Mister Sterling 

The scandal-free son of a former Governor of California is appointed to be Senator, whereupon it's discovered he's an independent. Modern day Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Creator:

Lawrence O'Donnell

Stars:

Josh Brolin, Audra McDonald, William Russ

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Josh Brolin	...	Bill Sterling (10 episodes, 2003)
Audra McDonald	...	Jackie Brock (10 episodes, 2003)
William Russ	...	Tommy Doyle (10 episodes, 2003)
David Norona	...	Leon Montero (10 episodes, 2003)
Dale Raoul	...	Pat Conway (10 episodes, 2003)
Dean Cameron	...	Derek / ... (9 episodes, 2003)
Chandra West	...	Laura Chandler (7 episodes, 2003)
Randy Oglesby	...	Democratic Senate Majority Leader (7 episodes, 2003)
Stanley Kamel	...	Arthur Peyton (6 episodes, 2003)
David Starzyk	...	Anthony Marino (6 episodes, 2003)
Kathryn Harrold	...	Senator from Nevada (5 episodes, 2003)
Gerald McRaney	...	Burt Gammel (5 episodes, 2003)
Nicole Forester	...	Sterling's Receptionist / ... (5 episodes, 2003)

Storyline

Bill Sterling, Jr. - a non-politico teacher at a Los Angeles correctional facility - is selected by the governor of California as a replacement for a deceased U.S. Senator, primarily thanks to the popularity of his father, a former governor. Upon arrival in Washington, Senator Sterling declares that he is not a member of either major political party. He approaches his job with a refreshing honesty and vibrance that breeds loyalty and fascination in his staff and bitterness among his colleagues.

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Plot Keywords:

senator | politics | u.s. congress | 

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Taglines:

The most dangerous thing in Washington is an honest man.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

O kyrios Sterling

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

NBC Studios, Universal Network Television, Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (10 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This show was supposedly set in the same 'universe' as the The West Wing (1999), but there was at least one verbal reference to 9/11 in "Mister Sterling", and 9/11 was not incorporated into the "West Wing" 'universe' (unless you count the stand-alone episode "Isaac and Ishmael").

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Quotes

Jackie Brock: Do you know what you're doing here? Do you? Or is this just some crazy roller coaster ride to nowhere that's gonna make us all look like idiots?

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Connections

Spun-off from The West Wing (1999)

User Reviews

Why not?

So far, Mister Sterling has been all about a phenomenon that is especially prevalent in politics, but is also readily observable in most walks of life. This phenomenon is how we tend to ignore what we really believe is right or wrong just so we can make things easier on ourselves by saving time and not rubbing certain people the wrong way. Sterling doesn't worry about that kind of thing and instead just does what he feels are the right things to do, no matter how much hassle it causes.

When people watch this show, most of them probably believe that Sterling is doing the right things, but most of them also probably realize that people just don't do those types of things in real life very often. I hope this show makes many of those people ask themselves one important question: Why the hell not?