Carsey-Werner Productions
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Carsey-Werner Productions (in some incarnations, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach Productions) is an independent production company founded in 1981 by former ABC writer/producer duo Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner (co-owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise). Caryn Mandabach was made a partner in the firm in 2001 (she joined in 1984), but left in 2004 to embark on her own production deal.
Carsey-Werner has had its own production and distribution facilities since the mid/late 1990s.[when?] Prior to controlling their own distribution, Viacom Enterprises, and later Paramount Domestic Television, syndicated their programming for them. In 2002 they announced a deal with Paramount Pictures to develop feature films through the studio.[citation needed]
As of February 22, 2007, Carsey-Werner has begun removing videos off YouTube regarding That '70s Show with the copyright claim being the only explanation; it is unknown if other Carsey-Werner series were affected. Carsey-Werner now has its own YouTube channel.
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[edit] Sale of studio
In 2004, Carsey and Werner mulled over the prospect of selling the studio, including its profitable catalog of shows, with UBS as their underwriter. Companies, most notably Viacom and Time Warner, expressed interest in buying the firm to exhibit their content on their cable networks.[citation needed] But the deal did not materialize and Carsey-Werner remained independent.[citation needed]
[edit] Television productions
[edit] Series
- Oh Madeline (1983-1984)
- The Cosby Show (1984-1992)
- A Different World (1987-1993)
- Roseanne (1988-1997)
- Chicken Soup (1989)
- Grand (1990)
- Davis Rules (1991-1992)
- Frannie's Turn (1992)
- You Bet Your Life (1992-1993)
- Grace Under Fire (1993-1998)
- She TV (1994)
- Cybill (1995-1998)
- Townies (1996)
- Men Behaving Badly (1996-1997)
- Cosby (1996-2000)
- 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001)
- Damon (1998)
- That '70s Show (1998-2006)
- God, the Devil and Bob (2000)
- Normal, Ohio (2000)
- Grounded for Life (2001-2005)
- That '80s Show (2002)
- The Tracy Morgan Show (2003-2004)
- Whoopi (2003-2004)
- Game Over (2004)
- Good Girls Don't (2004)
- The Scholar (2005)
[edit] Specials
- Single Bars, Single Women (1984)
- Carol, Whoopi, Carl & Robin (1987)
- Outtakes from The Cosby Show (1990)
- The Brett Butler Special (1993)
[edit] DVD Distribution
In 2004, they announced deals with such companies as 20th Century Fox and Anchor Bay Entertainment, to distribute their catalog to DVD. This was the first time that they distributed to DVD since they allowed a limited edition of The Cosby Show to be distributed by Columbia House.
In 2005/2006, Carsey-Werner was flooded with angry letters from fans of "The Cosby Show" and "Roseanne", complaining about edited episodes. Carsey-Werner Distribution eventually decided that seasons 2 on of "The Cosby Show" and "Roseanne" would be released with uncut shows. "Roseanne" was decided after John Goodman and Roseanne Barr appeared on Larry King Live and a fan called in, asking why Season 1's DVDs contained edited episodes. Barr and Goodman did not know about the editing, but Roseanne said she would talk to the producers. It has apparently worked, as there has been no evidence of editing on the Season 2, 3, and 4 sets.
[edit] Films
In November 2006, the company released its first film for Universal Studios, a comedy film called Let's Go to Prison. A second film, The Brothers Solomon was released with Revolution Studios on September 7, 2007.
- Let's Go to Prison (2006, with Universal Pictures)
- The Brothers Solomon (2007, with Revolution Studios; TriStar Pictures, distributor)
