. Barry Jossen produced both ''Grapevine'' and the first season of ''Sex in the City''. CBS brought back ''Grapevine'' from February 28 to March 27, 2000. This time, David was played by Steven Eckholdt, Susan by
Kristy Swanson
Kristen Noel Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress. She is best recognized for having played Buffy Summers in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and appeared in the 1996 film ''The Phantom''.
Her first starring role w ...
, Thumper by
George Eads
George Eads is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series ''MacGyver'' for three seasons.
Biography
Earl ...
, and a hotel manager, Matt, was played by
David Sutcliffe
David Sutcliffe (born June 8, 1969) is a Canadian-American retired actor. He is known for playing Christopher Hayden on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' and Detective Aidan Black on the television series ''Cracked''.
Early life
Sutcliffe ...
.
Where the show once seemed cutting edge with the interviews, music and subject matter so racy even some critics blushed, it now struck most critics as dated.
Cast
*
Steven Eckholdt as David Klein
*
Kristy Swanson
Kristen Noel Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress. She is best recognized for having played Buffy Summers in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and appeared in the 1996 film ''The Phantom''.
Her first starring role w ...
as Susan Crawford
*
George Eads
George Eads is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series ''MacGyver'' for three seasons.
Biography
Earl ...
as Thumper Klein
*
David Sutcliffe
David Sutcliffe (born June 8, 1969) is a Canadian-American retired actor. He is known for playing Christopher Hayden on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' and Detective Aidan Black on the television series ''Cracked''.
Early life
Sutcliffe ...
as Matt Brewer
Episodes
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, tt0223392, Grapevine (2000)
TV Show review and pictures
1990s American sitcoms
1992 American television series debuts
1992 American television series endings
2000s American sitcoms
2000 American television series debuts
2000 American television series endings
CBS original programming
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series by MGM Television
American television series revived after cancellation
Television shows set in Miami