Hitz
| Hitz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Mark Cullen |
| Developed by | Richard Vaczy Tracy Gamble |
| Written by | Jamie Wooten Mark Cullen |
| Directed by | Gary Brown |
| Starring | Andrew Dice Clay Rick Gomez Claude Brooks Rosa Blasi Kristin Dattilo Spencer Garrett |
| Composer | Christopher Neal Nelson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 (7 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Tracy Gamble Richard Vaczy |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Vaczy-Gamble Productions MTV Productions Paramount Network Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | UPN |
| Release | August 26 – November 11, 1997 |
Hitz is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26 until November 11, 1997.[1] The series follows two record industry executives (Rick Gomez and Claude Brooks) and their boss (Andrew Dice Clay) at Hitower Records in Los Angeles.
Cast
[edit]- Andrew Dice Clay as Jimmy Esposito
- Rick Gomez as Robert Moore
- Claude Brooks as Busby Evans
- Rosa Blasi as April Beane
- Kristin Dattilo as Angela
- Spencer Garrett as Tommy Stans
Episodes
[edit]| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Rob Schiller | Story by : Mark Cullen Teleplay by : Mark Cullen & Richard Vaczy & Tracy Gamble | August 26, 1997 |
| 2 | "It Ain't Over Till..." | Rob Schiller | Tracy Gamble & Richard Vaczy | September 2, 1997 |
| 3 | "The Godfather: Not the Movie" | Brian K. Roberts | Bill Boulware | September 9, 1997 |
| 4 | "My Favorite Geer" | Brian K. Roberts | Vance DeGeneres | September 16, 1997 |
| 5 | "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" | Terri McCoy | Jamie Wooten | September 23, 1997 |
| 6 | "Comedy Jam" | Unknown | David Flebotte | September 30, 1997 |
| 7 | "Guys and Dolls" | Terri McCoy | Marc Abrams & Michael Benson | October 14, 1997 |
| 8 | "Jive Talkin" | Unknown | Unknown | October 28, 1997 |
| 9 | "You Probably Think This Song Is About You" | Ted Wass | Bob Daily | November 4, 1997 |
| 10 | "Give the Drummer Some" | Paul Miller | Bill Boulware | November 11, 1997 |
| 11 | "Cat's Cradle" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
| 12 | "Radio Daze" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
| 13 | "You Can Almost Go Home Again" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
| 14 | "Sleeping with the Enemy" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
| 15 | "Riffapalooza" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
| 16 | "Yo' Mama" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
| 17 | "What's Your Name, Who's Your Daddy?" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED |
Production
[edit]Although UPN had initially ordered 13 episodes, by October the network had ordered nine more episodes for a total of 22.[2] However, by December the series was canceled before production on the last six episodes was complete.[3]
Reception
[edit]Caryn James of The New York Times called the series "relentlessly unfunny."[1] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly rated the series as one of the worst of the year.[4] Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Hitz is "prime time at its flat-out dumbest and unfunniest."[5]
Hitz retooling
[edit]Variety stated in July of 1997 that UPN's CEO Lucie Salhany said the network was retooling Hitz in an attempt to tone down the down the series after complaints that the program was misogynitic.[6]
The Hitz producers told an audience at a meeting of the TV Critics Association in Southern California that they will introduce a strong female character that will stand up to Andrew Dice Clay's boss character, Jimmy, that . The chaacter of Jimmy, executives also said, was modeled after Sony music chief Tommy Mottola.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b James, Caryn (August 25, 1997). "Television in Review". The New York Times. pp. C14. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Snow, Shauna (October 11, 1997). "Morning Report". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Hontz, Jenny (December 14, 1997). "'Danza,' 'Hitz' get the ax". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (December 26, 1997). "Best & Worst / Television". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard (April 25, 1997). "A Wobbly Start, That's for Sure". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Hontz, Jenny (July 10, 1997). "UPN retools new 'Hitz' and 'Head'". Varitey.
External links
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- 1990s American sitcoms
- 1997 American television series debuts
- 1997 American television series endings
- American English-language television shows
- Television series by CBS Studios
- Television shows set in Los Angeles
- Works about the music industry
- Television series about fictional musicians
- UPN sitcoms
- United States comedy television series stubs