Sammy (TV series) explained

Company:Brad Grey Television
Desert Rat Productions
Adelaide Productions
NBC Studios
Creator:David Spade
Drake Sather
Executive Producer:David Spade
Drake Sather
Richard Raynis
Brad Grey
Marc Gurvirz
Narrated:David Spade
Composer:Jim Latham
Opentheme:"Sammy" (instrumental)
Editor:Mark Deimel
Runtime:22 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English
Network:NBC
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:13 (11 unaired)

Sammy is an American adult animated sitcom that aired on NBC in 2000. Created by comedians David Spade and Drake Sather, the series only had a two-week run, from August 8 until August 15, 2000. The artstyle of the series is reminiscent of Klasky Csupo cartoons as Everett Peck was the character designer for the series.

Sammy, along with another animated sitcom, God, the Devil and Bob, was conceived by NBC in order to capitalize on the fledgling trend of animated programs geared towards adults. When God, the Devil and Bob attracted low ratings and controversy due to its subject matter, it was quickly cancelled and sold to Cartoon Network to be a part of its Adult Swim block years later. This left Sammy in limbo, not premiering until early August 2000 with minimal promotion and fanfare. NBC was contractually obligated to air the first two episodes, and once both premiered, the show was quietly cancelled. According to Olivia Hack (who voiced Lola), 13 episodes were produced.

It was the last series by Adelaide Productions to use traditional cel animation aside from the opening theme being animated in digital ink and paint.

Premise

The show is an animated sitcom whose central characters are James "Jamie" Blake and his father Sammy, both of whom are voiced by David Spade.[1] Within the show, the younger Blake is a successful actor who lives in Los Angeles with his two brothers. The show features plot lines in which the father attempts to reconcile with his three estranged sons. Spade said that the show took inspiration from his own estrangement from his father.[2]

Broadcast

Citing low ratings, NBC withdrew the show after only two of its thirteen episodes aired.[3]

In 2021, a crew member from Sammy sent the episodes to a fan who released the episodes periodically on his YouTube channel, with the final episode being released on December 31 of that year.

Critical reception

David Bianculli of the New York Daily News criticized the show for a lack of humor. He also thought that Spade voicing both of the lead characters was "distracting".[1] A review in Variety was negative toward the show for similar reasons.[4]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'SAMMY' - JUST SHOOT IT David Spade's 2 voices don't add up in cartoon . New York Daily News . August 8, 2000 . May 28, 2022. .
  2. Web site: David Spade's life inspires animated 'Sammy' . Florida Times Union . July 10, 2000 . May 28, 2022. .
  3. Web site: NBC pulls plug on David Spade's Sammy after just two weeks . Variety . August 18, 2000 . May 28, 2022. .
  4. Web site: Sammy . Variety . August 8, 2000 . May 28, 2022.