New York News
| New York News | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Michelle Ashford |
| Starring | Gregory Harrison Melina Kanakaredes Madeline Kahn Kelli Williams Mary Tyler Moore |
| Composer | Shari Johanson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (5 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Michelle Ashford Ian Sander |
| Producer | Nan Bernstein Freed |
| Running time | 60 minutes (with commercials) |
| Production companies | Sander/Moses Productions Round Two Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 28 – November 30, 1995 |
New York News is an American newspaper drama television series created by Michelle Ashford, which was broadcast in the United States by CBS from September 28 to November 30, 1995 as part of its 1995 fall lineup.
Cast
- Gregory Harrison as Jack Reilly
- Melina Kanakaredes as Angela Villanova
- Madeline Kahn as Nan Chase
- Kelli Williams as Ellie
- Anthony DeSando as Tony Amato
- Kevin Chamberlin as Victor
- Joe Morton as Mitch Cotter
- Mary Tyler Moore as Louise Felcott
Premise
New York News is the story of the fictional New York Reporter, a struggling tabloid in the US's largest, most competitive newspaper market, New York City. Major characters included Jack Reilly (Gregory Harrison), an old-style newspaperman (so old-style that he actually went sneaking around in a trench coat); Angela Villanova (Melina Kanakaredes), a young writer who seemingly alternated between admiring Reilly and being in love with him; Nan Chase (Madeline Kahn), a gossip columnist somewhat in the vein of Rona Barrett; and Tony Amato (Anthony DeSando), the paper's leading sports columnist.
Supervising all of these talented, high-strung people was Editor-in-Chief Louise Felcott (Mary Tyler Moore), the "Dragon", who kept the pressure up on these employees and others, including their immediate boss, Managing Editor Mitch Cotter (Joe Morton). The paper's budget cutting and the related attempt of ownership to sell it took their toll on Cotter, who suffered a minor heart attack in the early episodes.
Moore was reportedly very unhappy with how her character was written, as a tough, unsympathetic, and unglamourous woman who peered out at her subordinates through thick "Coke-bottle" glasses. She was reputedly in negotiations to get out of her contract to do the program when this was made unnecessary by CBS's cancellation of it due to low Nielsen ratings two months after its premiere.
Episode list
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Unknown | Michelle Ashford | September 28, 1995 |
| 2 | "Fun City" | John David Coles | Michelle Ashford | October 5, 1995 |
| 3 | "Thin Line" | Unknown | Barbara Hall | October 8, 1995 |
| 4 | "Broadway Joe" | Unknown | Eric Overmyer & Michelle Ashford | October 12, 1995 |
| 5 | "Goodbye Gator" | Unknown | Velma Black & Barbara Hall | October 19, 1995 |
| 6 | "A Question of Truth" | Unknown | Georgia Jeffries | November 2, 1995 |
| 7 | "Welcome Back Cotter" | Unknown | Story by : Wayne Grigsby & Barbara Samuels Teleplay by : Jack Orman | November 9, 1995 |
| 8 | "You Thought the Pope Was Something" | Unknown | Michelle Ashford | November 30, 1995 |
| 9 | "Cost of Living" | TBD | Barbara Hall | UNAIRED |
| 10 | "Yankee Glory" | TBD | Jack Orman | UNAIRED |
| 11 | "Past Imperfect" | TBD | Geoffrey Thomas George | UNAIRED |
| 12 | "Forgotten" | TBD | Juan Carlos Coto | UNAIRED |
| 13 | "The Using Game" | TBD | Mike McAlary | UNAIRED |
Nielsen ratings
| Episode | Original air date | Rating/Share [1] | Million viewers [2] | Rank [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 28, 1995 | 7.1/11 | 9.9 | 70 |
| 2 | October 5, 1995 | 6.1/9 | 8.6 | 65 |
| 3 | October 8, 1995 | 6.8/11 | 9.1 | 56 |
| 4 | October 12, 1995 | 6.0/9 | 8.2 | 73 |
| 5 | October 19, 1995 | 6.5/10 | 8.8 | 69 |
| 6 | November 2, 1995 | 6.8/10 | 9.1 | 76 |
| 7 | November 9, 1995 | 5.5/9 | 7.5 | 86 |
| 8 | November 30, 1995 | 5.9/9 | 7.8 | 88 |
References
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows