''What About Brian?'' 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 created by Dana Stevens and co-produced by

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

' company

Bad Robot Productions Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series ''Alias' ...

. The series premiered on April 16, 2006, on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, as a

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...

and concluded on March 26, 2007. On May 16, 2006, ABC renewed the series for its second and final season, notably making it the only new series to be picked up by the network from the 2005–2006 television season, despite it being the final new series introduced by ABC during the season. The series returned October 9, 2006, with a full 22-episode season confirmed by November 10, 2006. The second season order was subsequently scaled back to 19 episodes by the network. ''What About Brian?'' ended its run after two seasons on March 26, 2007.

Plot

32-year-old Brian Davis is living alone in

Venice Beach Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. However, he is the only bachelor left in his group of friends. His best friend, lawyer Adam Hillman, recently got engaged to his long-time girlfriend Marjorie, a girl Brian is secretly in love with and whom Adam was planning to break up with prior to their engagement. Another friend, Dave Greco, who is co-founder with Brian of ''Zap Monkey'', a company that designs and produces video games, cannot wait to welcome Brian into the marriage club, as Dave has been married to Deena for thirteen years and has three daughters. His older sister, record executive Nicole, has recently married Italian model Angelo Varzi and is pregnant with a girl she names Bella. Brian's journey to find romance leads him down a road where the picture-perfect relationships of his friends are tested and revealed for what they truly are.

Cast and characters

* Barry Watson as Brian Davis *

Matthew Davis Matthew Davis, also professionally known as Matt Davis, is an American actor. He is mostly known for his roles as Warner Huntington III in ''Legally Blonde'', Adam Hillman on the ABC comedy-drama ''What About Brian'' from 2006 to 2007 and Alari ...

as Adam Hillman *

Rick Gomez Richard Harper Gomez (born June 1, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Radio Technician 4th Grade George Luz in the HBO television miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', and as "Endless Mike" Hellstrom in the Nickelodeon ...

as Dave Greco * Amanda Detmer as Deena Greco *

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song ( ...

as Nicole Varzi *

Sarah Lancaster Sarah Lancaster (born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her long-running roles as Rachel Meyers in the NBC series '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' and Ellie Bartowski in the NBC comedy-spy series '' Chuck'', a ...

as Marjorie Seaver (Episodes 1–6, 17–19) (''note:'' portrayed by

Polly Shannon Polly Shannon (born September 1, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Margaret Trudeau in the 2002 miniseries '' Trudeau'', a film about the late Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau. Biography Polly Shannon wa ...

in the unaired pilot) *

Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971) is an Italian actor. Bova's European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include ''Under the Tusca ...

as Angelo Varzi (Episodes 1–6, 10) * Rachelle Lefevre as Heather "Summer" Hillman (Episodes 5, 7–19) *

Jason George Jason Winston George (born February 9, 1972) is an American actor and model. He is best known for his roles as Michael Bourne on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Sunset Beach'', as J.T. Hunter on the UPN television sitcom '' Eve'', as Dr. Otis Col ...

as Jimmy (Season 2) * Amanda Foreman as Ivy (Season 2) *

Krista Allen Krista Allen (born April 5, 1971) is an American actress, model and stand-up comic. She is best known for her work in the television series '' Days of Our Lives'', '' Baywatch Hawaii'', and the erotic TV series '' Emmanuelle in Space''. Allen a ...

as Bridget Keller (Episodes 12–22) *

Stacy Keibler Stacy Ann-Marie Keibler (born October 14, 1979) is an American retired professional wrestler and actress, former cheerleader, dancer, and model. She is specifically known for her work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling E ...

as Stephanie (Episodes 20–25) *

Jessica Szohr Jessica Karen Szohr (;) is an American actress. She started her screen career appearing on television shows such as ''My Wife and Kids'' (2003), ''Joan of Arcadia'' (2004), '' What About Brian'' (2007) and ''CSI: Miami'' (2007). She gained recogn ...

as Laura (Episodes 20–25) *

Tiffani Thiessen Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress who starred as Kelly Kapowski on NBC's ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993), as Valerie Malone on Fox's ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1994–98), and as Lori on Netflix's ''Alexa & ...

as Natasha Drew (Episodes 21–25) *

Amy Jo Johnson Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American actress, musician and filmmaker. As an actress, Johnson is known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', Julie Emrick on '' Felicity'', and Jules Callaghan on ' ...

as Karen "The Car Girl" (Episodes 1, 10–11) *

Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televisi ...

as Richard Povich (Episodes 2–5, 23–24) * Malena Maestas as Baby Girl (Episode 24) * Anaisa Maestas as Baby Girl (Episode 24) *

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 Michael Davis (Episodes 10-16)

Episodes

;Notes

Season 1 (2006)

Season 2 (2006–07)

The second season of the series premiered on October 9, 2006. Along with '' Wife Swap'' and '' The Bachelor'', it was part of ABC's first primetime Monday evening lineup for the fall not to include ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'', since that show's shift to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Contrasting with what had historically been a night which drew high male viewership, ''What About Brian?'' was seen by some industry analysts as the closer to a new lineup appealing particularly to female viewers. Every episode in the second season begins with "What About...?".

Unaired pilot

An unaired pilot with a completely different structure from the first episode was created, with

portraying Marjorie instead of

International broadcasts

Home media

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1.

Music

Howie Day Howard Kern Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals to accompany himself. He self-financed and s ...

's " Collide" is the song used in the announcement commercials. * The theme song that appears at the beginning of each episode is "Calling All Friends" by Low Stars. * The 1970 song "

Hey Hey What Can I Do "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 as the B-side of the single "Immigrant Song" in the US. Releases After its release on a single, "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" was included on the Atlantic ...

?" by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

inspired the theme song and also has lyrics that parallel the show's plot. The lyrics of the song tell of a man's love for a woman that he will never have all to himself; a woman who 'wants to ball all day', 'stays drunk all the time', and who 'won't be true.' The first verse is a declaration of his love and his desire to tell her that she is the only one for him. The second verse describes her infidelity and his jealousy and frustration. In the third verse he comes to the conclusion that he must leave her 'where the guitars play', a sentiment reinforced by the vamp in which the lead singer,

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

, is backed by the rest of the band repeating the two lines; 'Hey hey what can I do' and 'Oh Lord what can I say.' *

Colin Hay Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music ha ...

's music has been used in several episodes of ''What About Brian?'': * Hay's song "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin?" ended the episode "Two in 24" and was also used in the episode "Sex, Lies and Videotape." * "Beautiful World" ended the episode "Moving Day." * "Don't Wait Up" ended the episode "The Importance of Being Brian" and was also in the episode "Sex, Lies and Videotape." * Keith Varon has provided songs for the show.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0460693, What About Brian? 2000s American comedy-drama television series American Broadcasting Company original programming 2006 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings Television series by ABC Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Bad Robot Productions