''Orleans'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series created by

Toni Graphia Toni Graphia (born May 11, 1960) is an American writer and television producer. Early life and education Graphia was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Anthony J. "Tony" Graphia, a prominent Louisiana judge and current Chairman ...

and

John Sacret Young John Sacret Young (May 24, 1946 – June 3, 2021) was an American author, producer, director, and screenwriter primarily in television, perhaps best known for his work on the show ''China Beach''. Young was nominated for seven Emmy Award, Emmys ...

, that aired 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 January 7 through April 10, 1997. It ran for 8 episodes. The series was said to be inspired by the experiences of creator/producer Toni Graphia, who was the daughter of a Louisiana judge.

Synopsis

The show was centered on the character of Judge Luther Charbonnet, portrayed by

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

. He was a judge seated in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and had a family that consisted of some wildly different characters. One of the sons was an assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

, another son was a police officer, and a daughter who ran a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

. An overall backstory to the series was that Judge Luther had another daughter who was missing or had been dead for years, and he had a search going on for information on her. Several "taboo" subjects were touched on this series, including interracial relationships (Judge Luther had a black girlfriend) and

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

(the daughter had a relationship with her cousin). The show was promoted heavily before it had aired in early 1997 However, the ratings were not great, and it was quickly moved to Friday nights in the same slot Hagman's previous series ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' dominated for CBS. This would not be the case with Orleans and the series was cancelled at the end of its 1st season.

Cast

.....Judge Luther Charbonnet *

Michael Reilly Burke Michael Reilly Burke (born June 27, 1964) is an American actor. He played Rex Van De Kamp on the unaired pilot of ''Desperate Housewives''. Steven Culp replaced him before the pilot aired. He also appeared in The WB series ''Charmed'' in the epi ...

.....Jesse Charbonnet *

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'', as well as for her roles ...

.....Rosalee Clark *

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), Goo ...

.....Clade Charbonnet *

Colleen Flynn Colleen Flynn is an American actress. In 1995, Flynn earned a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in an episode "Love's Labor Lost" of NBC medical drama '' ER''. Flynn was regul ...

.....Paulette Charbonnet *Lynette Walden.....Rene Doucette * O'Neal Compton.....Curtis Manzant *

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

.....Frank Vitelli *

Richard Fancy Richard Ronald Fancy (born August 2, 1943) is an American actor and comedian known for his long recurring role on ''Seinfeld'' as publisher Mr. Lippman, Elaine Benes's employer. Early life Fancy was born August 2, 1943, in Evanston, Illinois, ...

.....Vincent Carraze *

Jerry Hardin Jerry Hardin (born November 20, 1929) is an American actor. Hardin has appeared in film and television roles, including the character nicknamed Deep Throat in ''The X-Files''. Hardin was born in Texas and studied acting at London's Royal Academ ...

.....Leon Gillenwater *

Melora Hardin Melora Hardin (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress, known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' and Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'', and Tammy Cashman on Amazon Prime Video's '' Transparent'', for which she received ...

.....Gina Vitelli *

Cotter Smith Joseph Cotter Smith (born May 29, 1949) is an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life He was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Madeline (née Cotter) and John Lewis Smith, Jr., who was a federal judge. He graduated from the ...

.....Bill Brennecke

Episode list

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0118416, title=Orleans
Page on Larry Hagman's Site
1990s American drama television series 1997 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings 1990s American legal television series English-language television shows CBS original programming Television shows set in New Orleans Fictional portrayals of the New Orleans Police Department