Franklin & Bash
Encyclopedia
Franklin & Bash is an American
drama-comedy television series created by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais. The series stars Breckin Meyer
and Mark-Paul Gosselaar
as unconventional lawyers and longtime friends. A Turner Broadcasting executive has referred to the series as a "funny legal procedural".
The series is broadcast in the United States on the cable channel TNT. It premiered on June 1, 2011. The series was renewed for a second season on July 26, 2011.
In agreeing to work for Infeld Daniels, Franklin and Bash were guaranteed that they would still be taking on the same kind of cases as before, only with the backing of a major law firm. Over the course of their cases Franklin and Bash, through their courtroom antics, prove to be effective advocates for their clients, much to the chagrin of Damien Karp and his ex-girlfriend Hanna Linden.
network. In February 2010, TBS placed a cast-contingent pilot
order from a script written by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais. Casting announcements began in early March, with Meyer and Gosselaar taking starring roles as the title characters. Next to be cast was McDowell, as Stanton Infeld. Then, comedian Nanjiani was cast as Pindar Singh, followed by Diamond, as Damien Karp, and Beauvais and Davis as Hanna Linden and Carmen Phillips respectively.
The pilot was filmed in Atlanta in late March and early April. In May 2010, the show was moved from TBS to sister station
TNT, where network executives believed it was a better fit. The network green-lit production in mid-May with a ten episode order.
. The Los Angeles Times
described the pilot episode as "not as intrigue-heavy as White Collar
, as satiric as The Good Guys
or as beautifully located as Hawaii Five-0; 'Franklin & Bash' is smart, it's fun and it's summer." Variety
gave a positive review, describing the show as "playful, silly and wholly unpretentious." The Hollywood Reporter
also gave the pilot a positive review:
will release the first season of Franklin & Bash on Region 2 DVD on November 14th, 2011.
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
drama-comedy television series created by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais. The series stars Breckin Meyer
Breckin Meyer
-Early life:Meyer was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Dorothy Ann , a travel agent and former microbiologist, and Christopher William Meyer, a management consultant. As a child of divorced parents, he lived in California, Texas, West Virginia and New Jersey. He has an older brother,...
and Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Detective John Clark in NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and more recently Peter...
as unconventional lawyers and longtime friends. A Turner Broadcasting executive has referred to the series as a "funny legal procedural".
The series is broadcast in the United States on the cable channel TNT. It premiered on June 1, 2011. The series was renewed for a second season on July 26, 2011.
Overview
Jared Franklin and Peter Bash are two streetwise, plaintiff's attorneys. After defeating Damien Karp of the prestigious law firm Infeld Daniels they are recruited by senior partner Stanton Infeld to breathe new life into the ailing firm. Assisting Franklin and Bash is Carmen Phillips, an ex-convict out on parole who assists with background investigations on cases, and Pindar Singh, a brilliant, agoraphobic attorney.In agreeing to work for Infeld Daniels, Franklin and Bash were guaranteed that they would still be taking on the same kind of cases as before, only with the backing of a major law firm. Over the course of their cases Franklin and Bash, through their courtroom antics, prove to be effective advocates for their clients, much to the chagrin of Damien Karp and his ex-girlfriend Hanna Linden.
Main cast
- Breckin MeyerBreckin Meyer-Early life:Meyer was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Dorothy Ann , a travel agent and former microbiologist, and Christopher William Meyer, a management consultant. As a child of divorced parents, he lived in California, Texas, West Virginia and New Jersey. He has an older brother,...
as Jared Franklin, the snarky, self-confident party-boy son of a famous trial lawyer. - Mark-Paul GosselaarMark-Paul GosselaarMark-Paul Harry Gosselaar is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Detective John Clark in NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and more recently Peter...
as Peter Bash, Franklin's best friend and legal partner. He is more mature and level-headed than Franklin, and still has feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Janie (portrayed by Claire CoffeeClaire CoffeeClaire Coffee is an American actress. She was born in San Francisco, California on April 14, 1980 and has a degree in theater from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois...
). - Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as Stanton Infeld, the eccentric, yet easy-going senior partner of the prominent law firm Infeld Daniels, who hires Franklin and Bash after witnessing their unconventional techniques in court. - Dana DavisDana DavisDana Davis is an American actress, most notable for playing Carmen Phillips on the TNT television series Franklin & Bash and Chastity Church on the ABC Family television series 10 Things I Hate About You.-Biography:...
as Carmen Phillips, an ex-convict working for Franklin and Bash. - Kumail NanjianiKumail Nanjiani-Career:Born in Karachi, Nanjiani lived in Pakistan until he moved to the United States when he was 18 and attended Grinnell College in Iowa. Since beginning his career in Chicago, he has performed standup on a number of television programs including the Late Show With David Letterman, Late Night...
as Pindar Singh, an agoraphobicAgoraphobiaAgoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
science fiction nerd working for Franklin and Bash. - Reed DiamondReed DiamondReed Edward Diamond is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Det. Mike Kellerman on Homicide: Life on the Street and the role of recurring character Laurence Dominic on Dollhouse...
as Damien Karp, Stanton's nephew, working for Infeld Daniels, who become jealous of Franklin and Bash's good standing and quick success with his uncle. He was once in a relationship with Hanna Linden, but is no longer because he refuses to have relations with a co-worker. Surprisingly, Karp has no interest in taking over his uncle's firm as Karp yearns to be a judgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
. Karp is amenable to Hanna Linden taking over instead. - Garcelle BeauvaisGarcelle BeauvaisGarcelle Beauvais is a Haitian-American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her roles as hotel employee Francesca "Fancy" Monroe on The WB television sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show which ran from 1996 to 2001, and as Valerie Heywood on the ABC crime drama, NYPD Blue.-Early...
as Hanna Linden, a lawyer working for Infeld Daniels, and Karp's ex-lover who uses Franklin's affections to get back at Damien. - Claire CoffeeClaire CoffeeClaire Coffee is an American actress. She was born in San Francisco, California on April 14, 1980 and has a degree in theater from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois...
as Janie Ross, DA Assistant and Peter Bash's ex-girlfriend.
Recurring cast
- Alexandra HoldenAlexandra Holden-Life and career:Holden was born in Northfield, Minnesota, the daughter of Kristi and Barry Holden. She played film roles in Drop Dead Gorgeous as Mary Johanson and in Sugar & Spice as Fern Rogers. She also starred in the low budget slasher film Wishcraft.Holden has also had roles in TV and music...
as Debbie Wilcox, an assistant to Franklin and Bash. - Rhea Seehorn as Ellen, DA assistant who is overshadowed by Janie Ross and dislikes Franklin and Bash
Development and production
The series was originally in development for the TBSTBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
network. In February 2010, TBS placed a cast-contingent pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
order from a script written by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais. Casting announcements began in early March, with Meyer and Gosselaar taking starring roles as the title characters. Next to be cast was McDowell, as Stanton Infeld. Then, comedian Nanjiani was cast as Pindar Singh, followed by Diamond, as Damien Karp, and Beauvais and Davis as Hanna Linden and Carmen Phillips respectively.
The pilot was filmed in Atlanta in late March and early April. In May 2010, the show was moved from TBS to sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
TNT, where network executives believed it was a better fit. The network green-lit production in mid-May with a ten episode order.
Critical reception
Franklin & Bash has received mixed to average reviews, earning a score of 56 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described the pilot episode as "not as intrigue-heavy as White Collar
White Collar (TV series)
White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...
, as satiric as The Good Guys
The Good Guys (2010 TV series)
The Good Guys is an American action-comedy series about an old-school cop and a modern-day detective that premiered with a preview episode on Fox on May 19, 2010, and began airing regularly on June 7...
or as beautifully located as Hawaii Five-0; 'Franklin & Bash' is smart, it's fun and it's summer." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
gave a positive review, describing the show as "playful, silly and wholly unpretentious." The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
also gave the pilot a positive review:
In the end, Franklin & Bash uses the legal genre to prop up what is mostly a buddy story. There may be bigger reveals ahead and certain daring complications, but no doubt Franklin and Bash will get out of them with their good looks and quick wits. That’s how they roll – mostly – on TNT.
Ratings
The pilot episode premiered with 2.7 million total viewers, scoring 1.1 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic and 1.2 million in the 25-54 demographic, making it the fourth most watched cable-program of the evening. Live + 3 day ratings for the series premiere updated those numbers to 3.5 million total viewers, scoring 1.5 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic, 1.6 million in the 25-54 demographic and 0.7 million in the 18-34 demographic.| Season | Season Premiere | Season Finale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers Total (in millions) |
Viewers 18-49 |
Date | Viewers Total (in millions) |
Viewers 18-49 |
|
| 1 | June 1, 2011 | 2.74 | 1.14 | August 3, 2011 | 2.54 | 1.21 |
DVD releases
Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
will release the first season of Franklin & Bash on Region 2 DVD on November 14th, 2011.
| DVD Name | Ep# | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| The Complete First Season | 10 | November 14, 2011 | ||
International broadcasting
| Country | Network | Premiere date |
|---|---|---|
 Canada |
Bravo! | |
 United Kingdom |
E4 | |
 India |
Star World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
|
| Latin America Latin America Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area... |
Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television is a series of general entertainment television channels, owned by Sony Pictures Television. At least 9 International versions of this channel exist:*Sony Entertainment Television Asia... |
|
 Latvia |
Sony Entertainment Television Baltic | |
 Russia |
Sony Entertainment Television Russia | |
 South Africa |
M-Net M-Net M-Net is a subscription-funded television channel in South Africa, established in 1986 by Naspers.... |