''WIOU'' is an American
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
television series, which aired on
CBS from October 24, 1990 until March 20, 1991. The show is set in the news department of a fictional television station whose actual callsign is WNDY, but which is nicknamed WIOU by its staff because of the station's perennial financial struggles.
According to television researchers
Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, 14 episodes were produced but only 13 aired.
Summary
The show stars
John Shea as news director Hank Zaret. The cast also includes
Mariette Hartley
Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on ''The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), ...
as executive producer Liz McVay;
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...
and
Helen Shaver
Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours.
Early life
Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ont ...
, as news anchors Neal Frazier and Kelby Robinson;
Phil Morris, as aggressive reporter Eddie Bock;
Jayne Brook
Jayne Brook (born Jane Anderson) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Dr. Diane Grad on the medical drama ''Chicago Hope'', as a series regular for five of the show's six seasons, and Mary Ann Mitchell on ''The District'' from 200 ...
, as reporter Ann Hudson;
Kate McNeil
Kate McNeil (born August 17, 1959) is an American actress. She starred in the CBS daytime soap opera ''As the World Turns'' from 1981 to 1984, and in 1983 had the leading role in the slasher film '' The House on Sorority Row''. McNeil was also t ...
, as reporter Taylor Young;
Dick Van Patten
Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...
, as aging weatherman Floyd Graham; and
Wallace Langham
James Wallace Langham II (born March 11, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Phil the Head Writer on ''The Larry Sanders Show''. He has also played the roles of David Hodges on the crime drama television series '' ...
, as news
intern
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...
Willis Teitelbaum.
Cast
*
John Shea as Hank Zaret
*
Helen Shaver
Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours.
Early life
Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ont ...
as Kelby Robinson
*
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...
as Neal Frazier
*
Dick Van Patten
Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...
as Floyd Graham
*
Mariette Hartley
Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on ''The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), ...
as Liz McVay
*
Kate McNeil
Kate McNeil (born August 17, 1959) is an American actress. She starred in the CBS daytime soap opera ''As the World Turns'' from 1981 to 1984, and in 1983 had the leading role in the slasher film '' The House on Sorority Row''. McNeil was also t ...
as Taylor Young
*
Phil Morris as Eddie Brock
*
Wallace Langham
James Wallace Langham II (born March 11, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Phil the Head Writer on ''The Larry Sanders Show''. He has also played the roles of David Hodges on the crime drama television series '' ...
as Willis Teitelbaum
*
Jayne Brook
Jayne Brook (born Jane Anderson) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Dr. Diane Grad on the medical drama ''Chicago Hope'', as a series regular for five of the show's six seasons, and Mary Ann Mitchell on ''The District'' from 200 ...
as Ann Hudson
*
Joe Grifasi
Joseph G. Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television.
Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia (née Gaglione) and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bi ...
as Tony Pro
*
Robin Gammell
Robin Gammell (born September 22, 1936) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor."Transplanted to Hollywood". '' The Globe and Mail'', January 24, 1981.
Career
Gammell began acting as a junior ensemble member at the Stratford Shakespeare ...
as Kevin Doherty
Episodes
References
External links
*
*
1990s American drama television series
1990 American television series debuts
1991 American television series endings
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
Fictional television stations
Television series about journalism
Television series about television
Television series by MGM Television
Television series created by John Eisendrath
Television shows set in New York City
{{US-drama-tv-prog-stub