''The Wedding Bells'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series that aired on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

from March 7 to April 6, 2007. The series was greenlighted after the network became interested in a series centered on wedding planners. The network approached David E. Kelley to create the show, and he essentially remade a rejected pilot he created for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in 2004 entitled ''DeMarco Affairs'' which starred

Selma Blair Selma Blair (born Selma Blair Beitner; June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in '' Cruel Intentions'', '' Legally Blonde'', '' The Sweetest Thing'', and the ''Hellboy'' franchise. Blair, born in Southfield, Michigan ...

Lindsay Sloane Lindsay Sloane Leikin-Rollins (born August 8, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for playing Valerie Birkhead on ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1997–99) and Emily in '' The Odd Couple'' (2015–17). She has also starred in films such ...

, and

Sabrina Lloyd Sabrina Lloyd (born November 20, 1970) is a retired American film and television actress. She is known for portraying Wade Welles in the science fiction series '' Sliders'', Natalie Hurley in the ABC sitcom '' Sports Night'' and Kelly in '' Fathe ...

as three sisters who inherit a wedding planner service. Though the show had a moderately strong premiere, it faded in the ratings and was cancelled after seven episodes had been produced and five episodes were aired.

Plot

The Bell sisters, Annie (

KaDee Strickland Katherine Dee Strickland (born December 14, 1975) is an American actress. From 2007 to 2013, she played Dr. Charlotte King on the ABC drama '' Private Practice''. Strickland began acting during high school. She studied acting in Philadelphia a ...

), Jane (

Teri Polo Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pamela Martha Focker (née Byrnes) in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy, Helen Santos in ''The West Wing'', and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster ...

) and Sammy Bell ( Sarah Jones), inherited ''"The Wedding Palace"'' after their parents' divorce. David Conlon (

Michael Landes Michael Christopher Landes (born September 18, 1972) is an American actor of television and film. Personal life Michael Christopher Landes was born to Patricia and Bernard Landes on September 18, 1972, in The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the no ...

), photographer for ''The Wedding Palace'' and ex-boyfriend of Annie's whose tension-filled dealings with her are clearly the result of pent-up sexual chemistry; and Russell Hawkins (Benjamin King), Jane's husband and the company COO; round off the cast. Then there's wedding singer Ralph Snow ( Chris Williams), who always aspired to be the next

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

, but instead is stuck crooning endless cover songs and retro medleys for unappreciative wedding guests. Amanda Pontell (

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in films including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Bringing Down the House (film), ''Bringing ...

) adds to the frenzied scene as a former

bridezilla A bridezilla is a bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed. When marrying, if the bride's future spouse is a man, he is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride ma ...

client who becomes a board member of The Wedding Palace.

B-plots through the brief run of the series

* The relationship between Wedding Palace assistant Debbie (

Sherri Shepherd Sherri Evonne Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, podcaster, television presenter and talk show host. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, '' Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was ...

) and another wedding singer ( Cleavant Derricks in a recurring role). Her biological clock is ticking and he is cautious about getting married again, as his first marriage ended badly. * The very rich (but socially awkward) Amanda Pontell's efforts to fit in with the three Bell sisters. * Sammy Bell's ( Sarah Jones) efforts to be seen as a whole woman, not just as a sexy woman. * Sibling rivalry between Jane (

) and Annie (

) -- there is a history of Jane's boyfriends becoming attracted to Annie—and Jane and Sammy—Sammy has read in Jane's diary that Jane is jealous of Sammy's breasts. * Had the series gone on, another secondary plot might have been about Russell's efforts to franchise the Wedding Palace. Christopher Rich played a potential investor with Las Vegas connections in the last aired episode. * A couple of episodes had

Heather Tom Heather Tom (born November 4, 1975) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her roles as Victoria Newman on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1990 to 2003), Kelly Cramer on ''One Life to Live'' and ''All My Children'' (2003 to ...

and

Nicholle Tom Nicholle Tom (born March 23, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Maggie Sheffield on the CBS sitcom ''The Nanny'' (1993 to 1999). She appeared as Ryce Newton in the film ''Beethoven'' (1992) and its sequel '' B ...

as buxom blonde sisters who would crash weddings. Debbie would inevitably throw them out.

Cast

as Annie Bell *

as Jane Bell * Sarah Jones as Sammy Bell *

as David Conlon * Benjamin King as Russell Hawkins * Chris Williams as Ralph Snow *

as Amanda Pontell *

Costas Mandylor Costas Mandylor (born Costas Theodosopoulos; 3 September 1965) is an Australian actor. He made his film debut with a supporting role in '' Triumph of the Spirit'' (1989) before a lead role as Frank Costello in the crime drama film '' Mobsters'' ...

as Ernesto *

as Debbie Quill

Episodes

Reception

The first two episodes of ''The Wedding Bells'' garnered poor reviews and low ratings. Critics cited the superficial relationships between the sisters as a weakness. Some claim that Kelley lacked the flair to write for women, after his successful run with ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding Bells, The 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings American English-language television shows Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Wedding television shows Television series created by David E. Kelley Fox Broadcasting Company comedy-dramas