Whoopi is an American sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, starring Whoopi Goldberg that aired for one season on NBC. The series premiered on September 9, 2003, and ran until April 20, 2004. It was canceled by NBC in May 2004.[1] The series revolved around the events and people at her hotel, the fictional Larchmont Hotel, in New York City.
| Whoopi | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Bonnie and Terry Turner |
| Developed by | Whoopi Goldberg |
| Directed by | Terry Hughes |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "Whoopi" by Whoopi Goldberg |
| Composer | Ahrin Mishan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production location | Kaufman Astoria Studios |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 9, 2003 – April 20, 2004 |
Premise edit
Whoopi Goldberg starred in this comedy as one-hit wonder Mavis Rae, a cigarette-smoking, alcohol-drinking, menopausal and especially opinionated hotelier. In 1986, Mavis had one huge, spectacular hit song, the two-time Grammy Award-winning "Don't Hide Love". Quickly realizing that her initial success was a fluke, she parlayed her finances from that hit into purchasing the Lamont Hotel in Manhattan.
Mavis operates the hotel on her charm and wit while assisted by Iran native Nasim (Omid Djalili) and Eastern European housekeeper Jadwiga (Gordana Rashovich), who share a love-hate relationship with each other. Staying at the hotel is her baby brother Courtney (Wren T. Brown), a moderate Republican attorney who is attempting to get back on his feet after being laid off from Enron amidst its bankruptcy scandal. Courtney begins dating medical imager Rita Nash (Elizabeth Regen), who spoke jive and was portrayed with an exaggerated urban black stereotype despite the fact that she was white. Rita and Mavis frequently clashed over the course of the series, leading to many of the conflicts that drove the plot of each episode. Other plots revolved around political clashes between the conservative Courtney and the liberal Mavis; customer prejudice against the Persian Nasim, who was often mistaken for an Arab; and the all-female poker group that Mavis and Rita belong to.
Cast edit
Main edit
- Whoopi Goldberg as Mavis Rae
- Wren T. Brown as Courtney Rae
- Elizabeth Regen as Rita Nash
- Omid Djalili as Nasim
Recurring edit
- Gordana Rashovich as Jadwiga
- Mary Testa as Sophia
- MaryAnn Hu as Soo Lin
- Danielle Lee Greaves as Danielle
Notable guest stars edit
- Enrico Colantoni as Victor the appliance salesman ("Pilot")
- Anson Carter, Scott Gomez, Darius Kasparaitis, Jay Pandolfo, and Scott Stevens as themselves ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes")
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Florence Lamarck, Mavis' former bandmate ("She Ain't Heavy, She's My Partner")
- Diahann Carroll as Viveca Rae, Mavis and Courtney's mother ("Mother's Little Helper")
- Rue McClanahan and Eli Wallach as hotel guests using marijuana with a group of "ill" seniors ("American Woman")
- Wallach had previously worked with Goldberg in 1996's The Associate.
- Patrick Swayze as Tony, Mavis' former choreographer and lover ("The Last Dance")
- Celeste Holm as Diana, an elderly tenant of the hotel ("The Squatter")
- Krysten Ritter as Brynn, Diana's granddaughter ("The Squatter")
- Joe Morton as Martin James, an assemblyman whom Courtney challenges ("Sins of the Sister")
- Novella Nelson as a rude nurse and desk clerk ("Once Bitten")
Episodes edit
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by [2] | Original air date | Viewers (millions) [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Terry Hughes | Bonnie Turner & Terry Turner | September 9, 2003 | 15.1 | |
| Mavis Rae makes room for her brother Courtney after his recent employer, Enron, suffers a small financial setback. However, her new hotel guest is in love and Mavis soon has the pleasure of meeting Rita, Courtney's white girlfriend who talks and dresses like a "sister" -- and is just too much fun for her to ignore. Meanwhile, the hotel's need for a fulltime concierge prompts Mavis to promote her reliable handyman Nasim giving him a shot at this new position. | ||||||
| 2 | "Don't Hide Your Bag" | Terry Hughes | Mike Chessler & Chris Alberghini | September 16, 2003 | 11.3 | |
| When the nation's security threat level is elevated to an orange alert, Nasim's paranoia carries over to Mavis, who calls the police bomb squad to blow up an abandoned designer briefcase found in the hotel lobby. But when Mavis discovers that the bag is actually Courtney's gift from Rita, she scrambles to find an inexpensive knockoff. | ||||||
| 3 | "Once Bitten" | Terry Hughes | Jerry Collins | September 23, 2003 | 8.8 | |
| Mavis has trouble getting seen at the emergency room after getting bitten by Rita's pet ferret. | ||||||
| 4 | "Shout TV" | Terry Hughes | Mike Larsen | September 30, 2003 | 8.9 | |
| Frustrated after receiving a ticket for smoking in her hotel, Mavis feels responsible when Nasim is also cited for spitting in public after she stuffs a hot pepper in his mouth. But when she urges him to contest the penalty in court, Nasim quits out of fear of being deported back to Iran. Meanwhile, Courtney loses cash in an ATM and his cool when he is put on hold while calling the customer service line. | ||||||
| 5 | "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | Terry Hughes | David J. Nash | October 7, 2003 | 8.0 | |
| While at a Devils–Rangers game, Mavis meets a blind man. | ||||||
| 6 | "The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" | Terry Hughes | Larry Wilmore | October 14, 2003 | 10.6 | |
| After a chance encounter with President Bush when his motorcade stops at the Lamont Hotel, Mavis cannot mouth off to the Commander in Chief after he recognizes her and pays homage to her singing talents. But she clashes with the conservative Courtney when Bush invites her for a face-to-face meeting – and faces the Secret Service. | ||||||
| 7 | "She Ain't Heavy, She's My Partner" | Terry Hughes | David Regal | October 21, 2003 | 9.8 | |
| The funeral of Mavis' former bandmate in "The Ebony Blackbirds" singing trio brings a reunion with the other remaining member Florence Lamarck (Sheryl Lee Ralph). However, her stylish and scheming personality reignites the jealousy and disgust Mavis has held for her. Meanwhile, Rita is shocked to find out that Courtney was seduced by Florence. | ||||||
| 8 | "Rita Plays Poker" | Terry Hughes | Terry Turner | October 28, 2003 | 10.5 | |
| When Rita joins Mavis' rowdy all-girl smoker-poker night, she shows a new side of herself that offends conservative Courtney. But her refusal to quit causes a fight between the two that leaves him crestfallen on the eve of a big job interview. In order to reinvigorate her zombie-like brother before the interview, Mavis recruits Nasim in a desperate bid to reconcile the mismatched lovebirds. | ||||||
| 9 | "Sticky Fingers" | Terry Hughes | Mike Chessler & Chris Alberghini | November 11, 2003 | 8.0 | |
| After unwittingly ruining Nasim's favorite shirt, a slightly guilty Mavis takes him shopping for a replacement only to find herself in department store jail after mistakenly taken a belt without paying. Once word of her detention and alleged theft hits the media, Mavis' popularity skyrockets as the public feels sympathy for her. Keith Richards and Phil Collins guest star, albeit within the TV program the characters are watching. | ||||||
| 10 | "Mother's Little Helper" | Terry Hughes | Laurie Parres | November 18, 2003 | 9.1 | |
| Mavis is stricken with dread when her domineering, obnoxious mother Viveca (Diahann Carroll) arrives with her dad from North Carolina. But she is instead taken aback by her mother's newly found polite and charming demeanor, a result of a new prescription medication. And things change for the worse when her pills are accidentally tossed. | ||||||
| 11 | "The Fat and the Frivolous" | Terry Hughes | David Wyatt | December 9, 2003 | 7.8 | |
| Mavis is dragged into court when a corpulent man sues her after he checks into her hotel and crashes through the room's bed. She forces Courtney to represent her against a slick lawyer known for outwitting his opponents. Aware that the plaintiff makes a living off false lawsuits, Courtney stages a mock trial to prepare his loud-mothed sister for the real thing. But muzzling Mavis might prove impossible. | ||||||
| 12 | "American Woman" | Terry Hughes | Mike Larsen | January 6, 2004 | 8.8 | |
| As Nasim studies for his Citizenship Exam, Mavis is confronted with a group of elder guests (Rue McClanahan and Eli Wallach) who use a suite to smoke marijuana. The conservative Courtney urges Mavis to evict and report them to set a good example for Nasim, and tries to do so himself when she refuses. | ||||||
| 13 | "Airplane" | Terry Hughes | Kriss Turner | January 13, 2004 | 8.3 | |
| As the poker group plans a trip to the Bahamas, Rita is determined to help Mavis face her fear of flying by enrolling her in a flight simulator class. Meanwhile, Courtney runs the hotel in Mavis' absence, and becomes concerned about the poker trip after learning details from Nasim and Jadwiga. | ||||||
| 14 | "Is Rita Pregnant?" | Terry Hughes | Terry Turner | February 3, 2004 | 7.2 | |
| Mavis is shocked when Rita confides to the poker group that she believes she's pregnant. Courtney proposes to her, but she discovers she is not pregnant after taking a pregnancy test. When Rita rejects the proposal because it was only since he believed she was pregnant, the two start to rethink their relationship. Elsewhere, Nasim and Jadwiga travel to Connecticut to enter everyone into the nine-figure Powerball Jackpot. | ||||||
| 15 | "The Last Dance" | Terry Hughes | Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman | February 24, 2004 | N/A | |
| Mavis is excited when her former choreographer and occasional lover Tony (Patrick Swayze) is in town. However, her plans to continue their relationship are complicated when he reveals his newfound religious convictions that she sets out to undermine. | ||||||
| 16 | "No Sex in the City" | Terry Hughes | Nick LeRose | March 2, 2004 | 6.7 | |
| The poker group throws a wild bachelorette party at a trendy night club to celebrate Soo-Lin's upcoming wedding. But as the night progresses and the bar bill adds up, Soo-Lin begins having second thoughts. Meanwhile, designated driver Nasim is mistaken as Mavis' macho male escort and soon entertains offers of similar employment. | ||||||
| 17 | "What Child Is This?" | Terry Hughes | Mike Larsen | March 16, 2004 | 6.7 | |
| Mavis is pestered by a bratty boy staying at the hotel. But she is forced to play nice as the boy's father, a GOP functionary, offers Courtney a job with President Bush's reelection campaign. | ||||||
| 18 | "Don't Hide Love" | Terry Hughes | Alison McDonald | March 23, 2004 | 5.9 | |
| Mavis discovers her and Courtney's cousin Cassandra is a lesbian, and wants to marry her girlfriend in the hotel. After discovering that her one-hit wonder, "Don't Hide Love", has become a gay anthem in the years since its recording, she decides to host the wedding at the hotel. Even though the wedding will conflict with the Republican Inclusion Coalition that Courtney is hosting at the hotel on the same weekend. | ||||||
| 19 | "The Squatter" | Terry Hughes | Chris Alberghini & Mike Chessler | March 30, 2004 | 6.3 | |
| Mavis has had the final straw with the dementia-ridden former actress Diana (Celeste Holm), whose lifetime lease means Mavis cannot evict her without proper cause. Mavis convinces her greedy college-aged granddaughter Brynn (Krysten Ritter) to place her in assisted living so she can receive the help she needs. But she becomes guilty after visiting and finding Diana is miserable and mistreated – and finds a worse tenant in Brynn, who has moved into her grandmother's apartment and turned it into a party suite. | ||||||
| 20 | "Identity Crisis" | Terry Hughes | Maisha Closson | April 6, 2004 | 5.5 | |
| After her credit card is declined, Mavis discovers she has become a victim of identity theft. As Courtney and Rita pressure her to let them help organize her finances, she finds little support from the bank and fends off Rita's attempts to assist her. | ||||||
| 21 | "Strange Bedfellows" | Terry Hughes | Tim O'Donnell | April 13, 2004 | 7.9 | |
| A dating service matches Nasim with someone who looks and acts strikingly similar to Jadwiga, startling both her and Mavis. At first oblivious, Nasim becomes spooked as well and falls into a depression. Filling in for Rita at poker night, Jadwiga reveals upon prying from Mavis that her husband has left her. Meanwhile, Rita suspects that one of Courtney's colleagues has hired her as an advisor with ulterior motives in mind. | ||||||
| 22 | "Sins of the Sister" | Terry Hughes | Dave Boerger | April 20, 2004 | 5.3 | |
| Courtney is courted by the Republicans to run for the state assembly against incumbent Martin James (Joe Morton), whom Mavis supports. But after she naively tells him about Courtney's past with Enron, she finds herself in hot water with Courtney and a target of James' smear campaign against him. Meanwhile, Nasim and Jadwiga have a one-night stand after he learns that her husband left her. The aftermath leaves them both struggling on how to let the affair avoid interfering with their work. | ||||||
Production edit
The series was filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens.[4]
Reception and cancellation edit
The debut episode of Whoopi drew 15.1 million viewers, and was ranked number four for the week.[5] However, the show received negative reviews from critics. This led to steadily declining ratings, and its eventual cancellation by NBC in May 2004.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b Andrew Gans (May 17, 2004). ""It's All Relative" and "Whoopi" Canceled; Donna Murphy Sitcom Retooled". Playbill. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "Whoopi". Writers Guild of America West. May 6, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "Episode List: Whoopi". Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Cooper, Michael (August 7, 2003). "A Smoky Bar In New York? It's Just TV, Bloomberg Says". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Gary Susman (September 17, 2003). "NBC's Whoopi and Happy Family are Nielsen winners". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
