Summerland (TV series)
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| Summerland | |
|---|---|
 The first season cast of Summerland |
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Creator(s) | Stephen Tolkin Lori Loughlin |
| Starring | Lori Loughlin Shawn Christian Merrin Dungey Ryan Kwanten Jesse McCartney Taylor Cole Kay Panabaker Nick Benson Zac Efron |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Stephen Tolkin Remi Aubuchon Aaron Spelling E. Duke Vincent |
| Running time | 42 mins. (approx) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | The WB |
| Original run | June 1, 2004 – July 18, 2005 |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
Summerland is a American television series which aired on the now defunct The WB. The series ran from June 1, 2004 to July 18, 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- Lori Loughlin as Ava Gregory
- Shawn Christian as Johnny Durant
- Merrin Dungey as Susannah Rexford
- Ryan Kwanten as Jay Robertson
- Jesse McCartney as Bradin Westerly
- Kay Panabaker as Nikki Westerly
- Nick Benson as Derrick Westerly
- Taylor Cole as Erika Spalding
- Zac Efron as Cameron Bale
[edit] Crew
- Creators: Lori Loughlin & Stephen Tolkin
- Producer: Lori Loughlin
- Executive producers: Remi Aubuchon & Stephen Tolkin and E. Duke Vincent and Aaron Spelling
[edit] Premise
Fashion designer Ava lives in Playa Linda, a California beach town (a lot of which is filmed in the real city, Hermosa Beach, California) with her three best friends: her former boyfriend Johnny, Australian surf shop owner Jay, and her business partner Susannah. Their life, it seems, is perfect.
Then, Ava's sister and brother-in-law are killed in an accident, and their three children must make the move from rural Kansas, to Ava's home.
Sixteen-year-old Bradin has his own adolescent angst to deal with, but he does his best to help his younger siblings. Thirteen-year-old Nikki has always adored her aunt but sometimes resents Ava's attempts to fill her late mother's shoes. Eight-year-old Derrick has enough on his hands just trying to understand the big issues of life, death and family.
Ava ends up turning to her friends for help in raising her new surrogate children: Susannah's level-headedness, Johnny's abilities as a father figure, and Jay's boyishness. And while Nikki begins puberty, and Derrick deals with the big changes in his life, Bradin is discovering sex and women - particularly in surfing instructor Erika, who is Jay's girlfriend.
[edit] History
Summerland was part of the wave of summer programming that rose after Fox's 2003 success with The O.C.. The first season - of 13 episodes - aired from June - August 2004, and was a reasonable success.
The series benefited largely from the star appeal: Loughlin's return to television, and Dungey - who had become well-known on J.J. Abrams's cult series Alias. Teen star and hearthrob McCartney also launched his major singing career during this time, which helped the show appeal to a younger demographic. Australian soap star Kwanten also helped ratings on the show.
However, when the second season began in February 2005, ratings were significantly lower - due possibly in part to the midseason return. In April, after eight episodes had aired, the series was put on hiatus and The WB eventually announced the show's cancellation. The remaining episodes of the season aired in June and July 2005. There were last-ditch fan efforts to save the show, with online petitions and letter writing campaigns focusing on The WB.
Reruns can now be seen Sundays at 5AM ET on The N, Weekdays at 9AM ET on HDNet, also currently on Channel Ten at 12PM in Australia,and 12pm on Trouble in England.
[edit] External links
