Reasonable Doubts
Reasonable Doubts is a police drama television series broadcast in the United States by NBC that ran from 1991 to 1993. Reasonable Doubts is about the working relationship between Assistant District Attorney Tess Kaufman, a prosecutor sensitive to the rights of the accused, hard-charging, gruff Detective Dicky Cobb, an old-fashioned cop with a "bust-the-perps" attitude; the reason that these two had been assigned to work together was that Cobb was one of the few available police officers who knew sign language, Tess, like the actress who portrayed her, was deaf. Dicky was more frustrated by Tess' attitudes than by her deafness. Dicky spoke as he signed to Tess. Both characters were involved with other people. Kay was, quite jealous of Tess, not without reason, as a considerable mutual attraction, despite their differences, developed between Tess and Dicky; the situation became more complicated with the death of Kay early in the second season, freeing the characters to pursue the relationship at least somewhat more, although its resolution was still up in the air when the program was not renewed for a third season.
Cobb was involved with flinty lawyer Maggie Zombro, an early continuing character who became a regular in seasons. Executive producer Bob Singer gained some interest from the network in spinning off the show into a straight cop drama starring Harmon and Jim Beaver, who had played Dicky's friend and partner Detective Earl Gaddis from the beginning of the show, but NBC demurred. Mark Harmon as Detective Dickie Cobb Marlee Matlin as Assistant District Attorney Tess Kaufman William Converse-Roberts as District Attorney Arthur Gold Nancy Everhard as Kay Lockman Tim Grimm as Bruce Kaufman Kay Lenz as Maggie Zombro Bill Pugin as Ben Douglass Jim Beaver as Detective Earl Gaddis Marnie Andrews as Judge Andrea Claussen John Mese as Sean Kelly Willie C. Carpenter as Robert Maxwell James Acheson as Andy Cromyer Michael Holden as Judge Melvin Orrick Richard Gant as Alvin Pinkston Vanessa Angel as Detective Peggy Elliott Jim Pirri as Asher Roth Leslie Jordan as Marvin/Cliff Sizemore Gregg Henry as Weldon Lewis Brooks and Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows Reasonable Doubts on IMDb Reasonable Doubts at TV.com
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. Founded in 1946, the organization presents the Primetime Emmy Awards, an annual ceremony honoring achievement in U. S. primetime television. Syd Cassyd considered television a tool for education and envisioned an organization that would put outside the "flash and glamor" of the industry and become an outlet for "serious discussion" and award the industries "finest achievements". In 2016, producer Hayma Washington was elected chairman and CEO of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, becoming the first African-American to hold the position. In 2014, alongside its Hall of Fame induction ceremony and announced plans to expand its headquarters, the organization announced that it had changed its public brand to the Television Academy, with a new logo designed by Siegel + Gale; the new branding was intended to downplay the organization's antiquated formal name in favor of a more straightforward identity, features a separating line used to symbolize a screen, portrayed as a "portal".
In 1949, the Television Academy held the first Emmy Awards ceremony, an annual event created to recognize excellence in U. S. television programming, although the initial event was restricted to programming from the Los Angeles area. The name "Emmy" was derived from "Immy," a nickname for the image orthicon camera tube, which aided the progress of modern television; the word was feminized as "Emmy" to match the statuette, which depicted a winged woman holding an atom. The Emmy Awards are administered by three sister organizations who focus on various sectors of television programming: the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In addition to recognizing outstanding programming through its Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy publishes the award-winning emmy magazine and through the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, is responsible for the Archive of American Television, annual College Television Awards, Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship, acclaimed student internships and other educational outreach programs.
Hayma Washington Steve Venezia, CAS Tim Gibbons Sharon Lieblein, CSA Allison Binder Mitch Waldow Bob Bergen Rickey Minor Muchael Ruscio, ACE Lori H. Schwartz Madeline Di Nonno See footnote; the Television Academy Honors were established in 2008 to recognize "Television with a Conscience"—television programming that inspires, informs and has the power to change lives. Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq Boston Legal Girl Positive God's Warriors Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, "Harm" Pictures of Hollis Woods Planet Earth Shame Side Order of Life Home Improvement, "A Home for the Holidays" Breaking the Huddle: The Integration of College Football Brothers & Sisters, "Prior Commitments" Extreme Makeover Home Edition, "The Martirez & Malek Families" Masterpiece Contemporary: "God on Trial" Stand Up to Cancer 30 Days Whale Wars CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, "Coup De Grace" Glee, "Wheels" Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver Explorer, "Inside Death Row" Private Practice, "Nothing To Fear" Taking Chance Unlocking Autism Vanguard, "The OxyContin Express" The 16th Man The Big C, "Taking The Plunge" Friday Night Lights, "I Can't" Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution The Oprah Winfrey Show, "A Two-Day Oprah Show Event: 200 Adult Men Who Were Molested Come Forward" Parenthood, "Pilot" Private Practice, "Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?"
Wartorn 1861–2010 The Dr. Oz Show The Five Harry's Law, "Head Games" Hot Coffee Men of a Certain Age, "Let the Sun Shine In" Rescue Me,'344" Women, War & Peace A Smiles As Big As The Moon D. L. Hughley: The Endangered List Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide Hunger Hits Home The Newsroom Nick News with Linda Ellerbee One Nation Under Dog: Stories of Fear, Loss & Betrayal Parenthood The Big C: Hereafter Comedy Warriors The Fosters Mea Maxima Culpa Mom Screw You Cancer Vice black-ish, "Crime and Punishment" E:60, "Dream On: Stories of Boston's Strongest" The Normal Heart Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert Transparent Virunga Born This Way Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief Homeland The Knick Mississippi Inferno Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom Before the Flood The Night Of Speechless This Is Us We Will Rise: Michelle Obama's Mission to Educate Girls Around the World Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 13 Reasons Why Andi Mack Daughters of Destiny Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America Full Frontal with Samantha Bee LA 92 One Day at a Time Note: There were no inductions in 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009.
Television Hall of Fame Television Academy Television Academy Foundation
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network, a flagship property of Walt Disney Television, a subsidiary of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, California on Riverside Drive, directly across the street from Walt Disney Studios and adjacent to the Roy E. Disney Animation Building, But the network's second corporate headquarters and News headquarters remains in New York City, New York at their broadcast center on 77 West 66th Street in Lincoln Square in Upper West Side Manhattan. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC has reduced its broadcasting operations exclusively to television; the fifth-oldest major broadcasting network in the world and the youngest of the Big Three television networks, ABC is nicknamed as "The Alphabet Network", as its initialism represents the first three letters of the English alphabet, in order. ABC launched as a radio network on October 12, 1943, serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, purchased by Edward J. Noble.
It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS and NBC. In the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that operated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop and greenlight many successful series. In the 1980s, after purchasing an 80 percent interest in cable sports channel ESPN, the network's corporate parent, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. merged with Capital Cities Communications, owner of several print publications, television and radio stations. In 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABC's assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company; the television network has eight owned-and-operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the United States and its territories. Some of the ABC-affiliated stations can be seen in Canada via pay-television providers, certain other affiliates can be received over-the-air in areas within the Canada–United States border.
ABC News provides news and features content for select radio stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting, which purchased the ABC Radio properties in 2007. In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies: the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System, the National Broadcasting Company; the last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America, which owned two radio networks that each ran different varieties of programming, NBC Blue and NBC Red. The NBC Blue Network was created in 1927 for the primary purpose of testing new programs on markets of lesser importance than those served by NBC Red, which served the major cities, to test drama series. In 1934, Mutual filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission regarding its difficulties in establishing new stations, in a radio market, being saturated by NBC and CBS. In 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940.
The report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC NBC Blue. At that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Having no power over the networks themselves, the FCC established a regulation forbidding licenses to be issued for radio stations if they were affiliated with a network which owned multiple networks that provided content of public interest. Once Mutual's appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, gave the mandate to do so to Mark Woods. RCA converted the NBC Blue Network into an independent subsidiary, formally divorcing the operations of NBC Red and NBC Blue on January 8, 1942, with the Blue Network being referred to on-air as either "Blue" or "Blue Network"; the newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Between 1942 and 1943, Woods offered to sell the entire NBC Blue Network, a package that included leases on landlines, three pending television licenses, 60 affiliates, four operations facilities, contracts with actors, the brand associated with the Blue Network.
Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, but the offer was rejected by Woods and RCA president David Sarnoff. Edward J. Noble, the owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million. Due to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell his station with the FCC's approval; the Commission authorized the transaction on October 12, 1943. Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, the American Broadcasting System. Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Storer in 1944. Meanwhile, in August 1944, the West Coast division of the Blue Network, which owned San Francisco radio station KGO, bought Los Angeles station KECA f
Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio. Midnight Caller starred Gary Cole as Jack Killian, a former San Francisco police detective who had quit the force after he accidentally shot his partner to death in a confrontation with armed criminals. After lapsing into alcoholism, Killian receives an offer from Devon King, the beautiful and wealthy owner-operator of KJCM-FM, to become "The Nighthawk", host of an overnight talk show, taking calls from listeners and acting as a detective solving their problems during the day. Killian's adventures took him back into the realm of police work, where several of his former colleagues were less than happy to see him again, he faced myriad problems, both personal and professional, was at various points required to come to grips with the nature of his relationship with both his absentee father and his troubled siblings.
What he never seemed to come to grip with, was his relationship, or lack of one, with Devon. Devon became pregnant in a relationship with another man and sold the station. Despite hard-hitting topical episodes dealing with AIDS, capital punishment, child abuse, among other topics, the show lost its audience when it was moved from its original time slot and was cancelled after three seasons. Midnight Caller's strength was in combination of well-created stories shaped by realistic and topical characters; the stories rotated around the main cast, its well-developed characters allowed the viewers to relate to them. The show's jazz music soundtrack added to its popularity; each episode of the series ended with Jack Killian's sign-off from his radio show: "This is Jack Killian, "The Nighthawk" on KJCM, 98.3 on your FM dial, good night America... wherever you are." Gary Cole as Jack Killian Wendy Kilbourne as Devon King Dennis Dun as Billy Po Mykel T. Williamson as Deacon Bridges Arthur Taxier as Lt. Carl Zymak Lisa Eilbacher as Nicky Molloy Series creator Richard DiLello took the title of the series from a song written by Pete Ham for the band Badfinger.
DiLello had authored The Longest Cocktail Party, a history of the rise and fall of The Beatles' corporation, Apple Corps, their record label, Apple Records, where Badfinger had been signed. The song itself had no relation to the series' subject matter. In an episode entitled "After It Happened", a bisexual man is depicted as an AIDS carrier who deliberately infects straight women; as conceived, the man is gunned down in a vigilante murder by one of the women he infects, a medical team in full Hazmat suits comes to take his body away as hero Jack Killian comforts the distraught shooter. In the broadcast version, the victim is stopped. Coming in the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the US at a time when public understanding of the disease was quite low, the proposed episode was criticized as sensationalistic and scientifically inaccurate. Protests were launched by BiNet USA and BiPAC among others. Additionally ACT UP pickets disrupted; the tone of the episode was softened to one of tolerance for all people who are ill and a heightened awareness of the need for safe sex practices by all.
However, it was still considered controversial among the bisexual community. Then-NBC affiliate KRON-TV in San Francisco ran a disclaimer before the show with an AIDS hotline number and aired a half-hour live special, Midnight Caller: The Response during which activists and public health officials aired their grievances. In 1989, Kay Lenz won an Emmy for her role in the episode "After it Happened", Joe Spano won an Emmy for his role in the episode "The Execution of John Saringo". Tropiano, Stephen; the Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. New York, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 1-55783-557-8 Midnight Caller on IMDb Midnight Caller at TV.com Midnight Caller cast and episode guide at The Gary Cole Archives
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an American period sitcom, based on the troubled teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock during the 1980s. The show is set between 1982 and 1987, although Rock himself was a teenager between 1978 and 1984, having been born in 1965; the show's title parodies the hit CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. The show aired for four seasons from 2005 to 2006 on UPN for its first season, The CW for the remaining three seasons. In 2008, the CW moved The Game to the Friday night death slot; the fourth season of the series premiered October 3, 2008, at 8:00 PM Eastern/7: 00PM Central. On May 21, 2009, The CW announced. Prior to this, Rock announced that the end of season 4 matched up with his own past, dropping out of high school to become a comedian, that it was time to end the show. Everybody Hates Chris received critical acclaim; the American Film Institute selected Everybody Hates Chris as one of the best 10 television series of 2007, stating that the show "provides a real look at growing up in America – a challenge that demands a discussion of race and class absent from television today."
Everybody Hates Chris was named one of the Best School Shows of All Time by AOL TV. Common Sense Media's Marjorie Kase and Shanel Walker & Emily Kofoed gave the show 4 stars, said it was "a prime example of how to take serious issues and approach them in a humorous yet thought-provoking way; the series is innovative and stereotype-defying – enjoyable for teens and their parents." UPN September 2005 – May 2006: Thursdays 8:00 PM/7:00 PM The CW October 1, 2006 – October 8, 2006: Sundays 7:00 PM/6:00 PM October 16, 2006 – March 2008: Mondays 8:00 PM/7:00 PM March 2008 – May 2008: Sundays 8:00 PM/7:00 PM October 2008 – November 2008: Fridays 8:00 PM/7:00 PM December 2008 – May 2009: Sundays 5:00 PM/4:00 PM September 2009 – present: syndicationMTV, MTV2 & TV One As of 2014 MTV has stopped airing Everybody Hates Chris. The show airs on MTV 2 at random times during the week. Fuse As of 2015, Fuse airs the show at random times during the week; the show airs on broadcast TV during the week. The show was launched on September 7, 2009 on Nick at Nite, becoming the youngest syndicated show on the channel, beating George Lopez.
The series has since expanded from Nick at Nite, has joined sister network TeenNick, with the first run from July 18, 2011 to August 15, 2011. The show was replaced by Zoey 101; the show aired on YTV in Canada, now airs on Much in that country. MTV2 aired episodes of the show in the early morning hours, it aired on TV One until 2016. Now, the series reruns on Fuse. In 2017, VH1 started airing reruns every morning. In 2018, the series reruns on BET. Everybody Hates Chris won a NAACP Image Award for its writing in 2007, it has been nominated for many Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. In December 2008, Entertainment Weekly lists the Kwanzaa episode from this show as seventh on the magazine's "Must List: 10 Holiday Things We Love." Boldface type indicates a win. Golden Globes2006 – Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy Emmy Awards2009 – Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series – Darrian Jones for episode "Everybody Hates Back Talk" 2006 – Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series – Mark Doering-Powell for episode "Everybody Hates Funerals."
2006 – Outstanding Costumes for a Series – Kendra Long & Laura Haas for episode "Everybody Hates The Pilot" Writers Guild of America2006 – New Series Young Artist Awards2006 – Best Family Television Series 2006 – Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young Actor – Tyler James Williams 2006 – Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor – Vincent Martella 2008 – Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young Actor – Tyler James Williams 2008 – Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor – Vincent Martella Television Critics Association Awards2006 – Outstanding Achievement in Comedy 2006 – Outstanding New Program of the Year Teen Choice Awards2006 – TV – Choice Actor: Comedy – Tyler James Williams 2006 – TV – Choice Actress: Comedy – Tichina Arnold 2006 – TV – Choice Breakout Show 2006 – TV – Choice Comedy/Musical Show 2006 – TV – Choice Parental Unit – Tichina Arnold & Terry Crews 2006 – TV – Choice Sidekick – Vincent Martella Image Awards2010 – Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series – Tyler James Williams 2010 – Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – Tichina Arnold 2010 – Outstanding Comedy Series 2010 – Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series – Ali LeRoi for episode "Everybody Hates the G.
E. D." 2009 – Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series – Tyler James Williams 2009 – Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series – Terry Crews 2009 – Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – Tichina Arnold 2009 – Outstanding Comedy Series 2009 – Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series – Ali LeRoi for episode "Everybody Hates Port Authority" 2008 – Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series – Ali LeRoi for episode "Everybody Hates Guidance Counselor" 2008 – Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series – Tyler James Williams 2008 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Terry Crews 2008 – Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – Tichina Arnold 2008 – Outstanding Comedy Series 2008 – Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series – Al
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. referred to as Warner Bros. and abbreviated as WB, is an American entertainment company headquartered in Burbank, California and a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia. Founded in 1923, it has operations in film and video games and is one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association of America; the company's name originated from the four founding Warner brothers: Harry, Albert and Jack Warner. Harry and Sam emigrated as young children with their parents to Canada from Krasnosielc, Poland. Jack, the youngest brother, was born in Ontario; the three elder brothers began in the movie theater business, having acquired a movie projector with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. In the beginning and Albert Warner invested $150 to present Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery, they opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1903. When the original building was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the current building owners, arranged to save it.
The owners noted people across the country had asked them to protect it for its historical significance. In 1904, the Warners founded the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company, to distribute films. In 1912, Harry Warner hired. By the time of World War I they had begun producing films. In 1918 they opened the first Warner Brothers Studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Sam and Jack produced the pictures, while Harry and Albert, along with their auditor and now controller Chase, handled finance and distribution in New York City. During World War I their first nationally syndicated film, My Four Years in Germany, based on a popular book by former ambassador James W. Gerard, was released. On April 4, 1923, with help from money loaned to Harry by his banker Motley Flint, they formally incorporated as Warner Bros. Pictures, Incorporated; the first important deal was the acquisition of the rights to Avery Hopwood's 1919 Broadway play, The Gold Diggers, from theatrical impresario David Belasco.
However, Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought from France after World War I by an American soldier, established their reputation. Rin Tin Tin debuted in the feature; the movie was so successful. Rin Tin Tin became the studio's top star. Jack nicknamed him "The Mortgage Lifter" and the success boosted Darryl F. Zanuck's career. Zanuck became a top producer and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jack's right-hand man and executive producer, with responsibilities including day-to-day film production. More success came. Lubitsch's film The Marriage Circle was the studio's most successful film of 1924, was on The New York Times best list for that year. Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warner's remained a lesser studio. Sam and Jack decided to offer Broadway actor John Barrymore the lead role in Beau Brummel; the film was so successful. By the end of 1924, Warner Bros. was arguably Hollywood's most successful independent studio, where it competed with "The Big Three" Studios. As a result, Harry Warner—while speaking at a convention of 1,500 independent exhibitors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin—was able to convince the filmmakers to spend $500,000 in newspaper advertising, Harry saw this as an opportunity to establish theaters in cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
As the studio prospered, it gained backing from Wall Street, in 1924 Goldman Sachs arranged a major loan. With this new money, the Warners bought the pioneer Vitagraph Company which had a nationwide distribution system. In 1925, Warners' experimented in radio, establishing a successful radio station, KFWB, in Los Angeles. Warner Bros. was a pioneer of films with synchronized sound. In 1925, at Sam's urging, Warner's agreed to add this feature to their productions. By February 1926, the studio reported a net loss of $333,413. After a long period denying Sam's request for sound, Harry agreed to change, as long as the studio's use of synchronized sound was for background music purposes only; the Warners signed a contract with the sound engineer company Western Electric and established Vitaphone. In 1926, Vitaphone began making films with music and effects tracks, most notably, in the feature Don Juan starring John Barrymore; the film was silent. To hype Don Juan's release, Harry acquired the large Piccadilly Theater in Manhattan, New York City, renamed it Warners' Theatre.
Don Juan premiered at the Warners' Theatre in New York on August 6, 1926. Throughout the early history of film distribution, theater owners hired orchestras to attend film showings, where they provided soundtracks. Through Vitaphone, Warner Bros. produced eight shorts in 1926. Many film production companies questioned the necessity. Don Juan did not recoup its production cost and Lubitsch left for MGM. By April 1927, the Big Five studios had ruined Warner's, Western Electric renewed Warner's Vit
Supernatural (U.S. TV series)
Supernatural is an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke. It was first broadcast on September 13, 2005, on The WB, subsequently became part of successor The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the two brothers as they hunt demons, ghosts and other supernatural beings; the series is produced by Warner Bros. Television, in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision. Along with Kripke, executive producers have been McG, Robert Singer, Phil Sgriccia, Sera Gamble, Jeremy Carver, John Shiban, Ben Edlund and Adam Glass. Former executive producer and director Kim Manners died of lung cancer during production of the fourth season; the series is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and surrounding areas and was in development for nearly ten years, as creator Kripke spent several years unsuccessfully pitching it. The pilot was viewed by an estimated 5.69 million viewers, the ratings of the first four episodes prompted The WB to pick up the series for a full season.
Kripke planned the series for three seasons but expanded it to five. The fifth season concluded the series' main storyline, Kripke departed the series as showrunner; the series has continued on for several more seasons with new showrunners, including Sera Gamble, Jeremy Carver, Robert Singer and Andrew Dabb. With its eleventh season, Supernatural became the longest-running American live-action fantasy TV series. On April 2, 2018, The CW renewed the series for a fourteenth season, which premiered on October 11, 2018, will consist of 20 episodes; the series has been renewed for final season to consist of 20 episodes. Before bringing Supernatural to television, creator Eric Kripke had been developing the series for nearly ten years, having been fascinated with urban legends since he was a child, he had envisioned Supernatural as a movie. He developed it as a TV series and spent a few years pitching it before it was picked up by The WB; the concept went through several phases before becoming the eventual product, shifting from the original idea of an anthology series to one of tabloid reporters driving around the country in a van "fighting the demons in search of the truth".
Kripke wanted it to be a road trip series, feeling that it was the "best vehicle to tell these stories because it's pure, stripped down and uniquely American... These stories exist in these small towns all across the country, it just makes so much sense to drive in and out of these stories."As he had written for The WB series Tarzan, Kripke was offered the chance to pitch show ideas to the network and used the opportunity for Supernatural. However, the network disliked his tabloid reporter idea, so Kripke pitched his last-minute idea of the characters being brothers, he decided to have the brothers be from Lawrence, because of its closeness to Stull Cemetery, a location famous for its urban legends. When it came time to name the two lead characters, Kripke decided on "Sal" and "Dean" as an homage to Jack Kerouac's road-trip novel On the Road. However, he felt that "Sal" was inappropriate for a main character and changed the name to "Sam", it was intended for the brothers' last name to be "Harrison" as a nod to actor Harrison Ford, as Kripke wanted Dean to have the "devil-may-care swagger of Han Solo".
However, there was a Sam Harrison living in Kansas. Combining his interest in the Winchester Mystery House and his desire to give the series the feel of "a modern-day Western", Kripke settled on the surname of "Winchester". However, this presented a problem; the first name of Sam and Dean's father was "Jack", there was a Jack Winchester residing in Kansas, so Kripke was forced to change the character's name to "John". Growing up, Kripke connected to television shows that had signature cars, such as The Dukes of Hazzard and Knight Rider; this prompted him to include one in Supernatural. "We say it's a modern American Western – two gunslingers who ride into town, fight the bad guys, kiss the girl and ride out into the sunset again. And we were always talking from the beginning that if you're going to have cowboys, they need a trusty horse." He intended for the car to be a'65 Mustang, but his neighbor convinced him to change it to a'67 Impala, since "you can put a body in the trunk" and because "you want a car that, when people stop next to it at the lights, they lock their doors."
Kripke has commented, "It's a Rottweiler of a car, I think it adds authenticity for fans of automobiles because of that, because it's not a pretty ride. It's an aggressive, muscular car, I think that's what people respond to, why it fits so well into the tone of our show."Kripke had pitched the series to Fox executive Peter Johnson, when Johnson moved to Wonderland Sound and Vision as president of TV, he contacted Kripke. Johnson soon signed on as co-executive producer, as did Wonderland owner McG as executive producer, with the production company set to make the pilot episode. Before it could be filmed, script issues needed to be dealt with; the brothers were not raised by their father, but rather by their aunt and uncle. Thus, when Dean comes to Sam for assistance in the pilot episode, he has to convince him that the supernatural exists. However, Kripke realized that this made the backstory too complicated and reworked it with Peter Johnson so that their father raised them to be hunters; the script went through many additional revisions.
One of the original ideas was for Sam's girlfriend Jessica to be revealed as a demon, which prompts him to join Dean on the road.
