''The Michael Richards Show'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

created by

Spike Feresten Spike Feresten (born ) is an American television writer, screenwriter, comedian and television personality, who is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', writing for David Letterman, and hosting the late night ''Talkshow with Spike Feresten'' ...

Gregg Kavet Gregg Kavet is a writer and director who worked on NBC's ''Seinfeld'' for several seasons with collaborator Andy Robin. The team wrote episodes including "The Jimmy", "The Hot Tub", "The Caddy", " The Bottle Deposit", "The Fatigues", " The Comebac ...

Andy Robin Andy Robin is a writer who worked on NBC's ''Seinfeld'', alone and with collaborator Gregg Kavet. Their episode "The Fatigues" won the 1997 Writers Guild of America Award. Robin and Kavet wrote and directed the feature film ''Live Free or Die'' ...

and Richards, that debuted on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from October 24 to December 19, 2000. The show starred

Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...

as socially awkward but talented

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Vic Nardozza who gets the job done despite his unusual methods.

Synopsis

The show revolved around Vic Nardozza (

), an inept and clumsy

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

working for McKay Investigative Services. Throughout the show, misunderstandings and poor decisions get in the way of the cases, but Nardozza always ends up getting the job done.

Cast

as Vic Nardozza *

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

as Brady McKay *

Bill Cobbs William Francisco Cobbs (born June 16, 1934) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in movies such as Louisiana Slim in '' The Hitter'' (1979), Water in ''The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), and as Lewis Coleman on ''I'll Fly Aw ...

as Jack *

Amy Farrington Amy Farrington (born September 20, 1966) is an American actress and model who is best known for her role as Stacey Devers on ''The Michael Richards Show''. Farrington currently portrays Detective Lt. Piper Lynch in the CBS drama series ''S.W.A.T ...

as Stacey Devers *

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emm ...

as Kevin Blakely

Production

Following the conclusion of his previous show, ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'',

reteamed with three former ''Seinfeld'' writers/producers in a comedy caper about a

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. When originally conceived, Richards wanted to differentiate his character from Kramer, the role he immortalized on ''Seinfeld''. However, the network disagreed and decided that the character would share characteristics with his previous role. The character Nardozza was named after Richards' own mother, Phyllis Nardozzi. In a 2015 interview, co-star

recalled that making the show was "a nightmare", blaming both Richards' actions as the star of the show and the lack of a capable showrunner for its failure.

Episodes

Reception

The show received generally negative reviews and was cancelled within two months due to poor ratings.

References

External links

* NBC original programming 2000s American sitcoms 2000 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series by Castle Rock Entertainment {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub