''Sammy'' is an American

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of maj ...

animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of the sitcom that is animated instead of live action and is generally made or created for adult audiences in most cases. ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'', and ''Family Guy'' are four of ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in 2000. Created by comedians

David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...

and

Drake Sather Drake Sather (May 24, 1959 – March 3, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, an Emmy nominated television writer, and a producer, actor, and director. His credits include the film ''Zoolander'' (2001), and the TV series '' Dennis Miller Sho ...

, the series only had a two-week run, from August 8 until August 15, 2000. The artstyle of the series is reminiscent to

Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky Csupo, ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (he ...

cartoons. ''Sammy'', along with another animated sitcom, '' God, the Devil and Bob'', was conceived by NBC in order to capitalize on the fledgling trend of animated programs geared towards adults. When '' God, the Devil and Bob'' attracted low ratings and controversy due to its subject matter, it was quickly cancelled and sold to

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

to be a part of its

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

block years later. This left ''Sammy'' in limbo, not premiering until early August 2000 with minimal promotion and fanfare. NBC was contractually obligated to air the first two episodes, and once both premiered, the show was quietly cancelled. According to

Olivia Hack Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 197 ...

(who voiced Lola), 13 episodes were produced.

Premise

The show is an

whose central characters are James "Jamie" Blake and his father Sammy, both of whom are voiced by

. Within the show, the younger Blake is a successful actor who lives in Los Angeles with his two brothers. The show features plot lines in which the father attempts to reconcile with his three estranged sons. Spade said that the show took inspiration from his own estrangement from his father.

Broadcast

Citing low ratings, NBC withdrew the show after only two of its thirteen episodes aired. In 2021, a crew member from Sammy sent the episodes to a fan who released the episodes periodically on his YouTube channel, with the final episode being released on December 31 of that year.

Critical reception

David Bianculli of the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'' criticized the show for a lack of humor. He also thought that Spade voicing both of the lead characters was "distracting". A review in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' was negative toward the show for similar reasons.

Cast

as Sammy Blake and James Blake *

Harland Williams Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. After several years of stand-up in Toronto and Los Angeles he made his film debut in ''Dumb and Dumber'' (1994) before playing starring roles in the short ...

as Todd Blake *

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off '' Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has ...

as Gary Blake *

Maura Tierney Maura Therese Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom '' NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009) ...

as Kathy Kelly *

Andy Dick Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson; December 21, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, musician, and television and film producer. Known professionally as a comic, his first regular television role was on the short-lived but influential ...

as Mark Jacobs *

Julia Sweeney Julia Anne Sweeney (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and author, who gained fame as a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the film '' Stuart Little'' and voiced Brittany in ...

as Marie La Peer *

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...

as Steve La Peer *

as Lola Blake (episodes 3-13) * Janeane Garofalo as Emily Blake *

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Since ...

as Lola Blake (episode 2) * Pauly Shore as Nelson *

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/ Netflix sitco ...

as Craig Blake *

A. J. Benza Alfred Joseph Benza is an American gossip columnist and television host. Early life Benza was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, though he moved with his family to West Islip, New York on Long Island shortly after his birth. He has tw ...

as himself *

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in '' My Name Is Earl'', Sa ...

as herself *

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

as himself *

Drew Hastings Drew Hastings (born March 2, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, author, and former mayor of Hillsboro, Ohio. Standing tall, he is often seen performing in a black suit and black horn-rimmed glasses. Early life Hastings was born in Casablanc ...

as Dr. Breman, Referee and Border Guard *Frank van Keeken as Theadeus * Mark Fite as Bartender and Doorman * Tony Plana as Kiosk Owner and El Capitan *Becky Thyre as Girl 1 and Microphone Girl *

Candi Milo Candyce Anne Rose "Candi" Milo (born January 9, 1961) Timestamps: (00:27:12-00:27:45) Milo states that she is "firmly 51". (00:06:40-00:06:47) Milo states that she was born in Palm Springs. (00:16:23-00:16:25) She says her birthday is in Januar ...

as Pilar and Mexican Woman *

Rolando Molina Rolando Alberto Argueta-Molina (born August 13, 1971) is a Salvadoran actor. Life and Career Molina was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the United States at a very young age. The family settled in Los Angeles. Approached by Edward James ...

as Barkeep, Mexican Guy, Deputy and Lieutenant * Sally Kellerman as Cleo * Nia Vardalos

Episodes

References

External links

* * * {{Rough Draft Studios 2000 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings 2000s American adult animated television series 2000s American sitcoms American adult animated comedy television series American animated sitcoms English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Universal Television Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Adelaide Productions Animated television series about dysfunctional families