Main Cast: Oliver Platt, Christina Chang, Bebe Neuwirth, Lili Taylor
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 60 minutes
Plot
Hoping to revive the glory days of Lou Grant, NBC, in association with Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, came forth with the weekly, one-hour newspaper drama Deadline. Oliver Platt starred as Wallace Benton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter whose dauntless dedication was matched by his short temper and gift for deception. Aided by Beth Khambu (Christina Chang) and Charles Foster (Damon Gupton), two students from the graduate journalism class that he taught in his spare time (what spare time?), Benton regularly riffed on the rich, powerful, and corrupt in his daily column "Nothing But the Truth." Because he ignored such journalistic niceties as press passes and off-the-record statements, Benton was the source of many a headache for his lawsuit-fearing publisher Si Beekman (Tom Conti) and his managing editor Nikki Masucci (Bebe Neuwirth). And because he cared more about "The Truth" than financial compensation, Benton was forever behind in alimony payments to his three ex-wives -- one of whom, Brooke Benton (Hope Davis, worked side-by-side with Benton on the same newspaper. Also featured was that singular actress Lily Taylor as Hildy Baker. Debuting October 2, 2000, Deadline was almost universally panned by real-life journalists, who complained that the sort of melodramatic pyrotechnics engaged in by Wallace Benton hadn't been used since the gonzo days of The Front Page -- and even worse, Benton was a poor and clumsy writer, whose stilted headlines and purple prose seemed calculated to drive readers to other sources of news. Undaunted, the series' producers described Deadline as "Columbo in a newspaper office," so the viewer knew exactly what to expect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lynn Kressel - Casting, Don Scardino - Director, Bonnie Koehler - Editor, Lauren Schaffer - Editor, Dick Wolf - Executive Producer, Mike Post - Composer (Music Score), Frank Prinzi - Cinematographer, Dick Wolf - Screenwriter
Series creator Dick Wolf hired Robert Palm as head writer and executive producer.[1] Palm worked for years as a newspaper reporter on the Hartford Times and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and then moved into screenwriting with jobs on Miami Vice.[1] He and Wolf had worked together previously on the tenth season of Law & Order. They didn't want to do another "cop show" and agreed on one with journalism as its focus.[1] In 1999, Wolf pitched the show to NBC with Oliver Platt as its star and sold it without producing a pilot, as is the norm, but with a three-minute trailer.[2] Wolf and Palm worked with NBC Entertainment President Garth Ancier on developing the show with Platt in mind.[1] Plots for the show were based on true stories from newspaper articles that Palm and Wolf found.[1] Richard Esposito, a New York newspaper veteran of 20 years, was hired as a consultant on the show. He worked with the actors and writers on outlines of stories and on "everything that helps them get a feel for the tone and pace of a newspaper."[1] He also introduced Platt and other cast members to journalists around the city. Wolf invited director Michael Ritchie to direct episodes of Deadline but he had to drop out for personal reasons.[3]
Platt had been approached numerous times to do a television show but it was Wolf's reputation and the chance to do it in his hometown so that he could be close to his family that persuaded him.[2] Wallace Benton was modeled on veteran New York journalist Jimmy Breslin, Mike McAlary and other New York tabloid columnists.[1] To research for the role, Platt spent time with crime reporters Phil Messing of the New York Post, Lenny Levitt of Newsday, and Juan Gonzalez and Jim Dwyer of the New York Daily News.[1] The actor went out on stories with them, watched them interview and listened to them work the phones. During lunches, he remembers that he "got them to tell me their trade secrets."[1]
The New York Ledger's offices were constructed at the old New York Post building on South Street in New York City. The show based their look of the their offices on old black and white photographs of the newspaper.[1] The Post allowed the show to shoot the pilot episode in its old offices and then agreed to a short-term lease through November 2000.[1] Shooting started in mid-July 2000 and the first episode debuted on October 2, 2000. Deadline was scheduled to run Mondays at 9 pm opposite ABC's Monday Night Football and Fox's Ally McBeal.
Episodes
Pilot (Originally Aired 10/2/2000)
Lovers And Madmen (Originally Aired 10/9/2000)
Perception (Originally Aired 10/16/2000)
Daniel In The Lion's Den (Originally Aired 10/23/2000)
Howl (Originally Aired 10/30/2000)
The Old Ball Game (Originally Aired 3/17/2001)
Don't I Know You? (Originally Aired 3/17/2001)
The Undesirables (Originally Aired 3/24/2001)
Somebody's Fool (Originally Aired 3/24/2001)
The First Commandment (Originally Aired 3/31/2001)
Just Lie Back (Originally Aired 3/31/2001)
Shock (Originally Aired 4/7/2001)
Red Herring (Originally Aired 4/7/2001)
Reception
Variety magazine praised Platt's work on the show in their review: "Platt, best-known for his work on the big screen, is a colorful choice for Benton, and, judging from the first episode, he can carry the bulk of the action."[4]USA Today criticized the show's authenticity in their review: "The only thing accurate about Deadline is the sense of urgency implied by the title. Someone had better fix this show fast, before it becomes yesterday's news."[5] The Boston Globe found fault with some of the characters on the show: "Benton's merry band of journalism students are silly, and the show should replace them with an expanded cast of Ledger co-workers."[6]
The Pilot episode was seen by 14.3 million viewers but its rating declined steadily afterwards with 6.8 million viewers watching the last episode. NBC cancelled the show after five episodes.[7]
References
^ abcdefghijkLiebeskind, Ken (July 17, 2000). "On Deadline". Mediaweek.
