''Second Chances'' is an American drama television series created and written by producers Bernard Lechowick and

Lynn Marie Latham Lynn Marie Latham is an American television writer, producer, and showrunner. Her initial foray into writing for television was as a story editor for the series '' Berrenger's'' in 1985. That same year, Latham became a writer for the nighttime ser ...

. The two-hour pilot episode was directed by

Sharron Miller Sharron Miller is an American television and film director, producer, and screenwriter. She is one of the pioneering women directors who worked regularly in mainstream Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s (along with Elaine May, Lee Grant, Joan Da ...

. Its cast includes

Connie Sellecca Connie Sellecca (born Concetta Sellecchia; May 25, 1955) is an American actress, producer, and former model, best known for her roles on the television series '' Flying High'', ''The Greatest American Hero'', and ''Hotel'', for which she was nomi ...

Matt Salinger Matthew Douglas Salinger (; born February 13, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for his appearances in the films '' Revenge of the Nerds'' and ''Captain America''. Early life Salinger was born February 13, 1960, in Windsor, Vermont, the so ...

, Megan Porter Follows, Jennifer Lopez, and

Michelle Phillips Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish ...

. The series premiered December 2, 1993, on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, and aired its final episode on February 19, 1994. ''

Hotel Malibu ''Hotel Malibu'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from August 4 to September 8, 1994 and was created and written by producers Bernard Lechowick and Lynn Marie Latham. Its cast includes Jenni ...

'', which was touted as a spinoff of this series, debuted in August 1994. This series marked a reunion between actors

Ronny Cox Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in '' Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), C ...

and

Frances Lee McCain Frances Lee McCain (born July 28, 1943) is an American actress. Early life and education McCain was born in York, Pennsylvania and grew up in New York, Illinois and Colorado in addition to California. She graduated from Ripon College with ...

who had worked together two decades before on another CBS series called ''

Apple's Way ''Apple's Way'' is an American drama television series that aired on CBS from February 10, 1974, to January 12, 1975. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr. Premise The Apples of Los Angeles—architect George, his wife Barbara, their children Paul ...

''.

Cast

as Dianne Benedict *

as Mike Chulack *

as George Cook * Megan Porter Follows as Kate Benedict *

Justin Lazard Justin Lazard (born November 30, 1967) is an American retired actor, producer, director, and model. Early life Lazard was born in New York, but raised in Connecticut. His father, Sidney Lazard, is a former foreign correspondent, and his mother, ...

as Kevin Cook * Jennifer Lopez as Melinda Lopez * Francis Lee McCain as Felicity Cook *

as Joanna Russel *

Pepe Serna Pepe Serna (born July 23, 1944) is an American film and television actor and artist. Serna's first break in movies came in 1970 on the Roger Corman directed film '' The Student Nurses''. Over the years Serna has appeared in over 100 films. In ...

as Salvador Lopez * Ray Wise as Judge Jim Stinson * Ramy Zada as Det. Jerry Kuntz

Episodes

Production

On January 17, 1994, the

Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximatel ...

damaged the show's sets, and CBS decided to cancel the series instead of investing money to repair them – in addition to the cost of rebuilding, both Connie Sellecca and Megan Follows were pregnant and would have been far along by the time the sets were rebuilt. The series' last episode ran on February 10, 1994, as part of CBS's "

Crimetime After Primetime ''Crimetime After Primetime'' is the umbrella title for a group of late-night crime-investigation shows that debuted at various times on CBS during 1991 and 1992, running through late summer of 1993. History Prior to 1989, CBS aired the similarl ...

" lineup. Part of the cast and characters were moved to the summertime replacement show ''

'' in August 1994, which was touted as a spinoff of the series.

Reception

Ken Tucker of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' rated the pilot episode a C− saying that it "relies on too many verbal cliches and pat coincidences to promise much in the way of engrossing escapism". Tony Scott of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated that the series "needs more riveting material" as the pilot episode "suffers from blatant, uninvolving characters, low-caliber plotting and subcommercial appeal".

References

External links

* *{{Epguides, SecondChances, Second Chances 1990s American drama television series 1993 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings CBS original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles