Cracking Up (2004– )

Ben, a student, moves into a Beverly Hills family's guest house. Every family member seems to act crazier than the next, even though they look like a picture-perfect family.

Creator:

Mike White

Stars:

Jake Sandvig, Molly Shannon, Christopher McDonald

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jake Sandvig	...	Preston Shackleton (13 episodes, 2004-2006)
Molly Shannon	...	Lesley Shackleton (8 episodes, 2004-2006)
Christopher McDonald	...	Ted Shackleton (8 episodes, 2004-2006)
Caitlin Wachs	...	Chloe Shackleton (8 episodes, 2004-2006)
David Walton	...	Liam Connor (8 episodes, 2004-2006)
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ben Baxter (7 episodes, 2004-2006)
Bret Loehr	...	Tanner Shackleton (7 episodes, 2004-2006)

Storyline

Ben, a student, moves into a Beverly Hills family's guest house. Every family member seems to act crazier than the next, even though they look like a picture-perfect family.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Sketi trela

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Brad Grey Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

12 Episodes were produced for this show but only 9 episodes got to air because the show later got canceled with 4 unaired episodes.

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: North by North Quahog (2005)

User Reviews

Honestly - I want the DVD

Unfortunately, I only saw about 4 episodes before the show was moved around, canceled or lost. But this show had a lot of things that made "Arrested Development" so popular - though perhaps a degree of anarchy that killed it. Mike White ("School of Rock", "Orange County", "The Good Girl") writes/directs with the usual blend of wit, irony and character-based storytelling. Jason Schwartzman does his best "I Heart Huckabees"-meets-"Charles In Charge" as Ben, a grad student studying the Shackleton family. The Shackletons - with "Mom" played by a neurotic Molly Shannon - are a mess. Ben attempts to bring in sanity and heart. Whether he had any chance, remains to be seen. This show didn't get off the ground, but it deserved a chance. It had enough talent to grow a heart - it just needed another half-season.

Plus, if you haven't seen the episode with Jack Black as a drug counselor, you're missing a great piece of work. Hilarious.

Please bring this to DVD - at least the treatment given to other short-lived series like the nice package of "God, The Devil and Bob" or (the dream), something like "Freaks and Geeks" or "Firefly".