''The TV Set'' is a 2006 American

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

written and directed by

Jake Kasdan Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing ''Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape (film), Sex Tape'' (2014), ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2 ...

and starring

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

, Ioan Gruffudd, and

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...

. The film follows an idealistic writer attempting to bring his vision for a TV show to fruition on the small screen.

Synopsis

Idealistic screenwriter Mike Klein (Duchovny) tries to navigate his TV pilot through the mine-laden path of casting, production, and the madness of prime-time scheduling—all while trying to stay true to his vision. Along the way, he has to juggle the agendas of headstrong network president Lenny (Weaver), volatile young stars, his pregnant wife Natalie (Bateman), and an ever-optimistic personal manager Alice (Greer), while suffering serious back pain.

Cast

as Mike Klein *

as Lenny * Ioan Gruffudd as Richard McCallister *

as Alice * Fran Kranz as Zach Harper *

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 ...

as Laurel Simon *

Justine Bateman Justine Bateman (born February 19, 1966) is an American filmmaker, author and former actress. Her acting work included '' Family Ties'', '' Satisfaction'', ''Men Behaving Badly'', '' The TV Set'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Californication ...

as Natalie Klein *

Lucy Davis Lucy Clare Davis (born 17 February 1973) is an English actress known for playing Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy ''The Office'' (2001–2003), Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series '' The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' (2018–2020), Dianne i ...

as Chloe McCallister * Philip Rosenthal as Cooper * Matt Price as Berg * Willie Garson as Brian * M. C. Gainey as Hutch *

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. From 2007 to 2019, he played Howard Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Support ...

as TJ Goldman * Kaitlin Doubleday as Jesse Filmore *

Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. He is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He also ...

as Vernon Maxwell * Allison Scagliotti as Bethany * Jonathan Silverman as himself (cameo) *

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor. His film debut was '' The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting roles in comedy films in the 1980s, including '' Radio Days'' ( ...

as himself, Slut Wars Host (uncredited) * Don Hany

Production and vision

The film's

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

had originally intended

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

for the role of Lenny, however, Kasdan cast Weaver for the role, which changed his idea of what the character should be. Kasdan does not regard the film as satire, as he sees nothing exaggerated in its depiction of bringing a pilot to production.

Releases

The film was first screened on the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2006. Following almost a year of festival screenings, it was released in cinemas on April 6, 2007. A DVD edition was released through

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

on September 25, 2007. It features commentary tracks, a "making of" featurette, and a deleted scene.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 76 critics, with an average score of 6.28/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Offering both broad and insider jokes, ''The TV Set'' is a sharp satire that will please both the average moviegoers and pop culture aficionados."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:TV Set, The 2006 films 2006 comedy-drama films 2006 independent films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films American comedy-drama films American independent films English-language comedy-drama films Films about television Films directed by Jake Kasdan Films scored by Michael Andrews English-language independent films