The United States of Tara
Encyclopedia
United States of Tara is an American television comedy-drama
created by Diablo Cody
, which began airing on Showtime in 2009. The series follows the life of Tara (Toni Collette
), a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder
.
The series was based on an idea by Steven Spielberg
who is the executive producer, under his DreamWorks Television
label. Other executive producers include writers Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Eduardo Peixoto, director Craig Zisk
, and showrunners Cody and Jill Soloway
. Former executive producer Alexa Junge
quit as showrunner after the first season.
Principal photography
takes place in Los Angeles, California, while the show's setting is located in Overland Park, Kansas
. Collette won the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award and 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her role; the opening title sequence also won an Emmy. The show's third season premiered on March 28, 2011.
On May 23, 2011, Showtime announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season, and the series finale aired on June 20, 2011.
who has been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder
(DID). Whenever she is stressed, she transitions into one of her alternate personalities: wild and flirty teenager T; 1950s housewife Alice; and male, loud, beer-drinking Vietnam
vet
Buck. A fourth personality, Gimme, is introduced later in the first season. During the second season of the series, two further personalities were introduced. The former, called Shoshana, is Tara's "therapist" of sorts, while the sixth personality's name is Chicken, an infantile representation of Tara when she was 5 years old. Another personality emerges in Season 3; that of Tara's previously unknown half-brother Bryce. Tara is supported by her husband Max, daughter Kate, and son Marshall. Her sister, Charmaine, is somewhat promiscuous and not very supportive of Tara, as she often expresses doubts about the validity of her sister's disorder. The show is set in Overland Park
, Kansas
.
's Secret Diary of a Call Girl
. The season aired 12 episodes.
In late December 2008, Showtime offered free viewing on its website for the pilot of United States of Tara.
Customers of cable and satellite services that offer On Demand
who subscribe to Showtime got the episode one week early via On Demand during Season 1. This was not the case for Season 2.
On May 23, 2011 Showtime cancelled United States Of Tara.
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show's first season holds a score of 67 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 24 reviews. Variety
magazine was the first to review it and gave it a very positive review.
Episodes 1 and 2 were also available as bonus features on DVD disc 4 (of 4) of Dexter
, Season 3; and on disc 4 (of 4) of The Tudors
, Season 3.
president of entertainment Robert Greenblatt announced that United States of Tara would be renewed for a second season, to consist of twelve episodes and air in early 2010. He said the early renewal decision came after the show averaged 2.67 million viewers per week, giving the network its highest ratings since 2004, when Nielsen Media Research
began counting original shows on premium channels
in its primetime ratings. Season two premiered on March 22, 2010.
On March 25, three days after the season 2 premiere, it was announced that it would be picked up for a third season which aired in spring 2011. Season 3 officially premiered on March 28, 2011.
On May 23, 2011, it was announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
created by Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody
Brook Busey , better known by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American screenwriter, writer, blogger, journalist, and author. She was first known for her candid chronicling of her year as a stripper in her Pussy Ranch blog and her 2006 memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper...
, which began airing on Showtime in 2009. The series follows the life of Tara (Toni Collette
Toni Collette
Antonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
), a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
.
The series was based on an idea by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
who is the executive producer, under his DreamWorks Television
DreamWorks Television
DreamWorks Television is a television distribution and production company that is a division of DreamWorks SKG, a former subsidiary of Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures. The syndication rights to DreamWorks' live-action TV series were held by CBS Television Distribution until fall 2008, the successor...
label. Other executive producers include writers Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Eduardo Peixoto, director Craig Zisk
Craig Zisk
Craig Zisk is an American director and producer. He has worked on Smallville, Scrubs, Weeds and My Name Is Earl as well as many other programs.-Director:* My Name Is Earl * The Office * Weeds...
, and showrunners Cody and Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway is an American comedian, playwright, a feminist and an Emmy-nominated television writer.Soloway was an executive producer and show-runner of the Showtime show The United States of Tara created by writer Diablo Cody. Soloway exited the show in November 2009...
. Former executive producer Alexa Junge
Alexa Junge
Alexa Junge is a television writer, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for her work on the series Friends.Four-time Emmy and WGA Award nominee, Junge grew up in Los Angeles, attended Barnard College where she wrote The Columbia Varsity Show with David Rakoff and Jeanine Tesori. Junge...
quit as showrunner after the first season.
Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
takes place in Los Angeles, California, while the show's setting is located in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
. Collette won the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award and 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her role; the opening title sequence also won an Emmy. The show's third season premiered on March 28, 2011.
On May 23, 2011, Showtime announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season, and the series finale aired on June 20, 2011.
Plot
Tara Gregson is a wife and mother of two children in the suburbs of Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
who has been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
(DID). Whenever she is stressed, she transitions into one of her alternate personalities: wild and flirty teenager T; 1950s housewife Alice; and male, loud, beer-drinking Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
vet
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
Buck. A fourth personality, Gimme, is introduced later in the first season. During the second season of the series, two further personalities were introduced. The former, called Shoshana, is Tara's "therapist" of sorts, while the sixth personality's name is Chicken, an infantile representation of Tara when she was 5 years old. Another personality emerges in Season 3; that of Tara's previously unknown half-brother Bryce. Tara is supported by her husband Max, daughter Kate, and son Marshall. Her sister, Charmaine, is somewhat promiscuous and not very supportive of Tara, as she often expresses doubts about the validity of her sister's disorder. The show is set in Overland Park
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
Broadcasting information
The series premiered on the US network Showtime at 10 p.m. on January 18, 2009, premiering before the second season of ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Secret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 2007-2011 based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous "Belle de Jour," starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London call girl. The series was written by Lucy Prebble, who is also known as the author of The...
. The season aired 12 episodes.
In late December 2008, Showtime offered free viewing on its website for the pilot of United States of Tara.
Customers of cable and satellite services that offer On Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
who subscribe to Showtime got the episode one week early via On Demand during Season 1. This was not the case for Season 2.
On May 23, 2011 Showtime cancelled United States Of Tara.
Critical reception
Initial critical response to the show was positive, with many reviewers praising Collette's acting. According to 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,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show's first season holds a score of 67 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 24 reviews. 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...
magazine was the first to review it and gave it a very positive review.
Awards
- 2009 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Toni Collette) - 2009 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Main Title Design. - 2010 Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Toni Collette)
Nominations
- 2010 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Toni Collette) - 2010 Screen Actors Guild AwardsScreen Actors Guild AwardsA Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (Toni Collette) - 2010 GLAAD Media AwardGLAAD Media AwardsThe GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for Outstanding Comedy Series - 2011 Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Toni Collette)
DVD releases
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First Season | 12 | Californication (TV series) Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend... season 2 The Tudors The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime... season 3 Nurse Jackie Nurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City... (Best Buy Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates... exclusive) |
|
| The Second Season | 12 | ||
| The Third Season | 12 |
Episodes 1 and 2 were also available as bonus features on DVD disc 4 (of 4) of Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, Season 3; and on disc 4 (of 4) of The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
, Season 3.
Renewals
On February 10, 2009, after only four episodes had aired, Showtime NetworksShowtime Networks
Showtime Networks, Inc. is the corporate division of media conglomerate CBS Corporation.The company was established in 1983 as Showtime/The Movie Channel, Inc. after Viacom and Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment merged their premium channels, Showtime and The Movie Channel respectively, into one...
president of entertainment Robert Greenblatt announced that United States of Tara would be renewed for a second season, to consist of twelve episodes and air in early 2010. He said the early renewal decision came after the show averaged 2.67 million viewers per week, giving the network its highest ratings since 2004, when Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
began counting original shows on premium channels
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
in its primetime ratings. Season two premiered on March 22, 2010.
On March 25, three days after the season 2 premiere, it was announced that it would be picked up for a third season which aired in spring 2011. Season 3 officially premiered on March 28, 2011.
On May 23, 2011, it was announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season.