Cracking Up
- For The Jesus and Mary Chain song, Cracking Up (song).
- For the film, see Cracking Up (film).
| Cracking Up | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Mike White |
| Written by | Dana Baratta Mike White |
| Directed by | Jay Chandrasekhar Jim Ellis Jake Kasdan Michael Spiller Lev L. Spiro |
| Starring | Jason Schwartzman Jake Sandvig Molly Shannon Christopher McDonald Caitlin Wachs David Walton |
| Theme music composer | Jason Schwartzman |
| Composer(s) | Rob Cairns |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (6 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Brad Grey Peter Traugott Chris Weitz Paul Weitz Mike White |
| Producer(s) | James C. Hart Denis Biggs |
| Editor(s) | David Helfand Jan Northrop Mark Scheib |
| Cinematography | Joe Pennella |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | 20th Century Fox Television Brad Grey Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Fox |
| Original run | March 9 – April 5, 2004 |
Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr. Bollas, are comic allusions to Christopher Bollas, a psychoanalyst, and to his book Cracking UP (Routledge, 1996).[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
In the pilot episode, a psychiatrist (Henry Gibson) who is sent to examine Tanner Shackleton (Bret Loehr), a child of a Beverly Hills family, only to discover that Tanner doesn't have any problems — his family does. After the pilot episode, the story was about Ben Baxter (Jason Schwartzman), a student who moves into the Shackletons' guest house, interacting with Tanner (Bret Loehr) and his crazy family.
[edit] Reception and cancellation
The show did not last out the season due to mixed reviews and mediocre ratings caused by a Monday night time slot. The Bernie Mac Show was moved from Sundays to Mondays along with reruns of That '70s Show in an attempt to boost ratings for Cracking Up, but ratings for both shows suffered, causing Fox to return the shows to their normal nights and cancel Cracking Up. The show was cancelled after six episodes, leaving six unaired.
[edit] Special guest stars
- Henry Gibson - Dr. Bollas (Episode 1, "Pilot")
- Zooey Deschanel - Heidi (Episode 2, "Birds Do It")
- Marne Patterson - Eve (Episode 2, "Birds Do It")
- Jack Black - Bruce Philapousis (Episode 3, "Scared Straight")
- Kyle Gass - Naked Man (Episode 4, "Panic House")
- John C. Reilly - Steve Evers (Episode 6, "Prom Night")
- Amy Sedaris - Marla (Episode 6, "Prom Night")
- Bret Loehr - Tanner Shackleton
[edit] Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | Pilot | March 9, 2004 |
| 1-2 | "Birds Do It" | March 10, 2004 |
| 1-3 | "Scared Straight" | March 15, 2004 |
| 1-4 | "Panic House" | March 22, 2004 |
| 1-5 | "Grudge Match" | March 29, 2004 |
| 1-6 | "Prom Night" | April 5, 2004 |
| 1-7 | "Daddy's Home" | Never aired |
| 1-8 | "Learning Disability" | Never aired |
| 1-9 | "The Fixer" | Never aired |
| 1-10 | "The Pool Man" | Never aired |
| 1-11 | "The Bully" | Never aired |
| 1-12 | "Come Home Lassie" | Never aired |
[edit] Main crew
- Paul Weitz .... executive producer (12 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Mike White .... executive producer (12 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Chris Weitz .... executive producer (9 episodes, 2004)
- Dana Baratta .... supervising producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Brad Grey .... executive producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Kim Hamberg .... associate producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- James C. Hart .... producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- David Hemingson .... co-executive producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Alan J. Higgins .... co-executive producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Phil Lord .... consulting producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Christopher Miller .... consulting producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Peter Traugott .... executive producer (2 episodes, 2004–2006)
- Denis Biggs .... producer (unknown episodes)
- Gregg Glickman .... associate producer (unknown episodes)
- Danielle Weinstock .... co-producer
