Free Agents (American TV series)

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Free Agents (American TV series) - Wikipedia

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Free Agents

Genre	Sitcom
Based on	Free Agents by Chris Niel
Developed by	John Enbom
Starring	Hank Azaria Kathryn Hahn Mo Mandel Natasha Leggero Joe Lo Truglio Anthony Head Al Madrigal
Theme music composer	Eli "Paperboy" Reed
Composer	Kurt Farquhar
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8 (4 aired online)
Production
Executive producers	Chris Niel John Enbom Karey Burke Todd Holland Kenton Allen Nira Park
Camera setup	Videotape; Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Very Small Realm Dark Toy Entertainment Big Talk Productions Universal Media Studios (episode 1) Universal Television (episodes 2-8) Open 4 Business Productions
Original release
Network	NBC (Episodes 1-4) Hulu (Episodes 5-8)
Release	September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14) – January 16, 2012 (2012-01-16)
Related
Free Agents (UK Original)

Free Agents is an American sitcom television series that premiered on NBC September 14, 2011, in the 10:30 pm Eastern/9:30 pm Central time slot, before assuming its regular time slot on September 21, 2011, where it aired at 8:30 pm Eastern/7:30 pm Central on Wednesday nights.^[1] It is based on the British comedy series of the same name that was created by Chris Niel, who also serves as co-creator and producer on this version with John Enbom, Karey Burke, Todd Holland, and Kenton Allen for Big Talk Productions, Dark Toy Entertainment and Universal Television.^[2] This show was the last series to be produced by Universal Media Studios during the revival of Universal Television.

On October 6, 2011, NBC cancelled the series after only four episodes were broadcast, due to low ratings.^[3] The remaining four episodes produced were later released via Hulu on January 16, 2012.

Synopsis

The series followed the lives of two public relations executives at an advertising firm in Portland, Oregon: Alex Taylor (Hank Azaria), who is recently divorced, and Helen Ryan (Kathryn Hahn), a woman trying to move on after the death of her fiancé. They discover that they seem to have an attraction for each other, and have a drunken one-night stand, but try to stay professional at work, where their friends will do anything to get them to re-enter the dating scene.

Cast and characters

Hank Azaria as Alex Taylor
Kathryn Hahn as Helen Ryan
Mo Mandel as Dan Mackey
Natasha Leggero as Emma Parker
Al Madrigal as Gregg
Joe Lo Truglio as Walter
Anthony Head as Stephen Yates

Development and production

NBC took interest in this project after Executive Producer Todd Holland began developing the American adaptation with the UK's original writer Chris Niel and producers Nira Park, Kenton Allen and Matthew Justice in September 2010.^[4] They also made changes to the workplace setting from talent agents in the British version to PR executives for American viewers, after NBC greenlit the pilot in February 2011.^[5]

Actor Anthony Head was the only cast member who had ties to both shows, in which he played Stephen, the boss in the UK and US adaptations.^[6]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Todd Holland	John Enbom	September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14)	101	6.12^[7]
2	"What I Did for Work"	Peter Lauer	Ira Ungerleider	September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21)	103	3.86^[8]
3	"Dr. Hu"	Todd Holland	Diane Ruggiero	September 28, 2011 (2011-09-28)	102	3.07^[9]
4	"Rebranding"	Millicent Shelton	John Enbom	October 5, 2011 (2011-10-05)	104	3.25
5	"Nice Guys Finish...At Some Point"	Michael Engler	Emily Cutler	January 16, 2012 (2012-01-16) (on Hulu) (unaired on NBC)	105	TBA
6	"Are You There, Helen? It's Me, God"	Bryan Gordon	Alexa Junge	January 16, 2012 (2012-01-16) (on Hulu) (unaired on NBC)	106	TBA
7	"The Kids Are Probably All Right"	Todd Holland	Jill Cargerman	January 16, 2012 (2012-01-16) (on Hulu) (unaired on NBC)	107	TBA
8	"Sexin' the Raisin"	Kevin Dowling	Jon Silberman & Josh Silberman	January 16, 2012 (2012-01-16) (on Hulu) (unaired on NBC)	108	TBA

Ratings

No.	Title	Air date	18-49 rating	Viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14)	2.1	6.12
2	"What I Did For Work"	September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21)	1.3	3.86
3	"Dr. Hu"	September 28, 2011 (2011-09-28)	1.0	3.07
4	"Rebranding"	October 5, 2011 (2011-10-05)	1.0	3.25

International broadcasts

The series was simulcast in Canada by CTV2.^[10]

Broadcast by TV Séries in Portugal 4 weeks after the US air date.

References

^ Seidman, Robert (July 6, 2011). "NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates - 'Chuck,' 'Grimm' Premiere October 21; Early Premiere for 'Parenthood'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
^ Updated: NBC Picks Up "Smash", "Prime Suspects" and Two More Sitcoms to Series, TV By the Numbers, May 11, 2011
^ NBC Cancels 'Free Agents', Hollywood Reporter, October 6, 2011
^ Development Update from The Futon Critic (September 2, 2011)
^ NBC Picks Up 4 More Pilots: Drama From 'Lone Star' Creator, 3 Comedies from Deadline.com (February 3, 2011)
^ Ben Rappaport To Star In CBS Half-Hour Pilot, Anthony Head Cast In NBC Comedy, Deadline Hollywood, March 23, 2011
^ Gorman, Bill (September 15, 2011). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'America's Got Talent' Finale Adjusted Up; Plus 'Up All Night,' 'Free Agents' 15 Min. Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
^ TV Ratings Wednesday: 'X Factor' No Idol; 'Modern Family' Premieres Big; 'Revenge' Gets Nice Start; 'CSI' > 'SVU', TV By the Numbers, September 22, 2011
^ TV Ratings Wednesday: 'Suburgatory' Gets A Good Start; 'X Factor' Leads Fox Win, As Post-Premiere Declines Vary, TV By the Numbers, September 29, 2011
^ From Channel Canada Archived 2011-10-12 at the Wayback Machine

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