''Pasadena'' is an American prime time

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

that originally aired on Fox from September to November 2001.

Summary

The series starred Alison Lohman as Lily McAllister, an initially naïve young woman who witnesses a stranger's suicide and begins to investigate the secrets being hidden by her own very wealthy

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

family, the Greeleys. Other cast members included Dana Delany and

Martin Donovan Martin Donovan (born Martin Paul Smith; August 19, 1957) is an American actor. He has had a long collaboration with director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, such as ''Trust'' (1990), ''Surviving Desire'' (1991), ''Simple Men'' (1992) ...

as Lily's parents, Will and Catherine McAllister, and Chris Marquette as Lily's brother Mason.

Mark Valley Mark Thomas Valley (born December 24, 1964) is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Brad Chase in the TV drama '' Boston Legal'', Oliver Richard in the NBC drama '' Harry's Law'', FBI Special Agent John Scott in t ...

, Balthazar Getty, and Natasha Gregson Wagner portrayed Catherine's siblings Robert, Nate, and Beth Greeley, while

Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), '' Boogie Nights'' (1997) and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He al ...

and Barbara Babcock played Greeley patriarch and matriarch George and Lillian. Alan Simpson was cast as Lily's love interest Henry Bellow, with

Derek Cecil Derek Cecil (born January 5, 1973) is an American actor. He played the role of Seth Grayson on the Netflix series '' House of Cards'', starred in the short-lived series ''Push, Nevada'' and '' The Beat'', and made several appearances in the serie ...

as Henry's brother Tom.

Cast

* Alison Lohman as Lily McAllister * Alan Simpson as Henry Bellow *

as Will McAllister * Dana Delany as Catherine McAllister * Chris Marquette as Mason McAllister * Natasha Gregson Wagner as Beth Greeley *

as Robert Greeley *

Nicole Paggi Nicole Collier Paggi (born August 15, 1983) is an American actress. She is best known her role of Jennie Bradbury in the critically acclaimed FOX television series Pasadena, which was directed by Diane Keaton and created by Mike White. She also ...

as Jennie Bradbury * Balthazar Getty as Nate Greeley

Production

''Pasadena'' was created by Mike White, who attended elementary and high school in Pasadena,

. Actress/director

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...

directed the pilot episode, and was among the show's executive producers. Other producers included

Mark B. Perry Mark B. Perry is an American television producer and writer. He has written and produced for the television series ''The Wonder Years'', ''Law & Order'', '' One Tree Hill'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Pasadena'', ''What About Brian'', '' Windfa ...

, Dana Baratta,

R. W. Goodwin Robert W. Goodwin (born 1943), billed as R. W. Goodwin, is an Australian-born American television producer and director best known for his work as senior executive producer of ''The X-Files''. He lives in Bellingham, Washington. He also directed ...

, and Bill Robinson. The pilot was edited by Tatiana S. Riegel.

Episodes

Release

Broadcast and syndication

Only four episodes were originally aired in the U.S. in 2001, though thirteen were filmed, with the last episode seemingly resolving the central mystery of the series. In late 2005, the series was shown in its entirety for the first time in the United States, on the cable channel SoapNet. In 2003 and 2004, all thirteen episodes were aired in various countries such as

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

(by the public television TVR 1),

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

(BTV Channel),

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Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Russia,

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(on the pay channel M-Net), Israel (on cable Channel 3) and China. It began airing in Belgium on

Club RTL Club RTL is a Luxembourgish channel of French language based in Kirchberg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg and it was owned by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, it was originally owned by RTL Group until 31 March 2022. The two principals countries of t ...

on June 27, 2010.

Home media

Mill Creek Entertainment announced the series on DVD.

Reception

Although the show was critically acclaimed, it was watched by only 4.3 million viewers. The general speculation at the time was that, with the series having premiered two weeks after the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, American audiences were not willing to watch a show like ''Pasadena'', with its dark atmosphere and cynical storylines.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasadena (TV Series) 2001 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings 2000s American drama television series 2000s American mystery television series American primetime television soap operas English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series created by Mike White Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Los Angeles