California Dreams is an American teen sitcom. The series ran for five seasons, airing on NBC from September 12, 1992 to December 14, 1996, as part of the network's Saturday morning TNBC teen-focused programming block. It was created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, was produced by Franco Bario, and was executive produced by Peter Engel as his first followup to Saved by the Bell for NBC.[1] California Dreams centered on a group of friends who form the fictional titular band.[2]
In its first season, California Dreams was conceived as being as much a family sitcom as a teen sitcom about the titular band, which is reflected by the fact that the Garrison parents, as well as Matt and Jenny Garrison's younger brother Dennis, were a part of the cast:
In the second season of California Dreams, the Garrison family was de-emphasized – Heidi Noelle Lenhart herself left the show, and Jenny was written out in the season's third episode – and the show was refocused on the band, including the new band members – guitarist Jake, and new singer Sam Woo (from the fourth episode of season 2 on):
In the third season of California Dreams, the Garrison family element was eliminated and Brent Gore was dropped from the show. In his place, two new cast members were added – Lorena Costa, a rich girl who effectively became the band's "groupie", and new keyboardist/guitarist/drummer Mark Winkle, who is Sly's cousin. The cast from the show's third season remained unchanged through the fourth and fifth seasons of the series:
The cast for the fourth season of California Dreams was the same as the cast for the third season.
The cast for the fifth season of California Dreams was the same as the cast for the third and fourth seasons.