Windfall (TV series)

Windfall
Starring	Sarah Wynter Jason Gedrick Jon Foster Alice Greczyn Malinda Williams Jaclyn DeSantis Lana Parrilla Luke Perry D.J. Cotrona
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	3+
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	June 8, 2006 – present

Windfall is an NBC television series. The pilot episode was developed in early 2005, but ultimately passed over by FOX. In January 2006, NBC announced that they would air the series in the summer of 2006. The series first aired on Thursday, June 8, 2006, taking over ER's place for just the summer.

Parts of this series were filmed in Covina, California, USA.

Premise

The show will follow a group of 20 friends who collectively win a $386 million lottery jackpot, and the changes it wreaks in their lives.

From executive producer Laurie McCarthy (“Felicity,” “CSI: Miami”) comes “Windfall,” an hour drama that follows twenty lottery winners after their unexpected good fortune. Each winner's reaction is different and the overwhelming cash windfall presents unexpected marital, ethical, legal and criminal problems.

At the center is a close-knit foursome who have known each other since college when the “wrong” spouses were in love. Luke Perry (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) stars as Peter Schaefer, a devoted husband to Nina (Lana Parrilla, “Boomtown”) and father of two. Parrilla finds herself caught between her love for her husband and the deep feelings she has for her college beau: her husband’s best friend, Cameron Walsh, played by Jason Gedrick (“Boomtown”). Sarah Wynter (“24”) plays Cameron's loving but suspicious wife.

A relative stranger to their circle is D.J. Cotrona (“Skin”) as Sean Mathers, who finds that winning the lottery threatens to expose a dark secret in his past. Also, for Damien Cutler (Jon Foster, “The Door in the Floor”) a rebellious teen, winning the cash means he is set free from his parents -- with millions in his pocket. Alice Greczyn (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) stars as Frankie, a 16-year old girl whose separated parents' newfound wealth sets off a marital war. Rounding out the cast are Malinda Williams (“Idlewild”) as Kimberly George, a good-intentioned single mother, and Jaclyn DeSantis (“Road Trip”) who plays Maggie Hernandez, a nurse whose generous heart and newfound wealth prove to be a dangerous combo.

McCarthy is the series co-creator, executive producer and head writer. Gwendolyn Parker co-created the pilot. David Semel directed the pilot. “Windfall” is a production of Regency Television

Cast and crew

• Sarah Wynter as Beth
• Jason Gedrick as Cameron
• Jon Foster as Damien
• Alice Greczyn as Frankie
• Malinda Williams as Kimberly
• Jaclyn DeSantis as Maggie
• Lana Parilla as Nina
• Luke Perry as Peter
• D.J. Cotrona as Sean
• Larissa Drekonja as Galina

Created by Laurie McCarthy.

Character Details

(These are summaries of descriptions of the characters posted on the official site).

Nina- Cameron is not simply a college beau for Nina. According to the official site, she "grew up believing she was going to marry Cameron." When Cameron left for Europe (story background BEFORE the show's plotline begins), she believed he had ended their relationship. So she married Peter, and had two daughters (by him). She is described as "being true to her marrige" while still having desires for Cameron. The obvious dilemma she is going through is whether or not she will stay true to her marrige. It is also interesting to note that the shockwave media presentation on the NBC "Windfall" homepage has most of the main characters lined up. When your cursor is put over a characvter, a one word description is presented. Nina garners the foreboding "Lustful" description...

Cameron- Described as a "popular local college professor" (though that doesnt say much for his teaching ability; it should also be noted that in the season premiere he is described by one of his former students as arrogant), Cameron is happily married to Beth. However, it seems that he also loves, or at least has some amorous feelings towards, Nina (his ex-girlfriend). He is also faced with the dilemma of whether or not he should leave his spouse, though does not seem as averse to the option as Nina is. His one-word cursor description is "Secretive".

Beth- Described as a "good-natured florist," Beth is the devoted wife of Cameron. She is in fact willing to give up her shop to move with her husband to another state when he is offered a better positon. She sides with her husband when accusations of infidelity are pointed at him, though doubts still plague her mind. These doubts start slowly adding to the drama surronding her story. Her one word decription: "Suspicious."

Peter- Described as "a devoted father and caring husband to his wife, Nina", Peter is a hard-worker. He is said to be the first one to have guilty feelings for having won the lottery. One of his desires is to give is his daughters the best money can buy but "also knows that being able to do that always comes at a price." His one word description: "Carefree."

Damien- One word description: "Rebellious." Damien is "a typical rebellious high school student." He uses Nina while she is buying the winning lottery tickets to shoplift beer (being underage and all) while also chipping into the fateful lottery fund. His destiny is forshadowed by his offcial descripton: It seems that Damien will realize that life can get out of control when everything one wants is at their fingertips.

Frankie- One word description: "Innocent." She is decribed as "misunderstood." She is in the middle of most of the fights between her parents (especially after her mother wins the lottery). As she tries to sort who she is herself, she is also supposed to create a peace between her parents.

Galina- Is a Russian who came to America for a better life. She speaks halting English, but is leaning fast, and understands it very well. Her marrige to Damien is thus far a sham- it has not been physically consumated yet (apparently), and the only reason it seems to have been orchestrated by Damien is so that he can be free from the grasp of his rather strict father.

Kimberly- A single mother, who tried to support her family by working three jobs. As a pizza delivery woman, she deposited a lucky dollar in the group lottery fund, though her claim is yet to be contended. One word description: "Desperate."

Maggie- A woman very devoted to helping others (especially as a nurse). After winning the lottery, she still helps people- and is looking for a man who would want her for herself- not her money. One word description: "Generous."

Sean- An outsider with a mysterious past. The lottery winning threatens to reveal his shadowy past, and he resorts to asking another for help....One word description: "Dangerous."

Upcoming Episodes

June 2006

• Running With The Devil June 29, 2006 10pm

Episodes

#	Title	Airdate	Overview	Rating (Viewers)
1	Pilot Episode	June 8, 2006	In the series pilot, a gang of twenty friends wins a $368 million dollar jackpot. Nina is surprised that her old boyfriend, Cameron, and his wife are moving due to his job. The two, however, are still in love with each other. Sean's past is in danger of being revealed after winning part of the jackpot with the gang, so he tries to get Zoe to take the money under her. Teenage Damien married a Russian woman who came to his house for dinner in order to claim his winnings as an emancipated man. A former student of Cameron's comes to Cameron and Beth's house claiming that she had a baby that was Cameron's and she wanted her share for support after learning he won the lottery.	9 million
2	The Getaway	June 15, 2006	Beth is at odds over Cameron and his situation, so she and Nina head to Paris to blow off steam. Frankie gets drunk as she tries to hide her feelings for Damien at his house party. Zoe and Sean get intimate as they decide to spend their winnings together. Kimberly decides to do some good with her winnings, but a new woman approches the news claiming that she is the owner of the final winning ticket.	7.8 million

External links

• Windfall at IMDb
• Official Site of Windfall