UPN (partially found television shows of American network; 1995-2006): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:46, 4 January 2021

The logo for UPN.

Status: Partially Found

UPN short for United Paramount Network is a defunct American broadcasting television network that debuted on January 16th, 1995, and ceased broadcasting on September 15th, 2006. Aimed at the 18-35 year old demographic, UPN hosted many television shows ranging in format from dramas, sitcoms, live-action, comedies, and animation. Due to increasing competition and parent company Viacom suffering a great deal of debt, Viacom announced that the CBS brand would be spun-off.^[1] In turn, CBS would gain a number of assets from Viacom, one of which being UPN. In order to alleviate debt, while still having a foothold in the market, on January 24th, 2006, CBS and Time Warner announced the closure of The WB and UPN and debut The CW as a joint venture.^[2] Most of the popular programs from UPN would be moved to The CW, with the rest never to re-air. While shows that did not make it to The CW such as South Beach are available, other programs remain in various states from lost to mostly found.

Lost Shows

Dilbert

An attempt at making a live-action adaption of the Dilbert comic strip was planned to air on UPN in 1997. A pilot had been produced and directed by Scott Adams with the pilot receiving massive amounts of attention. The pilot would not end up airing due to Scott Adams personally not liking how the show looked.^[3]

Partially Found Shows

The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series

A planned adaptation of the 1980 movie of the same name, the rights for The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series for the planned series was sold to UPN by Dan Aykroyd in 1997. This series never aired, but a few scripts for some episodes as well as storyboards for other episodes have been found.

The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer

The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer was a short-lived sitcom that aired on UPN in 1998. It was an American adaptation of the British sitcom Blackadder the Third. While nine episodes were filmed, only four aired due to controversy as it made jokes about serious historical subject matter most notably slavery. Only three episodes from the series have been found, all having been aired on UPN.

Guys Like Us

A sitcom revolving around two roommates in Chicago who find themselves being the new parents of one of the roommates' younger brother. Guys Like Us gained popularity after the show was canceled and won awards in 2006. The pilot has been mostly found, while the intro is also one of the few parts of the show to have surfaced.

DiResta

DiResta was a short-lived sitcom starring stand-up comedian, Johnny DiResta. In the series, DiResta plays a transit cop who has to deal with antics from his wife and kid. The series did not catch on in popularity, and only the pilot episode has been found.

References

↑ Article on Viacom spinning off CBS. Retrieved 04 Jan '21
↑ Article about the announcement of The CW. Retrieved 04 Jan '21
↑ Article on Dilbert TV series. Retrieved 04 Jan '21

[1] Article on Viacom spinning off CBS. Retrieved 04 Jan '21

[2] Article about the announcement of The CW. Retrieved 04 Jan '21

[3] Article on Dilbert TV series. Retrieved 04 Jan '21

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |title=<center>UPN</center>
 |image=UPN logo.png
-|imagecaption=The logo for ''UPN''
+|imagecaption=The logo for UPN.
 |status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
 }}
-'''''UPN''''' short for United Paramount Network is a defunct American broadcasting television network that debuted on January 16, 1995, and ceased broadcasting on September 15, 2006. Aimed at the 18-35-year-old demographic, ''UPN'' hosted many television shows ranging in format from dramas, sitcoms, live-action, comedies, and animation. Due to increasing competition and parent company Viacom suffering a great deal of debt, Viacom announced that the CBS brand would be spun-off.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/06/14/viacom.split/index.html Article on Viacom spinning off CBS] Retrieved 4 Jan 21</ref>. In turn, CBS would gain a number of assets from Viacom, one of which being ''UPN''. In order to alleviate debt, while still having a foothold in the market, on January 24, 2006, CBS and Time Warner announced the closure of ''The WB'' and ''UPN'' and debut ''The CW'' as a joint venture.<ref>[https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/upn-wb-merge-cw-network-83687/ Article about the announcement of ''The CW''] Retrieved 4 Jan '21</ref> Most of the popular programs from ''UPN'' would be moved to ''The CW'', with the rest never to re-air. While shows that did not make it to ''The CW'' such as ''South Beach'' are available, other programs remain in various states from lost to mostly found.
+UPN short for United Paramount Network is a defunct American broadcasting television network that debuted on January 16th, 1995, and ceased broadcasting on September 15th, 2006. Aimed at the 18-35 year old demographic, UPN hosted many television shows ranging in format from dramas, sitcoms, live-action, comedies, and animation. Due to increasing competition and parent company Viacom suffering a great deal of debt, Viacom announced that the CBS brand would be spun-off.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/06/14/viacom.split/index.html Article on Viacom spinning off CBS.] Retrieved 04 Jan '21</ref> In turn, CBS would gain a number of assets from Viacom, one of which being ''UPN''. In order to alleviate debt, while still having a foothold in the market, on January 24th, 2006, CBS and Time Warner announced the closure of ''The WB'' and ''UPN'' and debut ''The CW'' as a joint venture.<ref>[https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/upn-wb-merge-cw-network-83687/ Article about the announcement of The CW.] Retrieved 04 Jan '21</ref> Most of the popular programs from UPN would be moved to The CW, '''with the rest never to re-air'''. While shows that did not make it to The CW such as ''South Beach'' are available, other programs remain in various states from lost to mostly found.
-==Lost shows==
+==Lost Shows==
 ===[[Dilbert (unaired live-action pilot; 1997)|''Dilbert'']]===
-An attempt at making a live-action adaption of the ''Dilbert'' comic strip was planned to air on ''UPN'' in 1997. A pilot had been produced and directed by Scott Adams with the pilot receiving massive amounts of attention. The pilot would not end up airing due to Scott Adams personally not liking how the show looked.<ref>[https://www.deseret.com/1999/1/24/19427891/creators-of-lazy-drone-dilbert-working-hard-on-new-tv-series-br-show-premieres-at-7-p-m-monday-on-ch Article on ''Dilbert'' TV series] Retrieved 4 Jan '21</ref>
+An attempt at making a live-action adaption of the ''Dilbert'' comic strip was planned to air on ''UPN'' in 1997. A pilot had been produced and directed by Scott Adams with the pilot receiving massive amounts of attention. The pilot would not end up airing due to Scott Adams personally not liking how the show looked.<ref>[https://www.deseret.com/1999/1/24/19427891/creators-of-lazy-drone-dilbert-working-hard-on-new-tv-series-br-show-premieres-at-7-p-m-monday-on-ch Article on ''Dilbert'' TV series.] Retrieved 04 Jan '21</ref>
-==Partially Found shows==
+==Partially Found Shows==
 ===[[The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series (partially found episodes of unaired film-based animated series; 1997)|''The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series'']]===
 A planned adaptation of the 1980 movie of the same name, the rights for ''The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series'' for the planned series was sold to ''UPN'' by Dan Aykroyd in 1997. This series never aired, but a few scripts for some episodes as well as storyboards for other episodes have been found.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==References==
-{{reflist|2}}
+{{reflist}}
 [[Category:Lost TV]]
 [[Category:Partially found media]]