"LateLine" (1998) TV series 1998-1999

Creator:

Al Franken

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

17 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

This sitcom on NBC stars Al Franken as Al Freundlich, a vain reporter for the fictional news program...

Plot Keywords:

Television | Journalism | Satire

Cast

Al Franken	...	Al Freundlich (23 episodes, 1998-1999)
Megyn Price	...	Gale Ingersoll (17 episodes, 1998-1999)
Miguel Ferrer	...	Victor 'Vic' Karp (17 episodes, 1998-1999)
Ajay Naidu	...	Raji Bakshi (17 episodes, 1998-1999)
Sanaa Lathan	...	Briana Gilliam (17 episodes, 1998-1999)
Catherine Lloyd Burns	...	Mona Guillingsvard (17 episodes, 1998-1999)
Robert Foxworth	...	Pearce McKenzie (17 episodes, 1998-1999)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (19 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Markus/Franken Productions

Quotes:

Gale Ingersoll: [they enter the studio, and stand next to the desk Pierce sits in. Andy is, for some reason, clad only in a bathrobe] Pierce should be on his way, but um... In the meantime you guys maybe could rehearse for the cameras?
Conan O'Brien: Yeah, uh, Andy, maybe you should rehearse naked, so the lighting guys can prepare for your glare?
Andy Richter: Okay.
[takes off his bathrobe, revealing that he is wearing very little]
Andy Richter: [explaining to a surprised Gale] Oh, see, the network won't let me work totally naked any more, so I wear a flesh-colored jockstrap, and we'll pixilate out the genital area later.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Perfect Pitch (2002) (TV)

Another Great Show Cancelled Too Soon

"Lateline" was a well-written, wonderfully-acted sitcom that assumed the audience had a brain. And unlike just about every OTHER sitcom on TV, "Lateline" was about more than just sex. For those reasons, it didn't last.

I guess the thing that really made the difference was the show's tone. It had funny situations and dialogue, not one-liners. That separated it from everything else on TV. The cast was fantastic: Al Franken, Robert Foxworth, Miguel Ferrer, and the gorgeous Megyn Price. They all acted and sounded like REAL PEOPLE, not sitcom characters shouting jokes. The show had a laid-back tone sorely missing on TV today.

If you didn't already know, "Lateline" was a spoof of network TV journalism. I work in TV news myself, and I can tell you: In addition to being funny, it's easily the most realistic depiction of journalism I've ever seen on a TV sitcom. ("Murphy Brown" isn't even CLOSE to getting it right.)

Fantastic show! NBC was crazy to cancel it. The network should have slipped it into its "Must See TV" Thursday lineup, and it would have run for years. Why does junk like "Suddenly Susan" last for years, while "Lateline" gets the shaft?

Please, TV Land and/or Comedy Central: rerun "Lateline"!