Dirty Sexy Money

Dirty Sexy Money
Dirty Sexy Money intertitle
Genre	Drama, Satire, Soap Opera
Created by	Craig Wright
Starring	Peter Krause Donald Sutherland Jill Clayburgh William Baldwin Natalie Zea Glenn Fitzgerald Seth Gabel Samaire Armstrong Zoe McLellan Lucy Liu Blair Underwood
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Craig Wright (Head Writer), Greg Berlanti, Peter Horton, Matthew Gross, Bryan Singer, Josh Reims, Jon Harmon Feldman
Producer(s)	Melissa Berman
Location(s)	Los Angeles/New York City (pilot)
Running time	43 minutes (approximately; without commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 26, 2007 – August 8, 2009

The Season 1 cast of Dirty Sexy Money.

Dirty Sexy Money is an American television series created by Craig Wright, which ran on the American Broadcasting Company from September 26, 2007 to August 8, 2009. The series revolves around lawyer and family man Nick George, portrayed by Peter Krause. When Nick's father mysteriously dies in a plane crash, he agrees to take his position as the Darling family's lawyer, while trying to discover who committed the murder. The Darlings, the richest family in New York, constantly rely on Nick to solve their problems. Nick struggles to balance his morals and family life while dealing with the demands of the Darlings. The series is produced by ABC Studios, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Berlanti Television and Gross Entertainment. Wright serves as an executive producer alongside Greg Berlanti, Bryan Singer, Matthew Gross, Peter Horton and Josh Reims, with Melissa Berman producing.^[1]

Cast

Principal characters

Recurring cast

Plot

The series revolves around Nick George, whose whole life has been lived in the shadow of the Darling family, but as an adult he's leading a simple life as an idealistic lawyer, until his father's suspicious death. The wealthy Darlings of New York have asked him to take over his father's job as their personal lawyer, but the money that will allow him the freedom to be an altruistic do-gooder is only part of the picture. That same money pulls him into the dubious doings of the Darling clan. However due to the cancellation of the show, the running plot line of the mystery of Dutch George will never be solved as it is revealed in the final episode that he is in fact alive and well and is puppeteering Simon Elder.

Production

Conception

The pilot script, written by creator, executive producer and Emmy-nominated playwright Craig Wright, made its first step towards production when ABC committed to it in July 2006. The project, which is set up at Berlanti Television, is also executive produced by Everwood creator Greg Berlanti, who at the time had recently parted ways with his producing partner, Mickey Liddell. Liddell was replaced by former Sony Pictures Television executive Melissa Berman, who consequently became a producer on the series.^[2] The project was named "Dirty Sexy Money" in January 2007 when it received a pilot order from the network.^[3] Staffing began in the same month when Emmy-nominated director, Peter Horton, agreed to direct the first hour of the show.^[4] The series received an early pick-up and a thirteen-episode order prior to the 2007 Upfronts in New York on May 11, 2007.^[5] Josh Reims also joined the production crew as an executive producer in the same month.^[2] The first season went into production on July 17, 2007.^[6]

The James B. Duke House (now home to New York University's Institute of Fine Arts) was the original set for the Darlings' townhouse in the pilot; however, after ABC ordered the first season, several scenes had to be reshot to adjust to the new LA sets that would be used for the rest of the season's production. It is for this reason that, in the pilot, the interiors of the Darlings' house jump somewhat incongruously from ornate marble and wood (Duke House) to extremely modern and low-ceilinged (LA sets).

Casting

Casting for all but one of the principal roles on the show took place in February 2007. Seth Gabel was the first actor to land a role on the series and was cast as Jeremy Darling, the hard-living youngest son.^[7] Gabel had originally auditioned for Greg Berlanti's other television drama, Eli Stone, but didn't receive the part. He left a big impression on the producer nonetheless who recommended him for Dirty Sexy Money instead.^[8] The producers found their leading man in Emmy-nominated Six Feet Under alumnus, Peter Krause, when he was chosen to play the role of Nick George, the beleaguered new Darling family attorney. The series reunites Krause with creator Craig Wright, who also worked on Six Feet Under.^[9] Glenn Fitzgerald read for the role of Reverend Brian Darling and received the part.^[10] Academy Award-nominated actress, Jill Clayburgh, and former Passions co-star, Natalie Zea, made their way onto the show when they were cast as the family matriarch Letitia Darling, and the eldest thrice-divorced daughter Karen Darling, respectively.^[11] Samaire Armstrong, known mostly to audiences for her recurring role on The O.C., landed her first regular television role when she was chosen to portray the youngest Darling child, the spoiled aspiring actress Juliet Darling. Zoe McLellan and William Baldwin were also cast in the roles of Lisa George, Nick's loving wife, and New York State Attorney General Patrick Darling, a rising star in politics harboring a scandalous secret.^[12][13] Golden Globe winner, Donald Sutherland, rounded out the principal cast when he was chosen for the role of family patriarch, Patrick "Tripp" Darling III.^[14] In 2008, after pitching that Lucy Liu was interested in being part of the series, the producers immediately created a role for her as a series regular. She plays the role of Nola Lyons, a powerful attorney that faces Nick George (played by Peter Krause).^[15]

On November 10, 2008, TV Guide reported that Rena Sofer will guest-star as an intrepid reporter on the November 26th episode.^[16]

Main crew

Jon Harmon Feldman acts as the showrunner,^[17] He replaced Daniel Cerone.^[18] Other crew members are Craig Wright, Josh Reims, Yahlin Chang, Sallie Patrick, Greg Berlanti, Melissa Berman, Matthew Gross, Jill Soloway, and Bryan Singer.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Reception

US Weekly Nielsen ratings

Season 1

Season 2

• The October 15 episode was preempted due to the coverage of the Presidential Debates.
• The November 12 episode was preempted due to the coverage of the 2008 Country Music Awards.
• The November 26 episode was preempted in favor over the Barbara Walters interview with Barack Obama. Consequently, the episode, "The Facts", was not aired until July 18, 2009.

Canadian ratings

Broadcast history

The series premiered in the United States on September 26, 2007 on ABC following the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, airing on Wednesday nights at 10:01PM Eastern/9:01PM Central. On November 16, 2007, ABC ordered a full 22-episode season for the show, making it the first show to receive a full season order since the WGA writers' strike began on November 5, 2007.^[24] However, in the end, the first season comprised only 10 episodes due to the strike. Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete First Season, a three-disc DVD set including all 10 original episodes and exclusive bonus features including bloopers, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes, and more, was released on September 16, 2008.^{[citation needed]} The second season premiered on October 1, 2008, ten months after the first season finale.

On November 20, 2008, ABC decided not to order any additional episodes for the 2008-2009 TV season.^[25][26] On December 10, 2008 Billy Baldwin appeared on NBC's Today Show asking for fans to support the show by watching the show and by visiting the ABC website and sending nice messages of support to the ABC executives. He said the show is not canceled, but on hiatus until ABC knows how the midseason replacement shows fare. All cast and sets continue to be contracted and on hold for the time being.^[27] The last scheduled episode of Dirty Sexy Money aired on December 17, 2008, while four episodes remain unaired in the USA.^[28] though they have been broadcasted elsewhere.

After Dirty Sexy Money was officially cancelled, ABC announced the series would return on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central.^[29][30] The final episode, "The Bad Guy", aired on August 8, 2009 and the second season came out on DVD on August 18, 2009.^[31]

International distribution

The series premiered in the UK on March 21, 2008 at 9pm on Channel 4. Dirty Sexy Money was on hiatus due to the WGA writers' strike as of January 9, 2008, the date on which replacement series Cashmere Mafia assumed the time slot. Men in Trees, which has a total of 11 filmed unaired episodes available, assumed the slot on February 27, 2008, potentially for the balance of the spring season.

The show will be broadcast on Turner Network Television in Spain, Studio 23 in Philippines, Dizimax in Turkey and Nelonen in Finland. The series is being broadcast on the satellite/cable channel TNT in Spain since January 2008.^{[32][33][34][35]}

In Canada, CTV first aired the show on Sundays at 10 pm (4 days after ABC), then it moved to 7 pm. CTV then moved the show to its secondary A system effective October 24, 2007 where it airs it in simulcast Wednesdays at 10 pm.^[36][37]

In Australia, the Seven Network began airing Season One on Monday February 11, 2008 at 9:30 pm.^[38] Season Two began on December 2, 2008,^[39] initially at 9:30 pm, but due to low ratings, it was pushed back to 11:30 pm.^[40] The Seven Network in Australia has aired all episodes of Season 2 that were unaired in the USA. Also Kanal 5 in Sweden aired the episodes, the last one on March 18, 2009.

New Zealand's TV2 started airing the show Wednesday nights at 9:30 pm, beginning February 6, 2008.

In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 began airing the episodes on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 9:00 pm. Channel 4 began airing the second season on March 8, 2009 on E4 in the 11 o'clock timeslot. Because of its cancellation in the US and low ratings for its first season in the UK there will be no new shows on Channel 4 for the foreseeable future. However, Season 2 commenced airing on E4 in a new time slot. For Season One it aired Tuesday nights at 9.00pm, whereas for Season Two it aired on Sunday nights at 11pm between March 8 and May 31, 2009, including the 4 episodes not yet shown in the US.

In Ireland RTÉ One began airing the programme on Friday, August 1, 2008 at 00:05.

In Latin America the series began broadcasting on February 12, 2008 on the AXN channel, season 2 will begin broadcast on February 3, 2009.

In South Africa the series began in December and the full series has been aired on the local satellite or analog channel M-Net. M-Net has broadcasted the remaining episodes of Season 2 which followed on from the Organ Donor episode which aired on January 29, 2009. The season finale has aired on February 5, 2009.

The first season premiered in Greece on Fox life on Wednesday December 3. All 10 episodes aired.

In Israel the series was launched under the name "Money, Darling" on July 7, 2008 on Yes Stars Drama. Season 2 premiered on February 16, 2009, with all 13 episodes confirmed to air consecutively, including those not aired in the US.

In Hong Kong the series was premiered Thursday nights at 10:30 pm on July 17, 2008 on the mainly English free-to-air network TVB Pearl with bilingual audio in both English and Cantonese and widescreen on the same channel in Digital. Series 2 is due to air on March 26, 2009 at the same time-slot. Same as the rest of the world, Hong Kong also aired the unaired episodes before the US on May 28, 2009 starting with the thanksgiving recap episode "The Facts".

In Norway the show premiered on TV Norge on November 12, 2008.

In Estonia the show premiered on TV3 in summer 2009.

In Russia the show premiered on 1TV in summer 2008. Two seasons were shown in summer of 2009. The series launched under the name "Dirty Wet Money"

In Serbia the show premiered on cable FOX Life on September 2, 2009.

Marketing

Promotion

A full page advertisement for the show placed in The New York Post.

Using publicity from Paris Hilton's jail sentence controversy, ABC placed full-page advertisements in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Post that read: "We love Paris. The Darling Family." Later, an airplane towing a banner with the same message flew above the downtown courthouse on June 8 during Hilton's subsequent hearing.^[41] The network has also placed fake advertisements on popular gossip blog Perezhilton.com on August 6, 2007 "denouncing" the diva-like behavior of Samaire Armstrong's character, Juliet Darling, among others.^[42]

DVD release

Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete First Season was released on Region 1 DVD on September 16, 2008. The three-disc collection includes all 10 episodes from the first season.^{[citation needed]} It was released on Region 2 DVD on 20 October 2008.

Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete Second Season was released on Region 1 DVD on August 18, 2009. The three-disc collection includes all 13 episodes from the second season.^[43] Cover art for the DVD advertises the release as the "The Complete and Final Second Season". View the DVD review from SitcomsOnline ^[31].

References

External links

• Dirty Sexy Money at the Internet Movie Database
• Dirty Sexy Money at TV.com
• NYPost Review