''Veronica's Closet'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997 to December 7, 2000. Kirstie Alley starred as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, the owner and head of the titular fictional

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

company in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which was derived from the real-life lingerie company,

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing and beauty products, beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by a Stanford graduate student and his wife, Roy Raymond, Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner i ...

. Kathy Najimy, Dan Cortese, Wallace Langham, Darryl Mitchell,

Robert Prosky Robert Prosky (born Robert Joseph Porzuczek, December 13, 1930 – December 8, 2008) was an American actor. He became a well-known supporting actor in the 1980s with his roles in ''Thief (1981 film), Thief'' (1981), ''Christine (1983 film), Chris ...

(season 1), Ron Silver (season 2), and Lorri Bagley (season 3) co-starred. The show was a top 10 success during its first two seasons (ranking No. 3 in its first year and No. 5 in its second), airing between ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' and '' ER'' within the '

Must See TV Must See TV was an American advertising slogan that was used by NBC to brand its primetime blocks during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured some of its most popular sitcoms and drama series ...

' lineup. Ratings dropped when NBC moved it to a new timeslot, resulting in the show being cancelled after three seasons on the air. During its run, it aired a total of 66 episodes (22 per season).

Overview

Veronica 'Ronnie' Chase, played by Alley, has made a living being known as the "Queen of Romance". She is the owner of Veronica's Closet, a company that sells lingerie and other bedroom accessories. Her husband Bryce, played by Christopher McDonald, regularly cheats on her, though she always takes him back because of the image she has created. However, after another tryst, Veronica decides to leave him and begins her life as a single woman. She is championed by her best friend and Chief Financial Officer Olive Massery, played by Kathy Najimy, and her father Pat Chase, played by

, who is also her chauffeur. She also works with Perry Rollins, played by Dan Cortese, a former thong model who is her publicist; her assistant Josh Blair, played by Wallace Langham, and Leo Michaels, played by Darryl Mitchell. Later in the first season, she gets a silent partner in Millicent, played by

Holland Taylor Holland Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's ''The Practice'' (1998–2003) and she ...

. However, when Millicent dies, the company is taken over by Millicent's incompetent son. During the second season Millicent's ex-husband, Alec Bilson, played by Ron Silver, takes the company from his former stepson and helps the company regain some financial ground. However, he and Ronnie get closer, romantically, as the season progresses. He dies between seasons two and three and is revealed to have married someone else. His widow, June Bilson, played by Lorri Bagley, is a stereotypical dumb blonde who has some secret intelligence. She remodels the entire office and refuses to give up her share of the company until Olive buys her out in the series finale.

Cast

Main

* Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase * Dan Cortese as Laird "Perry" Rollins, former underwear model and publicist * Wallace Langham as Josh Nicolé Blair, Veronica's assistant, a man whose sexual identity is unclear * Daryl Mitchell as Leo Michaels, Veronica's harried marketing manager * Kathy Najimy as Olive Massery *

as Pat Chase (season 1) * Ron Silver as Alec Bilson, Veronica's business partner and rival (season 2) * Lorri Bagley as June Bilson Anderson, Alec's wife and Veronica's partner (season 3)

Recurring

Mary Lynn Rajskub Mary Lynn Rajskub () is an American actress and comedian who is best known for portraying Chloe O'Brian in the action thriller series '' 24'' and Gail the Snail in ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia''. Rajskub was a regular cast member on HBO' ...

as Chloe (15 episodes) * Cynthia Mann as Virginia/Receptionist (15 episodes) * Christopher McDonald as Bryce Anderson (9 episodes), Ronnie's ex-husband *

Ever Carradine Ever Carradine (born August 6, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Tiffany Porter and Kelly Ludlow on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Once and Again'' and ''Commander in Chief (TV series), Com ...

as Pepper (8 episodes) * Tamala Jones as Tina (8 episodes) * Alan F. Smith as Brian (7 episodes) * David Starzyk as Pete (5 episodes) * Lupe Ontiveros as Louisa (4 episodes) * James Wilder as Hunter (3 episodes) * Erica Shaffer as Waitress/Assistant (3 episodes) * Mark Harelik as Paul Byrne (3 episodes) * John Schneider as Tom (3 episodes) * John Mariano as Chris (3 episodes) *

as Millicent (2 episodes) * Scott Baio as Kevin (2 episodes)

Guest stars

Eric McCormack Eric James McCormack (born April 18, 1963) is a Canadian and American actor known for his roles as Will Truman in the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', Grant MacLaren in Netflix's ''Travelers (TV series), Travelers'', and Dr. Daniel Pierce in the T ...

as Griffin *

Ted Danson Edward Bridge Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe A ...

as Nick Vanover *

Michael Jeter Michael Jeter (; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his career on stage and screen, Jeter played diverse characters. He won a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He portrayed Herman Stiles on the sitcom '' Eve ...

as Edwin Murloff *

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...

as himself *

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

as himself * Portia de Rossi as Carolyn *

Leeza Gibbons Leeza Kim Gibbons (born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1984–2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, ''Leeza'' (1993– ...

as herself *

Ingo Rademacher Ingo Rademacher (born 22 April 1971) is a German-Australian television actor known for his roles of Sean Hayden on the Australian soap opera ''Paradise Beach'', Jax Jacks, Jasper "Jax" Jacks on the American daytime soap opera ''General Hospital ...

as Reg * Zooey Deschanel as Elena * Tia Carrere as Kim * Tom Arnold as Chris *

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American comedian and actor. He was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason Ritter, Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is best known for ...

as Tim *

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

as Brett *

Anna Nicole Smith Vickie Lynn Marshall (née Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), known professionally as Anna Nicole Smith, was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in M ...

as Donna

Production history, reception, and ratings

The show was taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, on soundstage 25. The role of Bryce was originally played by

Jamey Sheridan James Patrick Sheridan (born July 12, 1951) is an American actor known for playing a wide range of roles in theater, film, and television. He is known for Randall Flagg in ''The Stand'' (1994), Captain James Deakins on ''Law & Order: Criminal I ...

in an unaired pilot before the role was recast with Christopher McDonald. The producers had wanted McDonald to play Bryce but he could not accept the role at first because when they were filming the pilot, he was shooting ''Into Thin Air''. The original pilot was then reshot when McDonald became available. The series premiered on September 25, 1997, after ''

'', to 35 million viewers. '' Variety'' gave it a mixed review but said it had potential. Its title was derived from the real-life lingerie company,

. They complained about it. Hammocked between ''Seinfeld'' and '' ER'' within the '

' lineup, the show was a huge success, although the initial ratings died down a bit later in the first season. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said it "has the highest Nielsen ratings of any new show this season and critics are lining up to proclaim her show 'must-she TV'." The sitcom spent the first two seasons as a top 10 hit (No. 3 in its first season, No. 5 in its second), airing on Thursdays at 9:30 (after ''Seinfeld'' in season 1 and after ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'' in season 2). NBC moved the show out of 'Must See TV' to a new timeslot, following '' Suddenly Susan'' (another NBC sitcom centered around a professional single woman), on Mondays for the 1999–2000 season. Ratings fell more than 50 percent, and NBC put both shows on hiatus. The show returned on Tuesdays at 9:30 (after '' Will & Grace'') with only a slight boost in ratings. NBC canceled the series in 2000, along with ''Suddenly Susan'', due to low ratings. Reruns were shown on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

from 2000 to early 2003 and on

TV Guide Network The American cable television, cable and satellite television network Pop (American TV channel), Pop was originally launched in 1981 as a barker channel service providing a display of localized electronic program guide, channel and program listin ...

from 2011 to 2012.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1997–98)

Season 2 (1998–99)

Season 3 (1999–2000)

Broadcast and ratings history

Accolades

The series received recognition from the

Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who reported on the American entertainment industry for predominantly foreign media markets. It is best known for founding and conduc ...

, the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

, and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Arts among other associations.

Note

References

External links

* * {{People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1990s American workplace comedy television series 1997 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings 2000s American multi-camera sitcoms 2000s American workplace comedy television series American English-language television shows Fashion-themed television series Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series created by David Crane (producer) Television series created by Marta Kauffman Television shows set in New York City NBC sitcoms