''Manhattan, AZ'' is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television show that aired on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

during the summer of 2000.

Premise

An undercover

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Vice Cop, Daniel Henderson, loses his loving wife in a bizarre sea accident. While working for Greenpeace cutting dolphins out of tuna nets, she is herself swept up and canned in spring light water. In his despair he decides to move to Manhattan, AZ along with his son, to become sheriff and start a new life. Daniel likes the peace and quiet the desert has to offer while Atticus hates its small town ways. Described by critics as "Andy Griffith on acid," Manhattan, AZ is composed of many colorful characters and Area 61, an eerie Air Force base that officially doesn't exist and is the cause of many mysterious events nearby. The situations seem over the top but are cut from the headlines of the day. The humorous dialogue is delivered deadpan. The episodes end with one of the actors speaking directly to the audience describing something in the episode with the end line of "We work in television and we know better than you."

Cast

Main

Brian McNamara Brian McNamara (born November 21, 1960, in Long Island, New York, USA) is an American actor. His first major role was in the film ''The Flamingo Kid'' (1984). He then went on to appear in a few films, such as ''Short Circuit'' (1986), ''Caddysh ...

as Sheriff Daniel Henderson - Sheriff of very small Manhattan, AZ desert town. Former undercover Los Angeles vice cop. Former soldier in US Army in Panama. * Vincent Berry as Atticus Finch Henderson - Son of Sheriff Daniel Henderson. Named after character from "To Kill A Mocking Bird". Episodes end with his voiceover that says "This Place Really Sucks". ** Atticus is portrayed by Chace Paddack during the first half of the episodes *

Chad Everett Raymon Lee Cramton (June 11, 1937 – July 24, 2012), known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He played Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama '' Medical Center'', wh ...

as Jake Manhattan - Mayor of his namesake town where he runs the town bar. He charges "His cost plus ten percent" for everything. He is a former Hollywood TV star.

Recurring

Mindy Sterling Mindy Lee Sterling (born July 11, 1953) is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has amassed multiple live action and voice-over credits across film and television. Her accolades include nominations for two Pr ...

as Lona, wife of Lon, a pair of sex crazed, gun toting senior citizens *

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 Festival, p ...

as Lon, husband of Lona *

Kate Hodge Kate Hodge is an American actress and film producer. Career Her first starring role was as Michelle, the heroine of the 1990 horror film '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III''. She then portrayed tormented college student Randi Wal ...

as Jane Pentowski - An Air Force airmen who likes Sheriff Henderson and wears very skimpy outfits while off duty. *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor and writer. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television ch ...

as Dr. Bob - The town vet that doubles as the towns medical Doctor.

Episodes

External links

*
''Manhattan, AZ'' on USA
from the

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Manhattan, AZ 2000 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings 2000s American comic science fiction television series USA Network original programming American English-language television shows 2000s American mystery television series Television shows set in Arizona