Wildfire (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Wildfire is a US
television series that aired on ABC Family
, which was produced by Lions Gate Television, Piller2 and The Segan Company (Michael Piller would later merge Piller2 and The Segan Company to Piller/Segan to produce GRΣΣK). The show premiered June 20, 2005; its fourth and final season ended May 16, 2008 due to low ratings. Season one averaged just over a million weekly viewers and season two increased to 1.56 million, an increase of over 50%. Season three dropped back to the first year's numbers. The theme song is "Morning Light" sung by Truman.
and a young girl named Kristine "Kris" Furillo who, after serving time in a juvenile detention facility, works as a stablehand, exercise rider, and eventually a jockey
at Raintree Farm. While at Raintree, Kris finds romance and competition with Raintree's rivals, the prestigious Davis Farms, all while rising to stardom in the racing world. Kris quickly becomes the center of a complicated love triangle involving herself, the son of the family she works for, and Junior Davis of Davis Farms.
) : A jockey who formerly served time at Camp LaGrange, a correctional facility, for grand theft auto
. She shares a special bond with Wildfire, a horse she saved from going to slaughter and helped turn into a champion racehorse.
Matthew "Matt" Ritter (Micah Alberti
) : The son of Jean and Pete Ritter and the older brother of Todd Ritter. In season three he becomes the co-owner of Raintree Farm along with his mother, inheriting his half of the farm's ownership when his grandfather (Jean's father), Henry Ritter, died. Early on, Matt wanted nothing to do with the "family business" of horses and racing, but came to discover he had a talent for training and conditioning Thoroughbreds and eventually took over as Raintree's head trainer.
Kenneth Walter Davis "Junior" (Ryan Sypek
) : The son of Ken Davis and Isabelle Matiya Ferris and older half-brother to Dani. A very indecisive young man, he has gotten into gambling, owned a night club (which he lost in a bet with his former bookie
, Bobby), dabbled in the sport of professional bull riding
, and been involved on and off in the running of Davis Farms throughout the series. At one point he sold most of his shares of the farm and regretted it. Even though Junior tries his hardest to break away from the "rich kid" stereotype, he loves his Porsche
convertible.
Danielle "Dani" Davis (Nicole Tubiola
) : Daughter of Ken Davis, Sr., an unseen woman named Marisol deEsquvala, and younger half-sister of Junior. Dani started off being openly snobby, promiscuous, and catty but later became more likeable. She took over the running of Davis Farm after her father was indicted on fraud charges but signed her shares of the farm over to Junior after losing her racing license at the end of season three. She also ran her own veterinary clinic for a while.
Kenneth "Ken" Walter Davis, Sr. (James Read
) : Father of Dani and Junior. He ran Davis Farms until being indicted on six counts of fraud
, which forced him to leave Davis Farm and his assets to his children and, in a series of events, lost his role as majority shareholder to Dani. After being acquitted of all the charges, Ken bought back 46% of Davis Farms. Out of all the romantic relationships that Junior and Dani ever had, the only one that Ken didn't hate was Junior's relationship with Laura Nichols, the daughter of a a congressman.
Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor
) : Matt and Todd's mother and the co-owner of Raintree Farm. Jean is reluctant to let Kris work at Raintree at first, but eventually grows to think of her as a daughter; in season three she often bumped heads with Kris and her son, Matt, over Wildfire's training and how Raintree should be run.
Pablo Betart (Greg Serano
) : An ex-convict
and respected horseman. Pablo discovered Kris's talent for horses and riding while working as a volunteer trainer at Camp LaGrange and brought her to work for the Ritters. He is co-owner of Wildfire with Jean Ritter and her son, Matt and Raintree's head trainer for most of the series.
Tina Sharp (Amy Jo Johnson
): A hotshot jockey
brought in by Jean and Pablo to ride Wildfire in The Sandpiper Classic, a major race. A very sweet, flirty girl, no one but Pablo suspected that she was bad news until she accepted an offer from Ken to ride Avatar, one of his best horses against Wildfire. She also had a fling with Matt at the end of season one and indicated that she had a fling with Pablo in the past.
Gillian Parsons (Charlotte Salt
) : A wealthy heiress who came to Dani's rescue when she needed money to save Davis Farms while Ken was in jail. She also came in as the ex-girlfriend of Kerry Conelly and slept with him while she was dating Matt. She gave up control of Davis Farms in order to keep her affair secret. However, Gillian comes clean after Matt has an affair with Kris and breaks up with Gillian. She then has a brief almost-fling with Junior before she goes back to England
Kerry Connelly (Kieren Hutchison
) : A sports agent who signed on to represent Kris as her career started to take off. He didn't mention his long-distance relationship with Gillian until after she walked in on him making out with Kris at the Davis charity ball and then proceeded to sleep with Gillian in order to get Kris a spot in the breeders invitational. In other words, first he cheated on Gillian with Kris, then he cheated on Kris with Gillian, and then he pretended that he wanted to go away with Kris when really, he was planning to steal half a million dollars from Raintree and never come back.
Todd Ritter (Andrew Hoeft) : The quirky, wise-beyond-his-years son of Jean, and Matt's younger brother. He is in junior high and lives at Raintree Farm for the first three seasons and then goes away to boarding school.
has released the first three seasons on DVD in Region 1.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that aired on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
, which was produced by Lions Gate Television, Piller2 and The Segan Company (Michael Piller would later merge Piller2 and The Segan Company to Piller/Segan to produce GRΣΣK). The show premiered June 20, 2005; its fourth and final season ended May 16, 2008 due to low ratings. Season one averaged just over a million weekly viewers and season two increased to 1.56 million, an increase of over 50%. Season three dropped back to the first year's numbers. The theme song is "Morning Light" sung by Truman.
Plot
The show centers on the world of horse racingThoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
and a young girl named Kristine "Kris" Furillo who, after serving time in a juvenile detention facility, works as a stablehand, exercise rider, and eventually a jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
at Raintree Farm. While at Raintree, Kris finds romance and competition with Raintree's rivals, the prestigious Davis Farms, all while rising to stardom in the racing world. Kris quickly becomes the center of a complicated love triangle involving herself, the son of the family she works for, and Junior Davis of Davis Farms.
Main cast and characters
Kristine "Kris" Furillo (Genevieve CorteseGenevieve Cortese
Genevieve Padalecki is an American actress known for her breakout role on the television series Wildfire as Kris Furillo. She is also known for her recurring role in Supernatural as Ruby. She married Supernatural star Jared Padalecki in 2010.-Biography:Genevieve is of Italian, French and Flemish...
) : A jockey who formerly served time at Camp LaGrange, a correctional facility, for grand theft auto
Motor vehicle theft
Motor vehicle theft is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle...
. She shares a special bond with Wildfire, a horse she saved from going to slaughter and helped turn into a champion racehorse.
Matthew "Matt" Ritter (Micah Alberti
Micah Alberti
Micah Alberti is an American model and actor who played James Edward Martin on All My Children. He also guest starred on 8 Simple Rules and Smallville. He starred on the ABC Family series, Wildfire.-Filmography:...
) : The son of Jean and Pete Ritter and the older brother of Todd Ritter. In season three he becomes the co-owner of Raintree Farm along with his mother, inheriting his half of the farm's ownership when his grandfather (Jean's father), Henry Ritter, died. Early on, Matt wanted nothing to do with the "family business" of horses and racing, but came to discover he had a talent for training and conditioning Thoroughbreds and eventually took over as Raintree's head trainer.
Kenneth Walter Davis "Junior" (Ryan Sypek
Ryan Sypek
Ryan Sypek was born on August 6, 1982 in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Wayland High School in 2000. While attending Boston University, Ryan spent a semester in London at LAMDA...
) : The son of Ken Davis and Isabelle Matiya Ferris and older half-brother to Dani. A very indecisive young man, he has gotten into gambling, owned a night club (which he lost in a bet with his former bookie
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
, Bobby), dabbled in the sport of professional bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
, and been involved on and off in the running of Davis Farms throughout the series. At one point he sold most of his shares of the farm and regretted it. Even though Junior tries his hardest to break away from the "rich kid" stereotype, he loves his Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
convertible.
Danielle "Dani" Davis (Nicole Tubiola
Nicole Tubiola
Nicole Tubiola is an American actress. She is known for her role as Danielle "Dani" Davis on Wildfire .-Private life:She grew up in Bullhead City, Arizona and graduated in 1997 at Mohave High School...
) : Daughter of Ken Davis, Sr., an unseen woman named Marisol deEsquvala, and younger half-sister of Junior. Dani started off being openly snobby, promiscuous, and catty but later became more likeable. She took over the running of Davis Farm after her father was indicted on fraud charges but signed her shares of the farm over to Junior after losing her racing license at the end of season three. She also ran her own veterinary clinic for a while.
Kenneth "Ken" Walter Davis, Sr. (James Read
James Read
James Christopher Read is an American actor, best known for his role of George Hazard in the North and South television miniseries.-Early life:...
) : Father of Dani and Junior. He ran Davis Farms until being indicted on six counts of fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, which forced him to leave Davis Farm and his assets to his children and, in a series of events, lost his role as majority shareholder to Dani. After being acquitted of all the charges, Ken bought back 46% of Davis Farms. Out of all the romantic relationships that Junior and Dani ever had, the only one that Ken didn't hate was Junior's relationship with Laura Nichols, the daughter of a a congressman.
Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor
Nana Visitor , born Nana Tucker, is an American actress, best known for playing Kira Nerys in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Jean Ritter in the television series Wildfire.-Early life:...
) : Matt and Todd's mother and the co-owner of Raintree Farm. Jean is reluctant to let Kris work at Raintree at first, but eventually grows to think of her as a daughter; in season three she often bumped heads with Kris and her son, Matt, over Wildfire's training and how Raintree should be run.
Pablo Betart (Greg Serano
Greg Serano
Greg Serano is an American actor. He was most known for his role of Pablo Betart on Wildfire.-Filmography:*Undocumented *Felon .... Officer Diaz*Beer For My Horses .... Tito Garza...
) : An ex-convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
and respected horseman. Pablo discovered Kris's talent for horses and riding while working as a volunteer trainer at Camp LaGrange and brought her to work for the Ritters. He is co-owner of Wildfire with Jean Ritter and her son, Matt and Raintree's head trainer for most of the series.
Tina Sharp (Amy Jo Johnson
Amy Jo Johnson
Amy Jo Johnson is an American actress, singer, songwriter and musician.She is best known for her roles in the televison series as the constable Jules Callaghan in the Canadian CTV television series Flashpoint, the famous jockey Tina Sharp in the ABC Family's original show Wildfire, the rookie cop...
): A hotshot jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
brought in by Jean and Pablo to ride Wildfire in The Sandpiper Classic, a major race. A very sweet, flirty girl, no one but Pablo suspected that she was bad news until she accepted an offer from Ken to ride Avatar, one of his best horses against Wildfire. She also had a fling with Matt at the end of season one and indicated that she had a fling with Pablo in the past.
Gillian Parsons (Charlotte Salt
Charlotte Salt
Charlotte Salt is an English actress. She attended St Dominic's Priory School ....
) : A wealthy heiress who came to Dani's rescue when she needed money to save Davis Farms while Ken was in jail. She also came in as the ex-girlfriend of Kerry Conelly and slept with him while she was dating Matt. She gave up control of Davis Farms in order to keep her affair secret. However, Gillian comes clean after Matt has an affair with Kris and breaks up with Gillian. She then has a brief almost-fling with Junior before she goes back to England
Kerry Connelly (Kieren Hutchison
Kieren Hutchison
Kieren Robert Hutchison is a New Zealand actor. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand.-Career:Hutchison is best known for playing the roles of Jonathon McKenna in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, Andy Hargrove on One Tree Hill, Kerry Connelly on Wildfire and Jake Preston on Monarch Cove...
) : A sports agent who signed on to represent Kris as her career started to take off. He didn't mention his long-distance relationship with Gillian until after she walked in on him making out with Kris at the Davis charity ball and then proceeded to sleep with Gillian in order to get Kris a spot in the breeders invitational. In other words, first he cheated on Gillian with Kris, then he cheated on Kris with Gillian, and then he pretended that he wanted to go away with Kris when really, he was planning to steal half a million dollars from Raintree and never come back.
Todd Ritter (Andrew Hoeft) : The quirky, wise-beyond-his-years son of Jean, and Matt's younger brother. He is in junior high and lives at Raintree Farm for the first three seasons and then goes away to boarding school.
Guest cast and characters
| Name | Character name | # of Appearances | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | ||
| Joe Lando Joe Lando Joseph John Lando is an American actor, most recognizable for playing Byron Sully on the TV series Dr... |
Pete Ritter | 2 | 4 | ||
| Josh Berry | Bart Blitzer | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shanna Collins Shanna Collins Shanna Dophalene Collins is an American actress. She played Amber, the best friend of Dani Davis , on the first season of the ABC Family original series Wildfire. She also played Laurie Miller on the CBS series Swingtown... |
Amber | 5 | |||
| Debrah Farentino Debrah Farentino Debrah Farentino is an American model and actress.-Early life:Farentino was born Deborah Mullowney in Lucas Valley, California. She attended Miller Creek Junior High School, and Terra Linda High School in San Rafael, California... |
Isabelle Matia-Faris | 1 | 3 | ||
| Maurizo Farhad | Sheik Omar | 4 | |||
| Arye Gross Arye Gross -Biography:Gross was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Sheri and Joseph Gross, who was an aerospace engineer and later worked in business.... |
Charlie Hewitt | 6 | 5 | ||
| Judy Herrera Judy Herrera Judy Herrera is an American actress. She graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan.-Cinema:*The Postman , directed by Kevin Costner : Carrier*Melting Pot , directed by Tom Musca : Dolores... |
Leanne Diaz | 1 | |||
| Jason London Jason London Jason Paul London is an American actor, best known for his role as Randall "Pink" Floyd in director Richard Linklater's film Dazed and Confused.-Personal life:... |
Bobby | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
| Scarlett McAlister | Wendy Levy | 2 | 2 | ||
| Jonathan Murphy | Calvin Handley | 6 | |||
| David Ramsey | Dr. Noah Gleason | 5 | |||
| Ignacio Serricchio Ignacio Serricchio Ignacio Serricchio is an American actor.Serricchio is a graduate of Syracuse University's drama department. In October 2004, Serricchio joined the cast of the daytime serial General Hospital as troubled youth Diego Alcazar. He left the soap in November 2006... |
Jace Furillo | 1 | |||
| Amanda Seyfried Amanda Seyfried Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My... |
Rebecca | 5 | |||
| John Terry John Terry (actor) John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North... |
Uncle Jesse | 2 | 3 | ||
| Kristy Vaughan | Molly Blitzer | 1 | 1 | ||
| Robbie Washington | Evan Garvey | 3 | |||
| Dennis Weaver Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel.... |
Henry | 5 | |||
| Eric Winter Eric Winter Eric Barrett Winter is an American actor and former fashion model. He is also ambassador for Operation Smile.-Career:Before his acting roles, Winter was a male model and had some high profile campaigns, such as one print campaign for Tommy Hilfiger... |
R.J. Blake | 5 | |||
| Alicia Ziegler | Laura Nichols | 5 | |||
DVD releases
Lionsgate Home EntertainmentLionsgate Home Entertainment
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment and most former Artisan Entertainment releases. Its library of more than 8000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios...
has released the first three seasons on DVD in Region 1.
| DVD Title | Release date | Number of discs |
Number of episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire: Season One | February 7, 2006 | 4 | 13 |
| Wildfire: Season Two | November 6, 2007 | 3 | 13 |
| Wildfire: Season Three | March 3, 2008 | 3 | 13 |