''The Guardian'' 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 David Hollander which originally aired on

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

from September 25, 2001, to May 4, 2004. The show stars

Simon Baker Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor and director. He first gained prominence on the Australian soap opera ''E Street (TV series), E Street'' (1992–1993). He later starred in the CBS legal drama ''The Guardian (TV ser ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

corporate attorney Nick Fallin, with Dabney Coleman as his father and boss. When Nick is convicted of drug use he is sentenced to 1,500 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

as a guardian ''ad litem''; the show focuses on this, his recovery from drug

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, and his strained relationship with his father. It includes guest stars such as

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a ...

, and featured scenes with the Pittsburgh Police in multiple episodes.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Nicholas "Nick" Fallin, a lawyer sentenced to community service for drug-related crimes. The central protagonist, he is a driven individual whose work and relationships are the focus for the series. * Dabney Coleman as Burton Fallin, Nick's father and the senior partner at the law firm where Nick works. Another central protagonist, the two do not have a close relationship. Starting in season two he fosters Shannon Gressler. * Alan Rosenberg as Alvin Masterson, the head of Legal Services of Pittsburgh, where Nick serves his community service. Later in the series, Alvin dates Laurie Solt, a social worker. * Wendy Moniz as Louisa "Lulu" Archer, Nick's de facto boss from mid-season one and his main love interest. She marries another man, but Nick can't seem to move on, partially because she can't seem to either, even after her marriage. * Raphael Sbarge as Jake Straka, Nick's closest friend and a law colleague. * Charles Malik Whitfield as James Mooney, an attorney at Legal Services of Pittsburgh and a friend of Nick. He has a gang and drug background. (Seasons 1–2) * Erica Leerhsen as Amanda Bowles, an ambitious but caring associate. (First 13 episodes)

Recurring

* Rusty Schwimmer as Barbara Ludinski, the secretary for Legal Aid where Nick is doing his community service. Jake has an ongoing somewhat ambiguous relationship with her that teeters on the edge of becoming romantic. He likes and respects her but he remains tentative. (Seasons 1–2) * Kathleen Chalfant as Laurie Solt, a hardworking

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

who provides guidance for Nick. * Denise Dowse as Judge Rebecca Damsen, who presides over the cases in family court. * AJ Michalka (as Amanda Michalka) as Shannon Gressler, a troubled child. (Seasons 2–3)

Notable guest stars

as Mary Gressler, a troubled grandmother and love interest of Burton Fallin. Appeared in four episodes in season 2. *

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...

as Caroline Novak, mother of Lulu (Louise Archer played by Wendy Moniz), for three episodes in 2003. *

Lolita Davidovich Lolita Davidovich (born Lolita Davidović; July 15, 1961) is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for portraying Blaze Starr in the 1989 film '' Blaze'', for which she received a Chicago Film Critics Association Award nomination. ...

as Victoria Little, a social welfare advocate and love interest of Alvin Masterson. Appeared in two episodes. *

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film ...

appears in episode 15 of season 3. * Bethany Joy Galeotti as Claire Stasiak. Appeared in two episodes: "What It Means to You" and "My Aim Is True." * Chris Pine as a troubled teen, Lonnie Grandy, in the season 3 episode "Hazel Park". *

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

, credited as "Phil Weston", in a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as Larry Flood, a new lawyer at LSP, in the season 2 finale, "All the Rage." *

Corey Feldman Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' The Goonies'' (198 ...

as a former child actor, Gavin Putinski, in season 2's "You Belong to Me." * Erik Estrada made a cameo appearance in a restaurant in season 3, episode 18, "The Bachelor Party." * Joseph Campanella as Ralph Longo, the sick grandfather evicted from the home he had squatted in for 21 years, in season 3's episode 9, "Let God Sort 'Em Out." * Aaron Paul as a gay teenager in the season one episode "The Men from the Boys." *

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She began acting as a child, with early roles in the horror film ''The Amityville Horror (2005 film), The Amityville Horror'' (2005), the drama series ''Desperate Housewives' ...

as Violet in the season three episodes "The Watchers" and "Blood in, Blood Out." This was her first ever acting role. *

Danielle Panabaker Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney films ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), ''Sky High (2005 film), ...

as Samantha Gray in the season three episode "The Daughter-Father Dance", for which she won a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Best Performance in a TV Series—Guest Starring Young Actress. *

Anna Gunn Anna Kathryn Gunn (born August 11, 1968) See also: * is an American actress. She is known for playing Martha Bullock on the HBO Western series '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and Skyler White on the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008� ...

as Meghan Barstow, a lawyer for a pharmaceutical firm in season one episodes "Home" and "Reunion." *

Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...

as Suzanna Clemons' attorney in the season one episode "The Men from the Boys." *

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fil ...

as Drea Westbrook, a client in the season two episode "The Next Life." *

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a breakthrough with his role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subsequently portra ...

as Lawrence Neal, a disabled child in the season one episode "Paternity." * Lee Thompson Young as Levi Mooney, James' nephew whom he briefly has custody over. * Andrew Lawrence as Ronnie Wagner, a 13 year old accused of killing his adoptive mother in the season 2 episode 2, "Monster".

Production and location

The show was set in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and was filmed in the city from time to time. Beginning in season 2, the theme song was "Empire in My Mind" performed by

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

. The fictional offices of Legal Services of Pittsburgh are located at 121–123 Seventh Street, Pittsburgh, while Fallin & Fallin's offices are located in the Frick Building, 437 Grant Street, Pittsburgh.

Broadcast

Reruns currently air on

Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital multicast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series ...

International broadcast

Latin America

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, the series premiered sometime between 2002 and 2011; the Sony Spin channel — one of the channels that the series aired there — aired the series from October 2012 until 2013/2014.

Europe

UK

In the UK, the series aired on the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

for at most three years before moving to

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), A ...

from April 2006 until around 2007. It also aired on

5USA 5USA is a British free-to-air television channel owned by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global, which is grouped under Paramount Networks UK & Australia division. It was launched on 16 October 2006 as ...

from May 2009 until the 2010s; Five first aired the series in August 2009.

Asia

India and Pakistan

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, the series aired on

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

from June 2010 until around 2012. It also aired on FX in the mid-2010s and on AXN until 2019.

Singapore

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the series airs on AXN (through Starhub Cable Television) for at most two decades as of 2025.

Turkey

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, the series aired on

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

from 2008/2009 until 2011/2012.

Australasia

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the series first aired on

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

's defunct station TV1 (now TVH!TS) in 2003 (during the Saturday Night's Crime Time Block before '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and '' Law & Order: SVU''). It also premiered in the mid-to-late 2000s on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

, and has also aired in reruns on the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

since the 2010s.

New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, the series aired on Vibe (channel 7) via Sky TV.

Streaming

, the series is available on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

Home media

CBS DVD (distributed by

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...

) has released all three seasons of ''The Guardian'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in region 1. On February 6, 2018,

CBS Home Entertainment CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is an American home video company that distribut ...

released ''The Guardian: The Complete Series'' on DVD in region 1. CBS/Paramount controls video rights only in the USA (where

CBS Television Distribution CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Television Distribution) is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, ...

has ancillary rights). Outside the US,

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

controls distribution rights, and international DVD releases will be mostly from

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

. In Germany

Koch Media Plaion GmbH (formerly Koch Media) is an Austrian media company headquartered in Höfen, Tyrol, with an additional office in Planegg, Germany. It was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company operates video game publishi ...

has released the first two seasons on DVD and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

.The Guardian: Retter mit Herz - Die komplette zweite Staffel
/ref>

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guardian (TV series) 2000s American drama television series 2001 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s American legal television series American legal drama television series American English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Pittsburgh Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Fictional portrayals of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police CBS television dramas