Samantha Who?

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Samantha Who?
Format Situation comedy
Created by Cecelia Ahern
Don Todd
Starring Christina Applegate
Jennifer Esposito
Kevin Dunn
Melissa McCarthy
Tim Russ
Barry Watson
Jean Smart
Narrated by Christina Applegate
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 35 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Don Todd
Peter Traugott
Producer(s) John Amodeo
Camera setup Single-camera setup
Running time Approx. 22 min.
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run October 15, 2007 – July 23, 2009
External links
Official website

Samantha Who? is an American television sitcom which premiered on October 15, 2007 on ABC. The series was created by Cecelia Ahern and Don Todd, who also serve as producers.

The show centers around Samantha Newly (Christina Applegate), a 30-year-old vice president of a real estate firm who develops retrograde amnesia after a hit and run accident. Upon waking, she realizes to her dismay that she had been selfish and unlikeable before her accident, and therefore sets out to make amends and become a better person.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Samantha Newly is a vice-president at a Chicago realty firm but when she gets hit by a car, she falls into a coma. For eight days she is asleep, but upon waking, she finds she has retrograde amnesia; she has retained all general knowledge but hasn't a clue as to who she is or what she's done with her life. Soon, through frequent flashbacks when her memory is triggered, Sam finds out she's been very, very cruel to those around her. Taking her amnesia as a sign that it's time for change, Sam sets about making up for what the old, evil Sam did, and tries to change her life and herself for the better. Sam's journey helps people understand that people do have the ability to change, as long as we give them the opportunity to.

[edit] Cast

See also: List of Samantha Who? characters

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Samantha Who? episodes

[edit] U.S. television ratings

Further information: Samantha Who? Weekly Episode Ratings

[edit] Standard ratings

In the following summary, "rating" is the percentage of all households with televisions that tuned to the show, and "share" is the percentage of all televisions in use at that time that are tuned in. "18-49" is the percentage of all adults aged 18-49 tuned into the show. "Viewers" are the amount of viewers, in millions, watching at the time. "Rank" how well the show did compared to other TV shows aired that week.

Unless otherwise cited, the overnight rating, share, 18-49 and viewing information come from Your Entertainment Now.[4] The weekly ranks come from The Programming Insider[5] and ABC Medianet.[6]

† This episode started at 9:45PM,[7] so the ratings are estimated and are the average of the 9:30 half hour and the 10:00 half hour.

Without a strong lead-in, which used to be Dancing with the Stars, and a failing ABC comedy In the Motherhood, Samantha Who?'s ratings have dropped to lows of around 4 million. According to TV Week, a Thursday broadcast of Samantha Who? and In the Motherhood were scrapped in favor of a Grey's Anatomy repeat as a result of the cancellation of In the Motherhood. [2]

[edit] Seasonal ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Samantha Who? on ABC:

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, or occasionally early June, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Timeslot (EST) Premiere Finale TV season Rank Viewers
(in millions)		 18-49 Rating/Share
(rank)
1 Monday 9:30 P.M. (October 15, 2007 - October 29, 2007)
Monday 9:45 P.M. (November 5, 2007)
Monday 9:30 P.M. (November 12, 2007 - November 19, 2007)
Monday 9:00 P.M. (November 26, 2007 - December 10, 2007)
Monday 9:30 P.M. (April 7, 2008 - May 12, 2008)		 October 15, 2007 May 12, 2008 2007 – 2008 #27 11.8[11] TBA
2 Monday 9:30 P.M. (October 13, 2008 - December 1, 2008)
Monday 9:00PM (December 1, 2008)
Thursday 8:30 P.M.(March 26, 2009 - April 16, 2009)		 October 13, 2008
TBA, 2009
 2008 – 2009 #57 9.12 TBA

[edit] Ratings competition

Further information: Mondays in the 2007-08 Television Season
Further information: Mondays in the 2007-08 Television Season (Fall Follow-Up)

Samantha Who? first aired against fellow freshmen show K-Ville on FOX. It also aired against Rules of Engagement on CBS, Heroes on NBC and The Game on The CW — each in their second season. This was for the first six episodes Samantha Who? aired at 9:30pm.

On November 26, Samantha Who? shifted to the 9pm timeslot. Its competition shifted from The Game to Girlfriends on The CW and from Rules of Engagement to Two and a Half Men on CBS. Sophomore sitcom Notes from the Underbelly assumed the 9:30pm position.

[edit] Awards

Main article: List of Samantha Who? awards and nominations

[edit] Production history

Produced by ABC Studios and Brillstein-Grey Television, the series was officially greenlit and given a thirteen-episode order on May 11, 2007.[12]

The show was originally named Sam I Am until ABC renamed it Samantha Be Good due to conflicts with the estate of Dr. Seuss.[13][14] TV Guide later reported that ABC had changed the title of the series once more to Samantha Who?.[15] Early television promotions for the series, playing off of the concept of its lead character's amnesia, appeared without stating any specific title. The lack of stated title (with a question mark shown instead) was attributed in promotions to Applegate's character not remembering the name of the series.

The series premiered on October 15, 2007 at 9:30PM Eastern/8:30PM Central and moved to 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central on Mondays on November 26, 2007.

On October 25, 2007, ABC ordered 6 additional scripts for Samantha Who?.[16]

On October 30, 2007, ABC ordered a full season of 22 episodes for Samantha Who?.[17] However, due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only 15 episodes were produced for season one.

On February 11, 2008, ABC picked up Samantha Who? for the 2008-09 television season.[18]

On October 31, 2008, ABC ordered 7 more episodes of Samantha Who? bringing the total number of episodes for the show's second season to 20.[19] The announcement came in advance of mandated budget cuts at ABC Studios, which produces the series.[20]

The series, which is filmed in the single-camera format, went on hiatus during the 2008-2009 television season and returned in a new timeslot on Thursday March 26, 2009, following In the Motherhood before being pulled.

On May 18, 2009, ABC announced that they would not be renewing Samantha Who? for a third season.[21] The final episodes will begin airing on Thursday nights at 8:00PM Eastern/7:00PM Central beginning June 25, 2009.[22] The show may be presented to other networks, but a pick-up is unlikely.

On June 30, 2009, ABC announced that they are pulling In the Motherhood and are instead doubling up on Samantha Who? for Thursday, July 2nd and Thursday, July 9th at 8:30PM Eastern/7:30PM Central.[23][24]

Christina Applegate is petitioning to bring the show back on the air.[25] The petition has more than 32,000 signatures so far.

Unfortunately, not only for Christina Applegate, but also for the producers of the show, ABC's decision to cancel Samantha Who? is final.[26]

[edit] DVD release

DVD name Release date Ep # Additional information
The Complete First Season September 23, 2008 15 Bonus features include commentary on the pilot, deleted scenes and bloopers.
The Complete Second Season August 25, 2009 20 Bonus features include a set tour with Christina Applegate, deleted scenes and bloopers.

Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season was released on Region 1 DVD on September 23, 2008. The DVD collection includes all 15 episodes from the First Season.[27]
Samantha Who?: The Complete Second Season will be released on Region 1 DVD on August 25, 2009, and despite the cover claiming the set contains the complete season, only 17 of the 20 episodes will be present.[28]

[edit] International distribution

In Ireland, it is shown on TG4; in the UK, it is shown on E4 and Comedy Central; in the Netherlands, it is shown on NET5; in Brazil it shows in Sony Entertainment Television and in Mexico in Sony. In Poland, the series premiered on October 13, 2008 on Fox Life. It first aired in France on Virgin 17, on October 19, 2008. In Malaysia, the series premiered on November 14, 2008 on ntv7. In Japan, the series premiered on January 11, 2009 on AXN. And in Sweden it premiered on January 18, 2009 on TV4 Sweden. In Hong Kong and Macau, it airs on TVB Pearl. In the Philippines it aired on Star World. In Turkey and Spain, it is shown on TNT. In Portugal it is shown on the channel RTP 2.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Samantha Who? at theThe Futon Critic; last accessed June 13, 2007
  2. ^ Who's New on Samantha Who? Exclusive: Tony winner Christine Ebersole cast as long-"lost" sister" TV Guide. December 2, 2008. Retrieved on December 3, 2008.
  3. ^ http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/12/billy-zane-repl.html
  4. ^ "Your One Stop Shop For All Things Entertainment". http://entertainmentnow.wordpress.com/. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  5. ^ Berman, Marc. "Weekly Results (The Programming Insider)". http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/34110412. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  6. ^ ABC Medianet
  7. ^ "The Virgin" Press Release at The Futon Critic
  8. ^ "2005-06 primetime wrap; Series Programming Results". The Hollywood Reporter. 2006-05-26. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  9. ^ "2006-07 primetime wrap; Series Programming Results". The Hollywood Reporter. 2007-05-25. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2007-10-25). "New schedule for freshman 'Samantha'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ia39d8c49b4286bcd2832225758bf071d. Retrieved on 2007-12-01. 
  11. ^ ABC Medianet (2008-05-13). I. T. R. S. Ranking Report 01 thru 218 (Out of 218 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun From 09/24/07 through 05/11/08. Press release. http://abcmedianet.com/web/progcal/dispDNR.aspx?id=051308_07. Retrieved on 2008-05-17. 
  12. ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (2007-05-11). "ABC ADDS 10 NEWCOMERS, RENEWS 'NOTES,' 'ROAD'". The Futon Critic. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7381. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  13. ^ Adalian, Josef (2007-06-18). "Seuss gives ABC sitcom new name". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117967194.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=samantha+be+good. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  14. ^ "ABC RENAMES 'SAM I AM,' EYES FRIDAY CHANGES". The Futon Critic. 2007-06-19. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7410. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. 
  15. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (2006-06-26). "Christina Applegate Series Now Hears a Who?". http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Christina-Applegate-Series/800017634. Retrieved on 2007-06-27. 
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2007-10-25). "'Samantha' among who's who of fall TV". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ia39d8c49b4286bcd2832225758bf071d. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. 
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2007-10-31). "'Samantha' gets full-season pickup". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3if936a822f71d2fef8d32e57e6939774b. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  18. ^ ABC Announces Scripted Show Renewals
  19. ^ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117995053.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
  20. ^ ABC mandates production cuts
  21. ^ ABC Cancels "Samantha Who?", Variety.com, May 18, 2009
  22. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8095
  23. ^ ABC Drops "Motherhood", Shuffles Sundays, The Futon Critic, June 30, 2009
  24. ^ "In the Motherhood": ABC Yanks Cancelled Sitcom Again, TV Series Finale, July 1, 2009
  25. ^ Applegate Petitions for "Samantha Who?", NewsChannel 9 WSYR, May 25, 2009
  26. ^ Applegate Baffled By "Samantha Who?" Axe, Digital Spy, July 9, 2009
  27. ^ Joint Press Release for 1st Seasons of Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money & Samantha Who TVOnMedia.com - Jeff Hodges (04/28/2008)
  28. ^ Samantha Who? - When we get Who?: DVD Release Date for the Complete 2nd Season

[edit] External links

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Samantha Who?
Episode list • Characters • Samantha Newly
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