''Viva Laughlin'' is an American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

dramedy 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 A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

adapted by Bob Lowry and Peter Bowker (creator of the original series) from the popular BBC British serial, ''

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

'', and taking its name from the latter program's sequel, ''Viva Blackpool''. Lowry and Bowker also served as executive producers alongside

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

, John Palermo, Paul Telegdy, and

Gabriele Muccino Gabriele Muccino (; born 20 May 1967) is an Italian film director. He has worked his way from making short films only aired on Italian television to become a well-known and successful American filmmaker. He is the elder brother of actor Silvio Mu ...

. The latter also directed the pilot. It was filmed on location in part at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in

Cabazon, California Cabazon (Spanish: ''Cabazón'') is a unincorporated community in Riverside County, California, United States. Cabazon is on the Pacific Crest Trail. In the 21st century, the area has become a tourist stop, due to the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa ...

for most of the inside casino shots. Produced by

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...

CBS Paramount Network Television CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

, and Seed Productions, the series was greenlit and given a thirteen-episode order on May 14, 2007. Excerpts from the series were aired in subsequent previews throughout the CBS telecast of the 61st Annual Tony Awards on June 10, 2007.

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 ...

aired a preview of the pilot on October 18, 2007 following an episode of ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'' before broadcasting its official season premiere on October 21, 2007 in its regular timeslot on Sunday nights at 8:00/7:00c, following ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...

''. CBS cancelled ''Viva Laughlin'' on October 22, 2007 after airing two episodes, with the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

(in Jackman's home country of Australia) following suit the next day by canceling the show after airing only one episode. Both CBS and Nine filled the show's time slot with repeat episodes of '' CSI'', with ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in fore ...

'' then taking ''Viva Laughlin's'' place on CBS on November 4. There are still no plans to air the remaining episodes as of October 2020.

Plot

''Viva Laughlin'' is a mystery drama musical about businessman Ripley Holden, whose ambition is to run a casino in

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin is an unincorporated resort town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is located on the Colorado River, directly across from the much larger Bullhead City, Arizona. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in ...

. It occasionally has the actors break into contemporary song. Ripley has invested all his money into opening a casino that is nowhere near completion, when his financing suddenly falls through. Needing an investor, Ripley approaches his rival, wealthy casino owner Nicky Fontana; but Fontana wants to own the casino himself, and Ripley turns down the deal. Ripley becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after the body of his ex-business partner is found at his casino.

Cast

Lloyd Owen Richard Marcus Lloyd Owen (born 14 April 1966) is an English actor. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, he is known for portraying Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. in ...

as Ripley Holden *

Mädchen Amick Mädchen Elaina Amick ( ; born December 12, 1970) is an American actress and television director. She is known for her starring role as Shelly Johnson on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991), its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire ...

as Natalie Holden *

Ellen Woglom Ellen Woglom (born 1987) is an American actress best known for such films and television series as ''Crash'', ''Outlaw'', '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'', '' Hated'', '' April Showers'' and ''Californication Californication may refer to: * Cali ...

as Cheyenne Holden *

Carter Jenkins Carter Mark Jenkins (born September 4, 1991) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Aliens in the Attic'' (2009), ''Valentine's Day'' (2010), and '' Struck by Lightning'' (2012). On television, Jenkins was part of the ...

as Jack Holden *

Eric Winter Eric Barrett Winter (born July 17, 1976) is an American actor and former fashion model. He has appeared in the television roles of Rex Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of our Lives'', FBI Special Agent Craig O'Laughlin on the CBS drama seri ...

as Peter Carlyle * D.B. Woodside as Marcus Henckman *

as Nicky Fontana *

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

as Bunny Baxter *

P. J. Byrne Paul Jeffrey Byrne (born December 15, 1974) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff in the Martin Scorsese film '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' (2013) and Bolin on Nickelodeon's animated ...

as Jonesy

Episodes

Critical reception

Critical reaction to the show was mostly negative. The musical numbers themselves were not criticized as much as the plot, the dialogue and the acting. The opening line of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' review said, "''Viva Laughlin'' on

may well be the worst new show of the season, but is it the worst show in the history of television?" ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

s review started with, "The stud is a dud. And that's only the first of a dozen problems with

' admirably ambitious but jaw-droppingly wrongheaded new musical/murder mystery/family drama ''Viva Laughlin.'' Let us count the ways it bombs..."

International broadcasters

The following broadcasters purchased the series:

References

External links

* * {{epguides, id=VivaLaughlin 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American musical comedy television series American television series based on British television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by BBC Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by CBS Studios Jukebox musicals Television shows set in Nevada