''Viva Laughlin'' is an American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

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 adapted by Bob Lowry and Peter Bowker (creator of the original series) from the popular

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

serial ''

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

'', and taking its name from the latter program's sequel ''Viva Blackpool''. Lowry and Bowker also served as executive producers alongside

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

, John Palermo, Paul Telegdy, and Gabriele Muccino. The latter also directed the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

. It was filmed on location in part at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California for most of the inside casino shots. Produced by

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, and Seed Productions, the series was greenlit and given a thirteen-episode order on May 14, 2007. Excerpts from the series were aired in subsequent previews throughout the CBS telecast of the 61st Annual Tony Awards on June 10, 2007. CBS aired a preview of the pilot on October 18, 2007 following an episode of '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' before broadcasting its official season premiere on October 21, 2007 in its regular timeslot on Sunday nights at 8:00/7:00c, following ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

''. CBS cancelled ''Viva Laughlin'' on October 22, 2007 after airing two episodes, with 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 ...

(in Jackman's home country of Australia) following suit the next day by canceling the show after airing only one episode. Both CBS and Nine filled the show's time slot with repeat episodes of '' CSI'', with ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

'' then taking ''Viva Laughlin'''s place on CBS on November 4. There are still no plans to air the remaining episodes as of October 2020.

Plot

''Viva Laughlin'' is a mystery drama musical about businessman Ripley Holden, whose ambition is to run a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. It occasionally has the actors break into contemporary song. Ripley has invested all his money into opening a casino that is nowhere near completion, when his financing suddenly falls through. Needing an investor, Ripley approaches his rival, wealthy casino owner Nicky Fontana; but Fontana wants to own the casino himself, and Ripley turns down the deal. Ripley becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after the body of his ex-business partner is found at his casino.

Cast

Lloyd Owen Marcus Richard Lloyd Owen (born 14 April 1966) is a British actor. Despite being born in London, he considers himself Welsh due to both his parents being from Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part o ...

as Ripley Holden * Mädchen Amick as Natalie Holden * Ellen Woglom as Cheyenne Holden * Carter Jenkins as Jack Holden * Eric Winter as Peter Carlyle * D. B. Woodside as Marcus Henckman *

as Nicky Fontana *

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old ...

as Bunny Baxter * P. J. Byrne as Jonesy

Episodes

Critical reception

Critical reaction to the show was mostly negative. The musical numbers themselves were not criticized as much as the plot, the dialogue and the acting. The opening line of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review said, "''Viva Laughlin'' on CBS may well be the worst new show of the season, but is it the worst show in the history of television?" ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

s review started with, "The stud is a dud. And that's only the first of a dozen problems with CBS' admirably ambitious but jaw-droppingly wrongheaded new musical/murder mystery/family drama ''Viva Laughlin.'' Let us count the ways it bombs..."

International broadcasters

The following broadcasters purchased the series:

References

External links

* * {{epguides, id=VivaLaughlin 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American musical comedy television series American television series based on British television series CBS comedy-dramas American English-language television shows Television series by BBC Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by CBS Studios Jukebox musicals Television shows set in Nevada Nevada culture