Fired Up (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Fired Up is a short-lived 1997–1998 situation comedy
airing on NBC
. It lasted for two seasons and 28 episodes. The series, the first from Grammnet Productions
, starred Sharon Lawrence
and Leah Remini
. The series was about a self-centered promotions executive (Lawrence) and her mouthy assistant (Remini). The pair got fired from their jobs, and instead of getting other jobs, they teamed up to create a business as equal partners.
The tagline of the series was "First she got fired, then she got fired up."
Also regularly seen was Mrs. Francis, a crotchety unemployment agent whom Gwen ultimately inspired to quit her job and open up an eggroll shop; Ashley Mann, Guy's son who worked as a female impersonator; Scott Bickley, Danny's lecherous agent who moonlighted as a suit salesman; and Steve Summer, a former classmate of Gwen's who'd carried a torch for her for decades. Infrequently seen were Gwen's snobbish mother Rita (Dixie Carter
) and Terry and Danny's loud-mouthed mother Tina (Randee Heller
).
It was a contemporary of shows such as Caroline in the City
and Suddenly Susan
. At one point, all three shows were part of a Monday night television promotion dubbed the "Ladies of Monday Night".
said the series had a "topical premise and an edgy lead character, just what most sitcoms lack" but that after a promising start, its first season episodes lost the "sharp writing this series needs."
Fired Up premiered in the "cushy Thursday night slot after Seinfeld
" through May 15, 1996, on a night that NBC promoted as Must See TV
. It started out strong in the ratings, with a premiere that garnered an 18.8 rating and 29 share, but after NBC changed its timeslot, the show lost its audience, and NBC canceled the show.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
airing on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. It lasted for two seasons and 28 episodes. The series, the first from Grammnet Productions
Grammnet Productions
Grammnet Productions is an American television production company owned by Kelsey Grammer and Camille Grammer.-Grammnet Productions productions:* Boss * The Game...
, starred Sharon Lawrence
Sharon Lawrence
Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American television actress. She is best known for the role of Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the Television series NYPD Blue...
and Leah Remini
Leah Remini
Leah Marie Remini is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens and as Stacey Carosi on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell...
. The series was about a self-centered promotions executive (Lawrence) and her mouthy assistant (Remini). The pair got fired from their jobs, and instead of getting other jobs, they teamed up to create a business as equal partners.
The tagline of the series was "First she got fired, then she got fired up."
Plot
Gwendolyn Leonard epitomized the term "self involved." After being fired from her corporate job, she was reduced to moving in with her former assistant, spunky Terry Reynolds, and starting up a new promotions business as her partner. Terry and her brother Danny shared a loft apartment atop a clock tower in New York City, and Danny worked as bartender at Clockworks, the restaurant below, while he pursued his dream of becoming a writer. Clockworks was owned by Guy Mann, an average Joe who adamantly pursued Gwen, though she kept him at arm's length (his response to each of her blow-offs was "Oh, yeah!").Also regularly seen was Mrs. Francis, a crotchety unemployment agent whom Gwen ultimately inspired to quit her job and open up an eggroll shop; Ashley Mann, Guy's son who worked as a female impersonator; Scott Bickley, Danny's lecherous agent who moonlighted as a suit salesman; and Steve Summer, a former classmate of Gwen's who'd carried a torch for her for decades. Infrequently seen were Gwen's snobbish mother Rita (Dixie Carter
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
) and Terry and Danny's loud-mouthed mother Tina (Randee Heller
Randee Heller
Randy M. "Randee" Heller is an American television and film actress. Her most notable roles were in the film The Karate Kid and one of its sequels, as Daniel Larusso's mother, and on the 1970s serial sitcom Soap as Jodie Dallas's roommate Alice, one of the first recurring lesbian characters in...
).
Cast
- Gwen Leonard - Sharon LawrenceSharon LawrenceSharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American television actress. She is best known for the role of Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the Television series NYPD Blue...
- Terry Reynolds - Leah ReminiLeah ReminiLeah Marie Remini is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens and as Stacey Carosi on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell...
- Danny Reynolds - Mark FeuersteinMark Feuerstein-Career:Feuerstein got his break-through on television as a recurring character on the daytime soap opera Loving. When director Nancy Meyers was casting What Women Want, her daughter recognized Feuerstein from Practical Magic and insisted that her mother cast him...
- Guy Mann - Jonathan BanksJonathan BanksJonathan Ray Banks is an American actor in film and television.Banks was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947. His mother worked for the CIA. Banks attended Indiana University Bloomington where he was a classmate of Kevin Kline...
- Mrs. Francis - Francesca P. Roberts
- Ashley Mann - Mark Davis
- Steve Summer - Thomas F. WilsonThomas F. WilsonThomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
- Scott Bickley - Timothy OmundsonTimothy OmundsonTimothy Michael Omundson is an American actor perhaps most notable for his supporting roles as Sean Potter on the CBS television series Judging Amy, Eli on the syndicated series Xena: Warrior Princess, and as Carlton Lassiter in the hit USA Network series Psych...
History
Fired Up was a mid-season replacement on NBC. It premiered on April 10, 1997, and ended the first season on June 23, after eight episodes. The second season premiered on September 22, 1997, and the last episode to air was on February 9, 1998.It was a contemporary of shows such as Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
and Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...
. At one point, all three shows were part of a Monday night television promotion dubbed the "Ladies of Monday Night".
Reception
Caryn James of The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said the series had a "topical premise and an edgy lead character, just what most sitcoms lack" but that after a promising start, its first season episodes lost the "sharp writing this series needs."
Fired Up premiered in the "cushy Thursday night slot after Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
" through May 15, 1996, on a night that NBC promoted as Must See TV
Must See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
. It started out strong in the ratings, with a premiere that garnered an 18.8 rating and 29 share, but after NBC changed its timeslot, the show lost its audience, and NBC canceled the show.
External links
- Fired Up from JumptheShark.com