Mr. Sunshine (2011 TV series)

Mr. Sunshine
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Matthew Perry Marc Firek Alex Barnow
Starring	Matthew Perry Allison Janney Andrea Anders James Lesure Nate Torrence Portia Doubleday
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	9 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jamie Tarses Thomas Schlamme Matthew Perry Alex Barnow Marc Firek
Camera setup	Single camera
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Anhedonia Productions Shoe Money Productions Barnow and Firek Productions FanFare Productions Sony Pictures Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	February 7, 2011 (2011-02-07) – April 6, 2011 (2011-04-06)
External links
Website

Mr. Sunshine is an American television sitcom, which ran from February 7, 2011, to April 6, 2011, as a midseason replacement.^[1] The single-camera comedy was co-created by Matthew Perry, who also starred in the series.^[2]

On May 13, 2011, Mr. Sunshine was canceled by ABC.^[3]

Premise

Main article: List of Mr. Sunshine episodes

Ben Donovan (Perry) is the operations manager for the Sunshine Center, a second-tier arena in San Diego, who has to deal with the unusual demands of his job and his unpredictable boss (Allison Janney).^[4]

Cast and characters

• Matthew Perry as Ben Donovan – manager of the Sunshine Center.
• Allison Janney as Crystal Cohen – Ben's unpredictable boss.
• Andrea Anders as Alice – Ben's former "friends with benefits" now dating Alonzo.
• James Lesure as Alonzo Pope – former NBA star, Ben's happy-go-lucky co-worker and Alice's boyfriend.
• Nate Torrence as Roman Cohen – Crystal's lovable but weird son. He has a crush on Heather.
• Portia Doubleday as Heather – Ben's assistant, who everyone believes is crazy.

Development and production

Mr. Sunshine is based on a concept by Matthew Perry, who planned to co-write, star in, and executive produce.^[5] The project sparked a bidding war among the networks, with ABC landing the comedy in October 2009.^[6] The deal came with hefty penalties if the pilot did not make it to series.^[7][8] Perry teamed with Sony writers Alex Barnow and Marc Firek to pen the script.^[6]

A green light to produce the pilot came from ABC in early January 2010.^[2][9] Thomas Schlamme, of Shoe Money Productions, was chosen to direct the half-hour pilot.^[10] Perry, Schlamme, and co-writers Barnow and Firek were all listed as executive producers for the pilot, along with Jamie Tarses of FanFare Productions.^[4]

Casting began in late January, with Allison Janney as the first actor added to the cast as Ben's boss.^[11] In February, Andrea Anders was tapped as Ben's "friend with benefits",^[12] and Nate Torrence brought on board to play Roman, the son of Ben's boss.^[13] The casting of Portia Doubleday as Ben's assistant, and James Lesure as an ex-basketball star, was announced at the end of April.^[14]

In May 2010, ABC picked up the pilot for the 2010–2011 television season.^[15]

On May 13, 2011, ABC announced that it had canceled Mr. Sunshine.^[3]

DVD release

The series was released on DVD on November 1, 2011.^[16]

References

1. ^ Gorman, Bill (December 6, 2010). "ABC's 'Mr. Sunshine' Will Bump 'Cougar Town'; Plus Dates For 'Happy Endings' & 'Off The Map'". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/12/06/abcs-mr-sunshine-will-bump-cougar-town-temporarily-plus-premiere-dates-for-happy-endings-off-the-map/74516. Retrieved February 5, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Andreeva, Nellie (January 12, 2010). "Matthew Perry project a go at ABC". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/matthew-perry-project-go-abc-19418. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Updated: 'V' Cancelled; 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Mr. Sunshine,' 'Detroit 187,' 'Off The Map,' 'No Ordinary Family' Cancelled Too
4. ^ ^{a b} "2010 ABC Program Development Guide - Comedy Series". The Futon Critic. March 25, 2010. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/03/25/2010-abc-program-development-guide-comedy-series/20100325abc04/. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 12, 2009). "Matthew Perry develops single-camera project". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ib26dae96f6367a4499767e1b6aa77cd5. Retrieved April 25, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ ^{a b} Andreeva, Nellie (October 14, 2009). "Matthew Perry project goes to ABC". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ibadf593c28401ee82c78deaa0b93c76b. Retrieved April 25, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "Development Update: Wednesday October 14". The Futon Critic. October 14, 2009. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2009/10/14/development-update-wednesday-october-14/8338/. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 14, 2009). "ABC lands Matthew Perry project". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/abc-lands-matthew-perry-project-52381. Retrieved December 3, 2010. 
9. ^ "Development Update: Tuesday, January 12". The Futon Critic. January 12, 2010. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/01/12/development-update-tuesday-january-12/8470/. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
10. ^ Schneider, Michael (January 12, 2010). "ABC looks to Matthew Perry for 'Sunshine'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 25, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5pGObnQUe. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
11. ^ "Development Update: Friday, January 29". The Futon Critic. January 29, 2010. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/01/29/development-update-friday-january-29/8505/. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 9, 2010). "Andrea Anders, Jesse Metcalfe join pilots". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/andrea-anders-jesse-metcalfe-join-20482?page=show. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
13. ^ "Development Update: Monday, February 10". The Futon Critic. February 10, 2010. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/02/10/development-update-wednesday-february-10/8522/. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
14. ^ "Development Update: Friday, March 26". The Futon Critic. March 26, 2010. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/03/26/development-update-friday-march-26/8589/. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
15. ^ Fernandez, Maria Elena (May 13, 2010). "ABC picks up two comedies, 'Happy Endings' and 'Mr. Sunshine,' for fall". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/05/abc-picks-up-two-comedies-happy-endings-and-mr-sunshine-for-fall.html. Retrieved May 14, 2010. 
16. ^ "Mr. Sunshine - Updated DVD Info for the Matthew Perry Series Corrects Date, Cost, Count of Discs and Episodes". TV Shows on DVD. September 30, 2011. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Mr-Sunshine-DVD-Update/16011. Retrieved November 2, 2011. 

External links

• Official website
• Mr. Sunshine at the Internet Movie Database