''Playmakers'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series created by John Eisendrath that aired on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

from August 26 to November 11, 2003. It depicts the lives of the Cougars, a fictional

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team playing in an unidentified city. The show stars

Tony Denison Anthony John Sarrero (born September 20, 1949), also known by his stage name Anthony Denison (also credited as Anthony John Denison and Tony Denison), is an American actor. Early life The eldest of three, he was born and raised in Harlem. He wo ...

, Omar Gooding, Russell Hornsby, Jason Matthew Smith, Marcello Thedford, and Christopher Wiehl. The show, which ran eleven episodes, was the first original drama series created by ESPN. Although the ratings were very high for ESPN—''Playmakers'' was the highest-rated show on the network other than its Sunday night NFL and Saturday college football games—ESPN eventually canceled the series under pressure from the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, who disliked the portrayal of the negative aspects of its players' lives off the field.

Style

The show follows the lives of various members of an ensemble cast who portray the players and personnel on a fictional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team, the Cougars, in a fictional league (referred to in the series as "The League") during the regular season. Many of these segments are prefaced by an internal monologue in the format of a character narrating in his head.

Cast and characters

Main

as Coach Mike George - The head coach in his ninth season with the team. * Omar Gooding as Demetrius Harris, #39 - A rookie running back from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. * Russell Hornsby as Leon Taylor, #33 - A ninth year running back from

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. * Jason Matthew Smith as Eric Olczyk, #54 - A fifth year middle linebacker from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. * Marcello Thedford as Kelvin "The Buffalo" James, #60 - A fourth year offensive tackle from Oklahoma State. * Christopher Wiehl as Derek McConnell, #11 - A fourth year quarterback from

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Recurring

* Stephen Bogaert - Phil Chambers, Team Equipment Manager *

Bruce Gray Bruce Gray (September 7, 1936 – December 13, 2017) was a Canadian actor, known for multiple roles in films and television shows for over five decades. Early years Gray was born in Puerto Rico and lived in Toronto after 1949. He graduated fro ...

- Gene Wilbanks, the team's owner * Phillip Jarrett - Coach Rudman, Defensive Coordinator and close friend of Coach George * Karen LeBlanc - Robin Taylor, Leon's wife * Thea Andrews - Samantha Lovett, reporter who presumably shows a love interest for Leon Taylor. *

Dan Petronijevic Daniel Petronijevic (born March 28, 1981), known professionally as Dan Petronijevic, is a Canadian actor who has appeared in various feature films, including the '' American Pie'' franchise, and in TV shows such as '' 19-2'', '' Playmakers'', '' ...

- Thad Guerwicz, a wide receiver who is a closeted gay man * Kevin Jubinville - Dr. Gatewood, The team Physician * Sasha Roiz - Stephen Lyles, Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator * Gabriel Hogan - Guard Dog Fredericks * Tacquira LaTouche - Herself * Frank Chiesurin - David, Guerwictz's boyfriend * Laura Jordan - August, Guerwictz's girlfriend and later fiancé to publicly cover up his homosexuality * K. C. Collins - Ron Martin, a rookie Wide Receiver for the Cougars.

Roster

Episodes

Production

Filming took place in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

from May to October 2003. Game scenes were filmed at the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...

, with

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

players serving as background actors or stunt doubles.

DVD

The only season of ''Playmakers'' was released on DVD by ESPN Home Video in 2004.

Awards

* Won AFI TV Award, Top TV Series (

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

) * Won

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

, Outstanding Drama Series (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) * Nominated CSC Award, Best Cinematography in TV Series (2004) * Nominated DGC Craft Award, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Television Series (2004)

References

External links

* * {{ESPN original programming 2003 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s American drama television series 2000s American LGBTQ-related drama television series 2000s American sports television series American English-language television shows American football television series American sports drama television series ESPN original programming Gay-related television shows GLAAD Media Award–winning shows Television series by ABC Studios Television series by Imagine Entertainment Television series created by John Eisendrath Television shows filmed in Toronto