Savannah | |
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Cast of Savannah |
|
Format | Drama |
Created by | Constance M. Burge |
Starring | Shannon Sturges Robyn Lively Jamie Luner Paul Satterfield David Gail Beth Toussaint Ray Wise George Eads |
Theme music composer | Christopher L. Stone |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 34 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Aaron Spelling E Duke Vincent |
Producer(s) | Spelling Television 20th Television |
Location(s) | Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 45 Minutes |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | The WB |
Original run | January 21, 1996 – February 24, 1997 |
Savannah is an American prime time television drama that ran from January 21, 1996 to February 24, 1997 on The WB. It was created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling.
Contents |
Set in the southern city of Savannah, Georgia, the series revolves around three female friends: naive rich girl Reese, noble Lane and scheming bad girl Peyton. Lane McKenzie had left Savannah after graduating from college to become a successful journalist in New York City; she returns for the wedding of her childhood best friend, Reese Burton, who is marrying Travis Peterson. Finding out that her apartment in New York has been burglarized, Lane tries to collect on an inheritance — only to find out that Travis has stolen every last penny of it. Reese finds out that Travis has been having an affair with a girl he calls "Bunny" and is devastated; the other woman is secretly Peyton, daughter of the Burton family maid and Reese's so-called friend — in fact Peyton envies Reese's wealth and is keen to marry for money.
Travis is soon found dead, and the first season revolves around the whodunit murder mystery and subsequent court case. There is also considerable intrigue surrounding the identity of Peyton's father (who turns out to be Reese's father, Edward, making Peyton and Reese sisters) as well as the machinations of Tom Massick, a stranger in town with a score to settle.
Reese was played by blonde daytime soap actress Shannon Sturges, brunette Robyn Lively played Lane and Peyton was portrayed by auburn-haired Jamie Luner, who would later appear as a vixen on Spelling's hit 1990s soap opera, Melrose Place. African-American actress Alexia Robinson was added to the cast in its second season as Cassandra 'Cassie' Wheeler, a longtime friend of the three other women. Savannah also starred a pre-CSI George Eads; though Eads' character, Travis, dies in the pilot episode, the show's producers recognized Eads' appeal and brought him back as Nick, Travis' identical twin.[1]
Actor | Character |
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Jamie Luner | Peyton Richards |
Robyn Lively | Lane McKenzie |
Shannon Sturges | Reese Burton |
David Gail | Dean Collins |
Beth Toussaint | Veronica Koslowski |
Paul Satterfield | Tom Massick |
Ray Wise | Edward Burton |
George Eads | Travis Peterson (Season 1) / Nick Corelli (Season 2) |
Alexia Robinson | Cassie Wheeler (Season 2) |
Actor | Character |
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Mimi Kennedy | Eleanor Alexander Burton |
Wendy Phillips | Lucille Richards |
Scott Thompson Baker | Brian Alexander |
Taurean Blacque | Det. Michael Wheeler |
Russell Curry | Det. Sam Lucas |
David Lee Smith | Vincent Massick |
Denis Arndt | Martin Corelli |
Savannah's first season was broadcast between January 21, 1996 and April 7, 1996. The first two episodes were shown together as a two-hour Saturday "sneak preview" of the upcoming series, with the remaining season one episodes shown on Sunday nights (The WB dubbing the evening "Savannah Sunday"). During its second season, Savannah was moved to Monday nights, the 22 second season episodes broadcast between August 26, 1996 and February 24, 1997.
The first season was broadcast in the United Kingdom in the summer of 1996 on ITV in a prime time slot and became the highest rated new American series of that year. However, the second season was not network broadcast, and was shown in different ITV regions at different times in the late 1990s.
The show was filmed entirely on location in the U.S. state of Georgia. Initially, exterior scenes were shot in both Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia. Locations and landmarks featured included the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge, Forsyth Park, River Street, and Bonaventure Cemetery.
Towards the end of season two, scenes were no longer filmed at the exterior locations for many of the shows main sets. These were replaced by stock establishing shot footage and scenes were filmed entirely in Atlanta.