Mister Sterling
Mister Sterling is an American serial drama television series created by Lawrence O'Donnell that ran from January 10 to March 14, 2003. It starred Josh Brolin as an idealistic United States Senator, and featured Audra McDonald, William Russ, David Noroña, and James Whitmore as members of his staff. Despite mostly positive reviews, the show, which aired on NBC on Friday nights, was cancelled after 10 episodes after the show only ranked 58th in the yearly ratings (9.83 million viewers, 6.7/12 rating/share)
| Mister Sterling | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Serial drama |
| Created by | Lawrence O'Donnell |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Original release | January 10 – March 14, 2003 |
Although it had numerous similarities to The West Wing in style and tone (especially the show's idealistic attitude towards politics) and the unnamed president in the series is stated to be a Democrat, it was not set in the same universe as O'Donnell's other political show. It is unknown if a cross-over would have ever occurred had Mister Sterling not been cancelled; however Steven Culp played presidential aspirant Sen. Ron Garland on Mister Sterling and House Speaker Jeff Haffley on The West Wing, and Democrats appeared to be in the majority in the US Senate on Mr Sterling, while in The West Wing consistent Republican control of both Houses of Congress was a key plot point.
James Whitmore was nominated for a 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing former Governor Bill Sterling, the senator's father.
The series was produced by Bernadette Joyce, co-producer; Garry A. Brown, co-producer; Michael Dinner, co-executive producer; Sandy Frank, co-producer; Jim Hart, co-executive producer; Jeff Melvoin, co-executive producer; Andrea Newman, producer; Lawrence O'Donnell, executive producer; Chip Vucelich, co-producer; William Bradley, consulting producer.
Cast
- Josh Brolin as Bill Sterling
- Audra McDonald as Jackie Brock
- William Russ as Tommy Doyle
- David Norona as Leon Montero
- James Whitmore as Bill Sterling, Sr. (recurring role)
Characters
Senator Sterling's office
- Senator Bill Sterling (I-California)
- Chief of Staff Jackie Brock
- Legislative Director Tommy Doyle
- Legislative Assistant Leon Montero
- Secretary Pat Conway (Dale Raoul)
- Deputy Press Secretary Derek Larner (Dean Cameron)
Senators
- Senator Albert Bailey (D-CA)
- Sterling was appointed to his seat after Bailey died of a heart attack.
- Senator Burt Gammel (R-Louisiana)
- Senate Minority Leader
- Senate Majority Leader (D-New Mexico)
- Senator Dan Wilson (D-Illinois)
- Senator Jack "Thunder Hawk" Jackson (R-Arizona)
- Senator Kate Robertson (Nevada)
- Elected in 1998.
- Senator Millman
- Senator Ron Garland (R-Ohio)
- Running for the Presidency.
- Senator Bowles
- Senator Dave Crandall (D-Delaware)
- Senator Roger Morris (D)
- Senator Andersen
- Senator Buckley
- Senator Burke
- Senator Carver
- Senator Gilmartin
- Senator Lane
- Senator Eaton
- Senator Porter
- Senator Preston
- Senator Raymond
- Senator Smith
- Senator Stanton
- Senator Stewart
- Senator Taylor
- Senator Trimble
- Senator Troy
- Senator Grayson
Governors
- Governor Carl Marino (D-CA)
- Former Governor William Sterling (D-CA)
Lobbyist
- Barry Reed
Democratic leadership
- Arthur Peyton, Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, former Chief of Staff to Senator Bailey (D-CA)
Senate contenders
This is a list of candidates who are running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Bill Sterling:
Democrat
- Anthony Marino, son of the Governor (D-CA)
- Chuck Stanley, millionaire (D-CA)
- G.M. Clooney, coffee maker (D-CA)
Republican
- Sarah Burwell (R-CA)
- Congressman Bob "The Bomber" Brennan (R-CA)
Other
- Lauren Barnes, Actress
- Laura Chandler, Reporter (Chandra West)
- Rebecca Everton, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Tucker Gates | Lawrence O'Donnell | January 10, 2003 | |
| 2 | "Next Question" | Michael Dinner | Lawrence O'Donnell | January 17, 2003 | |
| 3 | "Game Time" | Randall Zisk | Lawrence O'Donnell | January 24, 2003 | |
| 4 | "Technical Corrections" | Rick Rosenthal | Lawrence O'Donnell | January 31, 2003 | |
| 5 | "Human Error" | James Whitmore Jr. | Sandy Frank & Paul Haggis | February 7, 2003 | |
| 6 | "Nothing Personal" | Rick Wallace | Alfonse Ruggiero, Jr. & Lawrence O'Donnell | February 21, 2003 | |
| 7 | "The Statewide Swing" | Rick Rosenthal | Andrea Newman | February 28, 2003 | |
| 8 | "Wish List" | Elodie Keene | Willie Reale & Lawrence O'Donnell | March 7, 2003 | |
| 9 | "Final Passage" | Paul Michael Glaser | Paul Haggis & Lawrence O'Donnell | March 14, 2003 | |
| 10 | "Sins of the Father" | Jessica Yu | Story by : Lawrence O'Donnell & Paul Haggis Teleplay by : Paul Haggis | UNAIRED | |
| A reporter from the New York Times reveals a history of bribe-taking by Governor Sterling Sr., leaving the Senator and his staff to deal with the repercussions. | |||||
References
- "Testing Our Mettle", review by Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, January 31, 2003
- "Mister Sterling", reviewed by Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly, January 17, 2003
- "Sterling silver" by Heather Havrilesky, Salon.com Magazine, February 27, 2003