''The Loop'' is an American

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 ...

that ran from March 15, 2006 to July 1, 2007 on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. The show starred

Bret Harrison Bret Michael Harrison (born April 6, 1982) is an American actor and musician known predominantly for his work on comedy television series such as ''Grounded for Life'', '' The Loop'', ''Reaper'', and '' Breaking In''. Early life Harrison was bo ...

as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S. airline.

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's downtown loop area was the setting for most of the show. The show's

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

is "Hockey Monkey" by

James Kochalka James Kochalka (born May 26, 1967, in Springfield, Vermont) is an American comic book artist, writer, animator, and rock musician. His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal. Largely autobiographical, Kochalka's carto ...

Superstar and

the Zambonis The Zambonis are a Connecticut-based indie rock band formed in 1991 by musicians Dave Schneider (musician), Dave Schneider (The LeeVees), Peter Katis, Jon Aley, and Tarquin Katis. The Zambonis write songs exclusively about ice hockey. Schneider ...

Premise

''The Loop'' focuses on the life of its main character, Sam Sullivan (

). The show is shot with a

single-camera setup The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production. The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema i ...

instead of a

multiple-camera setup The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneou ...

more typical for situation comedies. The series follows Sam, his friends, and his co-workers as they try to survive both their personal and professional lives. A complete script is written for each episode but actors are also given opportunities to improvise their lines during the shooting process.

Cast and characters

as Sam "Thesis" Sullivan: A young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways. * Philip Baker Hall as Russ McDonald: Head executive of TransAlliance Airways and one of Sam's bosses. He's lived a wild life in aviation, from Air Force pilot to head of the company, which occasionally comes back to haunt him. *

Eric Christian Olsen Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977), is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and of Austin in the film ''Not Another Teen Movie''. Early life O ...

as Sully Sullivan: Sam's goofy, carefree and jobless older brother and roommate. * Amanda Loncar as Piper (season 1): One of Sam's friends, whom he has had a crush on since they met freshman year of college. She is also his roommate. In the first season. she was studying to become a doctor. * Sarah Mason as Lizzy (season 1): One of Sam's friends and roommate. Her job in the first season was a bartender. *

Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the gre ...

as Meryl: Sexually adventurous, she is an executive at TransAlliance Airways, and one of Sam's bosses. *

Joy Osmanski Joy Osmanski is a South Korean-born American actress. She is best known for her wide range of comedic roles on the TV shows '' The Loop'', ''Samantha Who?'', '' True Jackson, VP'' and ''Devious Maids''. Joy is also known for her recurring role o ...

as Darcy: Sam's personal assistant and former student at MIT. She frequently laments that most of her classmates are in space, suggesting she couldn't get security clearance, because a colorful past, which she's hiding from. * Ian Reed Kesler as Derek Rene Tricolli: An obnoxious businessman for Goldman Sachs, who works in the same building and constantly gets under Sam's skin. In the second season, it's suggested that he's

omnisexual , meaning "all" , definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender , classification = Sexual identity , parent = Bisexuality , synonyms = , associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofle ...

. In an episode of the second season, he makes a deal to trade business contacts with Sam, for a night of passion with Darcy; and she readily agrees to hi
pimping her out
* Howard Miller as DeKeyser: Executive of TransAlliance Airways *

Michael D. Roberts Michael D. Roberts is an American actor. Career Roberts played the role of "Rooster" in the 1970s television series ''Baretta''. Roberts starred in the short-lived 1983 television series ''Manimal'', appearing in five of the eight episodes whic ...

as Hibbert: Executive of TransAlliance Airways

Development and production

''The Loop'' lasted only two seasons. Season 1 was 7 episodes. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 13 episodes on May 12 by

. It was one of only two live-action sitcoms renewed for the 2006-2007 season on Fox, along with '' The War at Home''. ''The Loops second season took place mainly in the workplace, and less of it with Sam's friends. The producers stated they "found most of the comedy to be with Sam and his co-workers and they wanted to expand on that." On November 28, 2006, it was announced that the show's second season episode order had been reduced from thirteen to ten, with Fox's crowded spring schedule believed to be the main reason for the reduction. The show was cancelled on May 17, 2007, before the second season was even broadcast. Fox eventually burned off the remaining episodes on Sundays beginning June 10, 2007.

Episodes

Season 1: 2006

Season 2: 2007

U.S. television ratings

Below is a table of the seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of ''The Loop'' on

. : ''Note: Each U.S.

network television Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.''

Home media

The first season of ''The Loop'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on March 6, 2007. Bonus features included a featurette with interviews from the cast and crew.

International airdates

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loop (Tv Series), The 2006 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s American single-camera sitcoms 2000s American workplace comedy television series Aviation television series Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by Pam Brady Television shows set in Chicago