Jump to content

Kings (American TV series): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
restored Biblical counterparts: the rather obvious source for this is the Bible, specifically the books of 1 Smauel & 2 Samuel. Frankly, deleting it as unsourced is just ridiculous
adding refs for (some of) the Biblical counterparts
Line 52: Line 52:
! Character || Actor !! Biblical counterpart
! Character || Actor !! Biblical counterpart
|-
|-
| '''David Shepherd''' || [[Chris Egan (actor)|Christopher Egan]] || [[David]]<ref name="lat">{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/la-et-kings13-2009mar13,0,6940089.story |title='Kings': An ambitious but puzzling take on the Old Testament |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Lloyd |first=Robert |date=March 13, 2009 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref name="JTA">{{cite web |url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/13/1003687/yehsiva-vet-aims-to-make-king-david-must-see-tv |title=Yeshiva vet aims to make King David must-see TV |accessdate=March 25, 2009 |last=Tugend |first=Tom |date=March 13, 2009 |publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]}}</ref>
| '''David Shepherd''' || [[Chris Egan (actor)|Christopher Egan]] || [[David]]
|-
|-
| '''King Silas Benjamin''' || [[Ian McShane]] || [[Saul]]
| '''King Silas Benjamin''' || [[Ian McShane]] || [[Saul]]<ref name="lat" /><ref name="JTA" />
|-
|-
| '''Queen Rose Benjamin''' || [[Susanna Thompson]] || [[Ahinoam]]
| '''Queen Rose Benjamin''' || [[Susanna Thompson]] || [[Ahinoam]]
|-
|-
| '''Princess Michelle Benjamin''' || [[Allison Miller]] || [[Michal]]
| '''Princess Michelle Benjamin''' || [[Allison Miller]] || [[Michal]]<ref name="JTA" />
|-
|-
| '''Prince Jack Benjamin''' || [[Sebastian Stan]] || [[Jonathan and David|Jonathan]]
| '''Prince Jack Benjamin''' || [[Sebastian Stan]] || [[Jonathan and David|Jonathan]]<ref name="JTA" /><ref name="AfterElton.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2009/3/kingswronggaypart|title=“Kings” Warps the Story of David and Jonathan |last=Hartinger| first=Brent| authorlink=Brent_Hartinger| publisher=[[AfterElton.com]]| date=March 16, 2009| accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|-
| '''Rev. Ephram Samuels''' || [[Eamonn Walker]] || [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]]
| '''Rev. Ephram Samuels''' || [[Eamonn Walker]] || [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]]<ref name="lat" /><ref name="JTA" />
|-
|-
| '''William Cross''' || [[Dylan Baker]] || [[Joab]]
| '''William Cross''' || [[Dylan Baker]] || [[Joab]]
Line 247: Line 247:


==Reception==
==Reception==
An early review of Green's pilot script called the show "bold, bizarre, fun."<ref name="Hollywood Reporter">{{cite web|url=http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/06/nbcs-kings-scri.html|title=NBC's 'Kings' script: bold, bizarre, fun |publisher=The Live Feed blog| work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]| last=Hibberd| first=James |date=June 19, 2008 |accessdate=June 23, 2008}}</ref> NBC pre-released the first four episodes of the series to critics and garnered mostly positive reviews.<ref name=Varietypilotratings>{{cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001266.html?categoryid=14&cs=1|title=Slow start for NBC's 'Kings'|last=Kissel|first=Rick|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 16, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.Net stated that "the writing is sharp and the acting is excellent, as Green has assembled a cast that's almost unprecedented for a television show. Ian McShane is as riveting in the role of King Silas as he was as Al Swearengen, giving the sort of loquacious speeches that he's great at giving."<ref name="ComingSoon.net review">{{cite web|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=52794|title=A Sneak Preview of NBC's New Drama Kings|last=Douglas |first=Edward |publisher=ComingSoon.net |date=February 25, 2009 |accessdate=March 3, 2009}}</ref> Brian Ford Sullivan of The Futon Critic commented that "''Kings'' is ultimately a show you're either going to dismiss as silly and pretentious or fall in love with because of its silliness and pretentiousness. I find myself in the latter category because I'm always a sucker for swing-for-fences serialized shows like this, especially when it looks ... and feels unlike anything on television right now."<ref name="TheFutonCritic">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20090212_kings|title=The Futon's First Look: "Kings" (NBC) |last=Sullivan| first=Brian Ford| publisher=The Futon Critic| date=February 12, 2009| accessdate=March 3, 2009}}</ref> In a glowing review of the series' pilot, Heather Havrilesky of [[Salon.com]] praised the series' themes, scope, art direction, cinematography and Ian McShane's performance, concluding: "The dialogue is just so artful and poetic, the characters are so appealing, the whole damn package is so original and daring and lovely, that after watching the first four hours, it's impossible not to feel inspired and cheered by the fact that a drama this ambitious and unique could make it onto network TV."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2009/03/15/kings/ |title=I Like to Watch |accessdate=March 16, 2009 |last=Havrilesky |first=Heather |date=March 15, 2009 |publisher=[[Salon.com]]}}</ref> Young adult book author [[Brent Hartinger]] said, "The new NBC series Kings ... is top-notch television — smart, original, and thoroughly engrossing — and it will end up reshaping the television landscape in much the way fantasy-esque shows such as ''Lost'' and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' did."<ref name="Hartinger">{{cite web|url=http://thetorchonline.com/2009/03/13/review-all-hail-kings-tvs-terrific-new-fantasy-show/|title=Review: All Hail "Kings," TV's Terrific New Fantasy Show! |last=Hartinger| first=Brent| authorlink=Brent_Hartinger| publisher=[http://thetorchonline.com/ TheTorchOnline]| date=March 13, 2009| accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> (However, writing for gay-themed website [[AfterElton.com]], Hartinger argued that the show "de-gayed" the romantic aspect between David and Jack — [[David and Jonathan]] in the Biblical telling — as well as what they saw as turning Jack into a stereotypical villain.<ref name="AfterElton.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2009/3/kingswronggaypart|title=“Kings” Warps the Story of David and Jonathan |last=Hartinger| first=Brent| authorlink=Brent_Hartinger| publisher=[[AfterElton.com]]| date=March 16, 2009| accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref>)
An early review of Green's pilot script called the show "bold, bizarre, fun."<ref name="Hollywood Reporter">{{cite web|url=http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/06/nbcs-kings-scri.html|title=NBC's 'Kings' script: bold, bizarre, fun |publisher=The Live Feed blog| work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]| last=Hibberd| first=James |date=June 19, 2008 |accessdate=June 23, 2008}}</ref> NBC pre-released the first four episodes of the series to critics and garnered mostly positive reviews.<ref name=Varietypilotratings>{{cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001266.html?categoryid=14&cs=1|title=Slow start for NBC's 'Kings'|last=Kissel|first=Rick|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 16, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.Net stated that "the writing is sharp and the acting is excellent, as Green has assembled a cast that's almost unprecedented for a television show. Ian McShane is as riveting in the role of King Silas as he was as Al Swearengen, giving the sort of loquacious speeches that he's great at giving."<ref name="ComingSoon.net review">{{cite web|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=52794|title=A Sneak Preview of NBC's New Drama Kings|last=Douglas |first=Edward |publisher=ComingSoon.net |date=February 25, 2009 |accessdate=March 3, 2009}}</ref> Brian Ford Sullivan of The Futon Critic commented that "''Kings'' is ultimately a show you're either going to dismiss as silly and pretentious or fall in love with because of its silliness and pretentiousness. I find myself in the latter category because I'm always a sucker for swing-for-fences serialized shows like this, especially when it looks ... and feels unlike anything on television right now."<ref name="TheFutonCritic">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20090212_kings|title=The Futon's First Look: "Kings" (NBC) |last=Sullivan| first=Brian Ford| publisher=The Futon Critic| date=February 12, 2009| accessdate=March 3, 2009}}</ref> In a glowing review of the series' pilot, Heather Havrilesky of [[Salon.com]] praised the series' themes, scope, art direction, cinematography and Ian McShane's performance, concluding: "The dialogue is just so artful and poetic, the characters are so appealing, the whole damn package is so original and daring and lovely, that after watching the first four hours, it's impossible not to feel inspired and cheered by the fact that a drama this ambitious and unique could make it onto network TV."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2009/03/15/kings/ |title=I Like to Watch |accessdate=March 16, 2009 |last=Havrilesky |first=Heather |date=March 15, 2009 |publisher=[[Salon.com]]}}</ref> Young adult book author [[Brent Hartinger]] said, "The new NBC series Kings ... is top-notch television — smart, original, and thoroughly engrossing — and it will end up reshaping the television landscape in much the way fantasy-esque shows such as ''Lost'' and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' did."<ref name="Hartinger">{{cite web|url=http://thetorchonline.com/2009/03/13/review-all-hail-kings-tvs-terrific-new-fantasy-show/|title=Review: All Hail "Kings," TV's Terrific New Fantasy Show! |last=Hartinger| first=Brent| authorlink=Brent_Hartinger| publisher=[http://thetorchonline.com/ TheTorchOnline]| date=March 13, 2009| accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> (However, writing for gay-themed website [[AfterElton.com]], Hartinger argued that the show "de-gayed" the romantic aspect between David and Jack — [[David and Jonathan]] in the Biblical telling — as well as what they saw as turning Jack into a stereotypical villain.<ref name="AfterElton.com" />)


Other reviewers were less positive. In a scathing review, [[Ray Richmond]] of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' said that ''Kings'' "takes an utterly straight-faced and painfully earnest approach to the kind of broad nighttime soap opera that once fueled ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' and (especially) ''[[Dynasty (TV series)|Dynasty]]'' through the 1980s, but to watch something so anal-retentive and full of itself in the new century can't help but play as unintended farce."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-reviews/tv-review-kings-1003951110.story |title=TV Review: Kings |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Richmond |first=Ray |authorlink=Ray Richmond |date=March 12, 2009 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> [[Nancy deWolf Smith]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' also compared the series unfavorably to the work of [[Aaron Spelling]], and accused the series of "deadening pretentiousness" and "a failure of imagination".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123689429215111987.html |title=A Dream of Kings |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Smith |first=Nancy deWolf |authorlink=Nancy deWolf Smith |date=March 13, 2009 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> However, many reviewers, while criticizing the drama's stylized dialogue<ref name="time">{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1884818,00.html |title=NBC's 'Kings': The New Old Testament |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=March 12, 2009 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> or calling its Biblical themes "pretentious"<ref name="time" /><ref name="lat">{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/la-et-kings13-2009mar13,0,6940089.story |title='Kings': An ambitious but puzzling take on the Old Testament |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Lloyd |first=Robert |date=March 13, 2009 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>, praised Ian McShane's kingly performance and the show's ambitions.<ref name="time" /><ref name="lat" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2009-03-12-kings-preview_N.htm?csp=34 |title=Mishmash that is 'Kings' often overpowers an interesting idea |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Blanco |first=Robert |date=March 13, 2009 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>
Other reviewers were less positive. In a scathing review, [[Ray Richmond]] of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' said that ''Kings'' "takes an utterly straight-faced and painfully earnest approach to the kind of broad nighttime soap opera that once fueled ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' and (especially) ''[[Dynasty (TV series)|Dynasty]]'' through the 1980s, but to watch something so anal-retentive and full of itself in the new century can't help but play as unintended farce."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-reviews/tv-review-kings-1003951110.story |title=TV Review: Kings |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Richmond |first=Ray |authorlink=Ray Richmond |date=March 12, 2009 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> [[Nancy deWolf Smith]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' also compared the series unfavorably to the work of [[Aaron Spelling]], and accused the series of "deadening pretentiousness" and "a failure of imagination".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123689429215111987.html |title=A Dream of Kings |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Smith |first=Nancy deWolf |authorlink=Nancy deWolf Smith |date=March 13, 2009 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> However, many reviewers, while criticizing the drama's stylized dialogue<ref name="lat" /><ref name="time">{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1884818,00.html |title=NBC's 'Kings': The New Old Testament |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=March 12, 2009 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> or calling its Biblical themes "pretentious"<ref name="time" />, praised Ian McShane's kingly performance and the show's ambitions.<ref name="time" /><ref name="lat" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2009-03-12-kings-preview_N.htm?csp=34 |title=Mishmash that is 'Kings' often overpowers an interesting idea |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |last=Blanco |first=Robert |date=March 13, 2009 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>


The March 15th, 2009 NBC premiere of ''Kings'' "was the lowest-rated program between 8 and 11 p.m. on a major broadcast network", garnering a 1.6 rating/4 share, below ABC, CBS, and Fox.<ref name="hollywood_reporter_ratings"/> This was significantly lower than the ratings for NBC's programming on the previous Sunday, a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' clip show and a segment of ''[[Celebrity Apprentice]]''.<ref name="Varietypilotratings" /> ''[[Mediaweek]]'' magazine noted that "one year earlier in this block, the second half of a two-hour edition of ''Dateline'' and a repeat of ''Law & Order'' was considerably stronger at an average 6.3/10 in the overnights."<ref name="mediaweek_ratings">{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/newsletters/e3ibf6e058ce581c10790dbbbb8f1c4d533|title=NBC's Kings Left at the Starting Gate|last=Berman|first=Marc|work=[[Mediaweek]]|date=March 16, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> [[TV.com]] speculated that [[NBC]] underpromoted the show causing the lackluster pilot episode rating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/story/13132.html?tag=show;latest_news;title;0|title=Kings rules, but not in ratings|last=Surette|first=Tim|publisher=[[TV.com]]|date=March 16, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> However, ''[[Television Week]]'' described (in detailed interviews with NBC executives) an innovative three-phase marketing push on behalf of ''Kings'', and stated that NBC was "going out of its way since November to market ''Kings'' to so-called cultural tastemakers, hoping they’ll help spread the word to the masses."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/nbc_plays_the_kingsmaker.php|title=NBC Plays the ‘Kings’-maker|last=Adalian|first=Josef|publisher=''[[Television Week]]''|date=March 1, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref>
The March 15th, 2009 NBC premiere of ''Kings'' "was the lowest-rated program between 8 and 11 p.m. on a major broadcast network", garnering a 1.6 rating/4 share, below ABC, CBS, and Fox.<ref name="hollywood_reporter_ratings"/> This was significantly lower than the ratings for NBC's programming on the previous Sunday, a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' clip show and a segment of ''[[Celebrity Apprentice]]''.<ref name="Varietypilotratings" /> ''[[Mediaweek]]'' magazine noted that "one year earlier in this block, the second half of a two-hour edition of ''Dateline'' and a repeat of ''Law & Order'' was considerably stronger at an average 6.3/10 in the overnights."<ref name="mediaweek_ratings">{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/newsletters/e3ibf6e058ce581c10790dbbbb8f1c4d533|title=NBC's Kings Left at the Starting Gate|last=Berman|first=Marc|work=[[Mediaweek]]|date=March 16, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> [[TV.com]] speculated that [[NBC]] underpromoted the show causing the lackluster pilot episode rating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/story/13132.html?tag=show;latest_news;title;0|title=Kings rules, but not in ratings|last=Surette|first=Tim|publisher=[[TV.com]]|date=March 16, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref> However, ''[[Television Week]]'' described (in detailed interviews with NBC executives) an innovative three-phase marketing push on behalf of ''Kings'', and stated that NBC was "going out of its way since November to market ''Kings'' to so-called cultural tastemakers, hoping they’ll help spread the word to the masses."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/nbc_plays_the_kingsmaker.php|title=NBC Plays the ‘Kings’-maker|last=Adalian|first=Josef|publisher=''[[Television Week]]''|date=March 1, 2009|accessdate=March 16, 2009}}</ref>

Revision as of 05:14, 25 March 2009

Kings
Kings title card
GenreSerial drama
Created byMichael Green
StarringChristopher Egan
Ian McShane
Allison Miller
Susanna Thompson
Macaulay Culkin
Sebastian Stan
Eamonn Walker
Dylan Baker
Wes Studi
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes2 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMichael Green
Francis Lawrence
Erwin Stoff
ProducersErik Oleson (supervisor/consulting)
Barry M. Berg (producer)
Margot Lulick (producer)
Kate Gordon (associate producer)
Dara Schnapper (associate producer)
John A. Smith (associate producer)
Production locationFictional "Kingdom of Gilboa"
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseMarch 15, 2009

Kings is a television drama series airing on NBC and Citytv, based on the Biblical story of King David in a kingdom that resembles present-day United States. Although advance showings received mostly positive critical reviews,[1] the March 15 premiere placed 4th in network television ratings for that evening, with 6.47 million viewers (1.6 rating / 4 share in the 18-49 demographic).[2]

Characters

Character Actor Biblical counterpart
David Shepherd Christopher Egan David[3][4]
King Silas Benjamin Ian McShane Saul[3][4]
Queen Rose Benjamin Susanna Thompson Ahinoam
Princess Michelle Benjamin Allison Miller Michal[4]
Prince Jack Benjamin Sebastian Stan Jonathan[4][5]
Rev. Ephram Samuels Eamonn Walker Samuel[3][4]
William Cross Dylan Baker Joab
General Linus Abner Wes Studi Abner
Helen Sarita Choudhury Rizpah

Plot

Kings is set in the nation of Gilboa, which technologically and culturally resembles an alternate present-day United States, but with an absolute monarch, King Silas.

Twenty years before the series takes place, the Unification War was fought between three countries and eventually ended by Silas Benjamin, an ambitious and capable man who rose from the rank of common soldier to be leader of one of the factions. As Silas repeatedly explains later, when the war ended, he stood on the ruins of a destroyed city. A swarm of butterflies flew around him and then landed in a ring on his head in the shape of a crown, a sign that God wanted him to be king of the new unified nation. The national flag of Gilboa is a white butterfly on an orange background.

The next two decades were spent rebuilding the ruined city into Gilboa's new capital, Shiloh (which resembles New York City). Two years later, war begins between Gilboa and Gath, a nation on the northern border. This war continues to the present-day of the pilot episode. It is later revealed that Silas bankrolled his unification efforts with the gold of several financial backers who are now among his main staff and that he only married his current queen for political gain. He is secretly still seeing the woman he loves and has a young son with her.

A stalemate exists on the front lines due to a combination of Gath's advanced "Goliath-class" tanks and Silas' determination to not go on the offensive.

A soldier named David Shepherd is hailed as a national hero when he takes down a Goliath tank single-handed while rescuing the King's son, Jack Benjamin. With the encounter caught on a surveillance camera, a picture of David facing the Goliath becomes nationally famous, with headlines reading "David slays Goliath". David is embarrassed, as he hadn't known it was the king's son and had actually been preparing to give up after throwing the grenade, just before it blew up.

David is taken to Shiloh where Silas promotes him to Captain and makes him military media liaison. At court, he meets the king's daughter Michelle and an attraction begins between them.

Jack is upset that David is being treated as a hero while Jack is being investigated for negligence resulting in the ambush. Silas criticizes his son's irresponsible behavior. He is also upset by Jack's public displays of drunken womanizing, as his son is a closeted homosexual and will not produce an heir to the throne.

Capitalizing on the morale boost from David's heroics, Silas orders a new offensive, hoping to hurt Gath forces badly enough that they leave. The new offensive is a success and Gath asks for a cease-fire. However, Silas' gives in to his financial backers, who threaten to take away their funding if he doesn't continue the war. This angers his main religious adviser, Reverend Samuels.

In the new conflict, David's brother is mortally wounded and dies in a field hospital. Distraught, David walks out into no-man's land alone, waving his brother's bloody sheets and asking if this is enough blood to satisfy Gath or if they'd like to take his own as well. Amazed at his display, a Gath commander meets with him to negotiate peace. Furious with his financial backers for making him reject the first peace deal, Silas agrees to the new peace.

This does not placate Rev. Samuels, who casts Silas off and claims God will find a replacement king. As Silas watches David stand in the palace gardens, a swarm of butterflies flies about David and lands on his head in a perfect circle resembling a crown.

The rest of the series follows the lives and political manipulations of the characters.

Episode list

# Title Writer(s) Director U.S. Viewers
(millions) 		Airdate
1–2"Goliath"Michael GreenFrancis Lawrence6.47 [6]March 15, 2009
In this special two hour premiere episode, battles between the neighboring nations of Gilboa and Gath rage. One soldier named David Shepherd takes action when he sees prisoners of war taken by the enemy; after crossing enemy lines to rescue them, he is told he just saved the King of Gilboa's son, a moment that forever changes his life.
3"Prosperity"Michael GreenFrancis Lawrence4.62 [7]March 22, 2009
A peace treaty signing ceremony could be jeopardized when the leader of the Gath military inquires as to why David Shepherd isn't there. Tensions mount as King Silas and General Abner come up with a plan to get rid of David, while William plans to get rid of King Silas.
4"First Night"TBATBATBAMarch 29, 2009
Tempers flare as King Silas leaves Queen Rose's first royal ballet event so he can tend to his illegitimate son, who has recently fallen sick. Jack and Rose try to make David look lustful in front of everyone.
5"Insurrection"TBATBATBAApril 5, 2009
TBA
6"Judgment Day"TBATBATBAApril 12, 2009
TBA
7"TBA"TBATBATBAApril 19, 2009
TBA
8"TBA"TBATBATBAApril 26, 2009
TBA
9"TBA"TBATBATBAMay 3, 2009
TBA
10"TBA"TBATBATBAMay 10, 2009
TBA
11"TBA"TBATBATBAMay 17, 2009
TBA
12"TBA"TBATBATBAMay 24, 2009
TBA
13"The New King (Part 1)"TBATBATBAMay 31, 2009
TBA
14"The New King (Part 2)"TBATBATBAJune 7, 2009
TBA

Development

On November 5, 2007, NBC ordered the two-hour pilot of Kings; the last pilot NBC ordered before the 2007 Writer's Strike. Michael Green (Heroes, Everwood) penned the script and Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) was set to direct.[8] When Green pitched the series to NBC, he told them, "I want to take one of the classic stories that no one has ever retold and find a way to re-conceive it while still being faithful to the original material but at the same time exploring the themes, modernizing it in every way."[9] (The story has, in fact been retold many times throughout the centuries.) NBC officially ordered the show to series on May 19, 2008.[10] Green has already planned out the entire first season, which will consist of thirteen episodes.[9]

The series is currently being filmed partially in New York City at the New York Public Library, the Time Warner Center, and the Apthorp building, on Broadway between 78th and 79th streets,[11][failed verification] the Brooklyn Museum, on Eastern Parkway and Washington Avenue,[12] as well as in and around the The Capitale Building in Downtown New York City on Grand Street and Elizabeth Street, and soundstages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.[citation needed] Filming for the pilot was also done at Hempstead House, part of the former Guggenheim estate at Sands Point Preserve on Long Island.[13] The script for the first episode, "Goliath," was leaked some time prior to broadcast.[14]

Casting

The role for King Silas was originally written for Ian McShane, but Green thought that it would be unlikely to get him to play the lead. McShane was sent the script and enjoyed it, and was very open to returning to television after the critically acclaimed HBO series Deadwood.[9] "Probably two or three hundred" actors auditioned for the role of David Shepherd, before producers came across Chris Egan, "who was a real find," stated Lawrence.[15] Allison Miller was also cast late in the process, joining Sebastian Stan and Susanna Thompson.[15] Brian Cox will be joining the series in a recurring role, playing a rival to King Silas.[16] Macaulay Culkin will also appear in a multi-episode arc, playing King Silas's nephew, who was exiled for mysterious reasons.[17] Miguel Ferrer (Crossing Jordan), Michael Stahl-David (The Black Donnellys), and Leslie Bibb (Crossing Jordan) have also been booked for multi-episode arcs.[17]

Reception

An early review of Green's pilot script called the show "bold, bizarre, fun."[18] NBC pre-released the first four episodes of the series to critics and garnered mostly positive reviews.[19] Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.Net stated that "the writing is sharp and the acting is excellent, as Green has assembled a cast that's almost unprecedented for a television show. Ian McShane is as riveting in the role of King Silas as he was as Al Swearengen, giving the sort of loquacious speeches that he's great at giving."[20] Brian Ford Sullivan of The Futon Critic commented that "Kings is ultimately a show you're either going to dismiss as silly and pretentious or fall in love with because of its silliness and pretentiousness. I find myself in the latter category because I'm always a sucker for swing-for-fences serialized shows like this, especially when it looks ... and feels unlike anything on television right now."[21] In a glowing review of the series' pilot, Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com praised the series' themes, scope, art direction, cinematography and Ian McShane's performance, concluding: "The dialogue is just so artful and poetic, the characters are so appealing, the whole damn package is so original and daring and lovely, that after watching the first four hours, it's impossible not to feel inspired and cheered by the fact that a drama this ambitious and unique could make it onto network TV."[22] Young adult book author Brent Hartinger said, "The new NBC series Kings ... is top-notch television — smart, original, and thoroughly engrossing — and it will end up reshaping the television landscape in much the way fantasy-esque shows such as Lost and Buffy the Vampire Slayer did."[23] (However, writing for gay-themed website AfterElton.com, Hartinger argued that the show "de-gayed" the romantic aspect between David and Jack — David and Jonathan in the Biblical telling — as well as what they saw as turning Jack into a stereotypical villain.[5])

Other reviewers were less positive. In a scathing review, Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter said that Kings "takes an utterly straight-faced and painfully earnest approach to the kind of broad nighttime soap opera that once fueled Dallas and (especially) Dynasty through the 1980s, but to watch something so anal-retentive and full of itself in the new century can't help but play as unintended farce."[24] Nancy deWolf Smith of The Wall Street Journal also compared the series unfavorably to the work of Aaron Spelling, and accused the series of "deadening pretentiousness" and "a failure of imagination".[25] However, many reviewers, while criticizing the drama's stylized dialogue[3][26] or calling its Biblical themes "pretentious"[26], praised Ian McShane's kingly performance and the show's ambitions.[26][3][27]

The March 15th, 2009 NBC premiere of Kings "was the lowest-rated program between 8 and 11 p.m. on a major broadcast network", garnering a 1.6 rating/4 share, below ABC, CBS, and Fox.[2] This was significantly lower than the ratings for NBC's programming on the previous Sunday, a Saturday Night Live clip show and a segment of Celebrity Apprentice.[19] Mediaweek magazine noted that "one year earlier in this block, the second half of a two-hour edition of Dateline and a repeat of Law & Order was considerably stronger at an average 6.3/10 in the overnights."[28] TV.com speculated that NBC underpromoted the show causing the lackluster pilot episode rating.[29] However, Television Week described (in detailed interviews with NBC executives) an innovative three-phase marketing push on behalf of Kings, and stated that NBC was "going out of its way since November to market Kings to so-called cultural tastemakers, hoping they’ll help spread the word to the masses."[30]

Due to the unexpectedly rocky start, several media commentators have speculated that Kings will be canceled[31] or have the already-filmed episodes "burned off" on another night, such as Saturday.[32] NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman was optimistic about the series' prospects:

I’m hoping because intent [to view] went up and awareness went up after it aired, clearly people responded to it, and it grew over its two hours. That gives me some hope. It's just hard to launch things that are not obvious. We may get nailed for it, but I'm proud of the show, and we need to keep taking chances like that.[33]

However, commentators pointed out that Silverman's remarks about the audience growth were "misleading" [34] and noted that the show cost "$10 million [for] Sunday's two-hour debut and is [costing] another $4 million per episode, an extravagant sum for any show and especially so given the program drew only 6 million viewers overall" [35].

The first hour-long episode of the series was broadcast on March 22nd, 2009, and endured further degradation in the ratings (1.3 rating /3 share), "down another 19% in the 18-49 demo"[36] and "running a distant fourth among the [four] broadcast net[work]s" [37].


References

  1. ^ "Reviews from Metacritic - Kings". March 19, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Hibberd, James (March 16, 2009). "NBC's 'Kings' dethroned in ratings". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Lloyd, Robert (March 13, 2009). "'Kings': An ambitious but puzzling take on the Old Testament". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e Tugend, Tom (March 13, 2009). "Yeshiva vet aims to make King David must-see TV". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Hartinger, Brent (March 16, 2009). ""Kings" Warps the Story of David and Jonathan". AfterElton.com. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  6. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/03/16/sunday-ratings-kings-premiere-beheaded-desperate-housewives-keeps-crown/14602
  7. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/03/23/sunday-ratings-ncaa-tourney-obama-give-cbs-18-49-win-fox-grabs-18-34-demo/15000
  8. ^ "NBC Hastily Crowns 'Kings". Zap2it. November 5, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  9. ^ a b c Douglas, Edward (February 25, 2009). "EXCL: Kings Creators Michael Green & Francis Lawrence". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  10. ^ Schneider, Michael (May 19, 2008). "NBC crowns 'Kings' for second time". Variety. Retrieved 3 March, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ "NBC Reveals Complete 52-Week Program Strategy, Earlier Than Ever, That Gives Advertisers the Opportunity to Create Unique Marketing Solutions" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. April 2, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
  12. ^ Brown, Lane. "NBC Invades Brooklyn Neighborhood With Tank," New York magazine (Feb. 10, 2009). Accessed Mar. 10, 2009.
  13. ^ "Sands Point Preserve featured Sunday on NBC's Kings". newsday.com. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  14. ^ "Script to New NBC Series KINGS leaked". .DocStoc Beta. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  15. ^ a b Lee, Patrick (January 20, 2009). "The creators of NBC's Kings reveal the magic behind the realism". Sci Fi Wire. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  16. ^ "'Kings' Stages a 'Deadwood' Reunion". Zap2it. October 17, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  17. ^ a b Ausiello, Michael (October 23, 2008). "Exclusive: NBC's Kings Courts Macaulay Culkin". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  18. ^ Hibberd, James (June 19, 2008). "NBC's 'Kings' script: bold, bizarre, fun". The Hollywood Reporter. The Live Feed blog. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  19. ^ a b Kissel, Rick (March 16, 2009). "Slow start for NBC's 'Kings'". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  20. ^ Douglas, Edward (February 25, 2009). "A Sneak Preview of NBC's New Drama Kings". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  21. ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (February 12, 2009). "The Futon's First Look: "Kings" (NBC)". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  22. ^ Havrilesky, Heather (March 15, 2009). "I Like to Watch". Salon.com. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  23. ^ Hartinger, Brent (March 13, 2009). "Review: All Hail "Kings," TV's Terrific New Fantasy Show!". TheTorchOnline. Retrieved March 16, 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Richmond, Ray (March 12, 2009). "TV Review: Kings". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  25. ^ Smith, Nancy deWolf (March 13, 2009). "A Dream of Kings". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  26. ^ a b c Poniewozik, James (March 12, 2009). "NBC's 'Kings': The New Old Testament". Time. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  27. ^ Blanco, Robert (March 13, 2009). "Mishmash that is 'Kings' often overpowers an interesting idea". USA Today. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  28. ^ Berman, Marc (March 16, 2009). "NBC's Kings Left at the Starting Gate". Mediaweek. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  29. ^ Surette, Tim (March 16, 2009). "Kings rules, but not in ratings". TV.com. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  30. ^ Adalian, Josef (March 1, 2009). "NBC Plays the 'Kings'-maker". Television Week. Retrieved March 16, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Hinman, Michael (March 16, 2009). "'Kings' Likely Won't Live Long After Premiere Stumbles". Airlock Alpha. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  32. ^ "Kings: Is the New TV Show As Good As Cancelled Already?". TV Series Finale. March 16, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  33. ^ Hibberd, James (March 20, 2009). "Ben Silverman on Obama, Leno and 'Kings'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  34. ^ "Kings: NBC's Silverman Still Has Hope for Low-Rated Drama". TV Series Finale. March 20, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  35. ^ Picchi, Aimee (March 18, 2009). "NBC's Silverman Backed Expensive Kings". TV Week. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  36. ^ Gorman, Bill (March 23, 2009). "Sunday Ratings: NCAA Tourney, Obama Give CBS 18-49 Win, Fox Grabs 18-34 Demo". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  37. ^ Kissell, Rick (March 23, 2009). "Hoops, Obama lift CBS in ratings". Variety. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kings_(American_TV_series)&oldid=279524319"