''Glory Daze'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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. The one-hour series revolves around a group of college freshmen who pledge a fraternity in 1986. The series aired from November 16, 2010, to January 18, 2011, on TBS.Nealon, Willard, Polo among `Glory Daze' guest stars; new TBS sitcom debuts Nov. 16
On February 24, 2011, TBS announced that the series would not be renewed for a second season due to poor ratings.

Premise

Set in 1986 in the state of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, the series revolves around a group of friends entering their freshman year of college at Hayes University. The young men must deal with being on their own for the first time and preparing for what is to come in their college years.

Cast and characters

Main

Kelly Blatz Kelly Steven Blatz (born June 16, 1987) is an American actor, director, writer, producer, editor and musician. He is best known for playing the lead role in ''Aaron Stone''. Career Blatz made his acting debut in ''Simon Says'' (2006), then app ...

as Joel Harrington - Joel is a pre-med student and is very dedicated to his studies. In the beginning of the series he has second thoughts on joining the Omega Sigma fraternity knowing it would disappoint his father. He later decides to join after being encouraged by his friends. He has strong feelings for Christie, Damon's girlfriend. He is a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. * Matt Bush as Eli Feldman - Eli enters college as a virgin and desperately wants to lose his innocence, despite his frequent bad luck with women. He is very impulsive when the right situation drives him to be. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. *

Hartley Sawyer Hartley Sawyer (born January 25, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Kyle Abbott on the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' and Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man on The CW series '' The Flash''. Career In ...

as Brian Sommers - Brian is a jock and is admitted to Hayes University on a baseball scholarship. He is willing to do anything to help his friends and is also quite intelligent, having a great knowledge of seemingly random information. *

Drew Seeley Andrew Michael Edgar Seeley (born April 30, 1982) is a Canadian actor, singer, songwriter and dancer. He has recorded many songs for the Walt Disney Company. He danced as a child in Ontario until he was about preteen age and then moved to Florida ...

as Jason Wilson - Jason is rich and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and has strong future aspirations to enter politics. He originally wanted to join the Zhea Rho fraternity due to their strong history of housing future politicians, but reconsiders to join his friends at Omega Sigma fraternity. *

Callard Harris Callard is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Agnes Callard (born 1976), American philosopher * Andrea Callard (born 1950), media artist long connected with the artists group Colab in New York City * Beverley Callard (born 1957), ...

as Mike Reno - Reno is one of the upperclassmen at the Omega Sigma fraternity. He has a very laid-back attitude and is always ready to guide the freshmen on the craziness of college life. *

Julianna Guill Julianna Guill (born 1987) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Bree in the 2009 film ''Friday the 13th'', Madison Penrose in ''My Super Psycho Sweet 16'', Scarlet Hauksson in the web series ''My Alibi'', Becca Riley in Bravo's ...

as Christie DeWitt - Christie is a student at Hayes University and is Damon's girlfriend. She is always very sweet and kind especially towards Joel, which is why Joel has romantic feelings for her. In the episode "Hit Me with Your Test Shot", she learns about Joel's feelings after seeing drawings of herself in Joel's notes. Even after Joel finds out about Christie knowing about the drawings, they still decide to stay friends. *

Tim Jo Tim Jo (born April 20, 1984) is an American television and film actor, he is most famous for playing "Reggie Jackson" on the ABC comedy, '' The Neighbors''. Early life and education Jo was born in Dallas in 1984. As a child, he appeared as a ...

as Alex Chang - Alex is Eli's dorm roommate. He is

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n and decides to join the fraternity for Asian students but then quits due to the hard partying. *

James Earl James Earl (May 1, 1761 – August 18, 1796) was an American painter and younger brother of fellow portrait painter Ralph Earl. He was born in Leicester, Massachusetts, and died of yellow fever in Charleston, South Carolina. He lived and worke ...

as Tom "Turbo" Turley - Turbo is another upperclassman at the Omega Sigma fraternity and the pledgemaster. He is African-American and enjoys hip hop music. He is very kind to the freshmen but always ready to whip them into shape due to his strong dedication to the fraternity. *

Josh Brener Joshua Max Brener is an American actor. He played the roles of Kyle on the IFC series ''Maron'' and Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti on the HBO series ''Silicon Valley''. In animation, he provides the voices of Donatello on ''Rise of the Teenage Mutan ...

as Zack Miller - Zack is Joel's dorm roommate. He is very awkward and makes people around him very uncomfortable. *

Chris D'Elia Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom '' Whitney'', Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'', Kenny on the ...

as William Xavier "Bill" Stankowski - Stankowski is an upperclassman at the Omega Sigma fraternity. He is known for being very wise and helpful. Not much is known about his personal life other than he has lived in the Omega Sigma house since 1976 and inhales a lot of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

. *

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 Professor Aloysius Haines - Professor Haines is Joel and Christie's

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

professor. He went through a difficult divorce with his wife and frequently expresses his personal problems and political opinions in front of his class. Joel always seems to get on his bad side, although there are times when Haines does accept that Joel tries his best to please him. He also serves as the Omega Sigma faculty advisor.

Supporting

* Eric Nenninger as Damon Smythe - Damon is the leader of the Omega Sigma fraternity. He is the most responsible person in the house and has no idea about Joel's feelings for his girlfriend Christie. *

David Guzman David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

as Hector - Hector is a Mexican dwarf living in the fraternity house. * Natalie Dreyfuss as Julie - Julie is Jason's girlfriend. She was accepted to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, but chooses to attend Hayes to be with Jason. She sometimes questions her decision due to Jason messing up on a number of occasions. *

Teri Polo Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the Freeform series '' The Fosters'' (2013–201 ...

as Professor Larsen - Professor Larsen is an English professor at the university. After meeting Mike Reno at the grocery store, Reno appears to have the impression that Larsen's strict behavior is just a front to her actual witty and attractive personality. *

Alexandra Chando Alexandra Chando (born July 28, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Maddie Coleman in the CBS soap opera, ''As the World Turns'' and for her dual role as identical twins, Emma Becker and Sutton Mercer in the ABC Family dr ...

as Annabelle - Annabelle is Brian's girlfriend. They meet at a mixer with Kappa Theta sorority. At first she does not like jocks being that Brian is one, but quickly changes her mind after seeing his physique. It is later revealed that Annabelle and Brian break up after she joins a cult. *

Kim Shaw Kim Shaw (born May 20, 1984) is a Canadian-born American actress. Early life and education Shaw grew up in Miami and Longwood, Florida. After graduating from Lake Brantley High School, Shaw moved to New York City to attend the American Academy ...

as Tammy - Tammy is the daughter of one of Joel's mother's friends. Since being set up with Joel, she is very infatuated with him. *

Brad Garrett Bradley Henry Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Possessing a distinctive deep voice, he has appeared in numerous television and film roles in both live-action and ...

as Jerry Harrington - Jerry is Joel's father. He disapproves of Joel's decision to join a fraternity. *

Fred Willard Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film '' This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries '' W ...

as Dr. Reynolds - Dr. Reynolds is the University Hospital doctor. He treats Eli for a burn after a hazing went awry. *

D. L. Hughley Darryl Lynn Hughley (; born March 6, 1963) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Hughley is best known as the original host of BET's ''ComicView'' from 1992 to 1993, the eponymous character on the ABC/ UPN sitcom ''The Hughleys'', and as ...

as Coach Franklin - Coach Franklin is Brian's baseball coach. He is infertile, and looks to Brian as a surrogate son. His wife is Korean.

Guest stars

Cheri Oteri Cheryl Ann Oteri () is an American actress and comedian. A nominee of a Primetime Emmy Award, Oteri is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2000. Early life The daughte ...

as Maureen Harrington, Joel's mother *

John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the American vers ...

as Brother Jerrold, the Omega Sig chapter master *

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...

as Coach D'Amato, Brian's original baseball coach *

Justin Chon Justin Jitae Chon (born May 29, 1981) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, ''Gook'' (2017), '' Ms. Purple'' (2019), & ''Blue Bayou'' (2021). He is also known for portraying Eric Yorkie in '' The Twilight Saga'' film ...

as an Asian Frat Bro, an Asian fraternity brother who dislikes anyone who is not Asian *

Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1995, acted in several of the Happy Madison films, played Doug Wilson on the Showtime series '' Weeds'', and pr ...

as Marcus, fake ID maker *

Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night'' and ' ...

as Father Sullivan, Hayes University priest *

Curtis Armstrong Curtis Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' movies, Herbert Viola on the TV series ''Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film '' Risky Busines ...

as Morty Feldman, Eli's father *

Reginald VelJohnson Reginald VelJohnson (born Reginald VelJohnson; August 16, 1952) is an American actor. He is best known for playing police officer characters, such as Carl Winslow on the sitcom ''Family Matters,'' which ran from 1989 to 1998, and LAPD Sergeant ...

as Stan Turley, Turbo's father *

Geoff Pierson Geoff Pierson is an American actor known for his starring television roles on '' Dexter'', ''Unhappily Ever After'', '' Grace Under Fire'', '' 24'', '' Ryan's Hope'', and '' Designated Survivor''. He has guest-starred in dozens of other TV shows. ...

as Col. Zachariah Smythe, Damon's father *

Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom ''Spin City'' (199 ...

as Mr. Wilson, Jason's father *

Ken Lerner Kenneth Lerner (born May 27, 1948) is an American television, stage and film actor. He played Principal Flutie in the first episodes of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Personal life Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York, of ...

as Rabbi Shapiro *

Michael McKean Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...

as Stu, Hayes University gardener *

Mindy Sterling Mindy Lee Sterling (born July 11, 1953) is an American television, film and voice actress. She portrayed Frau Farbissina in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and starred in the web series ''Con Man'', the latter of which earned her a Primetime ...

as Movie ticket lady *

Gina Gershon Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress. She has had roles in the films ''Cocktail (1988 film), Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat (1988 film), Red Heat'' (1988), ''Showgirls'' (1995), ''Bound (1996 film), Bound'' (1996), ''Face/ ...

as Lt. Lang, teacher of

R.O.T.C. The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

course *

Tasha Smith Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971) is an American actress, director and producer. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series ''Boston Common'' (1996–97), and she later appeared in numerous movies and television series. ...

as Lea, Professor Haines' ex-wife *

Kathryn Fiore Kathryn Fiore (born 1976) is an American actress, voice actress and comedian. Personal life She dated fellow voice actor Rino Romano in 1999. On May 28, 2013, Fiore gave birth to her first child, a girl, named Alice Harper Fiore Tigerman. She s ...

as Janie, a woman Eli nearly loses his virginity to

Episodes

With the exception of the pilot episode, every episode title is a parody reference to a popular 1980s song.

Development and production

The

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

was written by

Walt Becker Walter William Becker is an American filmmaker and novelist, whose directorial credits include the films ''Van Wilder'', ''Wild Hogs'' and ''Old Dogs (film), Old Dogs''. Biography Becker graduated from Pasadena High School (California) in 198 ...

and Michael LeSieur, who received a cast-contingent pilot commitment from TBS in late January 2010. On May 14, 2010, TBS announced it had picked up the series with an eight-episode order.TBS picks up period comedy 'Glory Daze' starring Tim Meadows
By Lynette Rice - May 14, 2010 12:51 PM ET - Hollywood Insider from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' The order was increased to ten episodes in early November 2010, a week before the series premiere. 2008-1226-Pasadena-001-AmbassadorCollege-pan

When speaking of the series, Michael Wright, the executive vice president and head of programming for TBS,

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, and

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

said: "''Glory Daze'' is a sharply written, laugh-out-loud comedy with a talented ensemble cast, including comic veteran

. The time is right for this feel-good, funny, and fresh take on college life in the '80s." ''Glory Daze'' was filmed at USC's Mudd Hall of Philosophy and on both the UCLA campus and the former

Ambassador College Ambassador College (1947–1997) was a four-year liberal arts college run by the Worldwide Church of God. The college was established in 1947 in Pasadena, California, by radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, leader of what was then the Radio Ch ...

campus in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

, CA. The show's theme song, "

Police on My Back ''Baby, Come Back'' is an album by British group The Equals, which was released in the U.S. by RCA Victor, who had obtained the rights to manufacture and distribute the album in all of the Americas from the band's British label, President Record ...

", is performed by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

Critical reception

The show received a mixed reaction. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the series received "mixed or average reviews", reflected by a Metascore of 47 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.

International broadcasts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glory Daze (TV series) 2010 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2010s American college television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series English-language television shows TBS (American TV channel) original programming Television series about teenagers Television series set in 1986 Television shows set in Indiana Television series by Warner Horizon Television Television series by Studio T