Cybill <!-- Do not change -->is<!-- to "was" as that is incorrect per WP:TVLEAD. Fiction continues to exist even after creation of new episodes stops.--> an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired for four seasons and 87 episodes on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s who has never gotten her big break in show business. Alicia Witt and Dedee Pfeiffer co-starred as Sheridan's daughters, with Alan Rosenberg and Tom Wopat playing their respective fathers, while Christine Baranski appeared as Cybill's hard-drinking friend Maryann.
The sitcom was produced by Chuck Lorre Productions and YBYL Productions in association with Carsey-Werner Productions, with Shepherd, Lorre, Howard M. Gould, Jay Daniel, Caryn Mandabach, Marcy Carsey, and Tom Werner serving as the show's original executive producers. Broadcast to critical praise, Cybill was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards throughout its run and awarded the 1996 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Shepherd won a third Golden Globe Award for her performance, while Baranski received an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an American Comedy Award. Cybill has been in syndication on the comedy-centric digital subchannel Laff since April 2016, along with other Carsey-Werner Productions series shown on the network.
Plot
Cybill takes place in Los Angeles and focuses on the character of a somewhat faded actress, Cybill Sheridan (played by Cybill Shepherd), who, because of her age, had been relegated to playing character roles, bit parts, and TV commercials. Also featured are her daughters: headstrong Zoey (Witt) and uptight Rachel (Pfeiffer), two ex-husbands: Ira (Rosenberg) and Jeff (Wopat), and her hard-drinking best friend Maryann (Baranski).
Due to the show's premise, many episodes featured a show-within-a-show format, usually in the cold opens, showing Cybill Sheridan playing a variety of other characters in her various film and TV acting roles.
In her autobiography, Cybill Disobedience, Shepherd stated that the Cybill character was based on herself—or at least what her life as an actress could have been without the successes of The Last Picture Show and Moonlighting. Many of the show's details and situations were mined from her own family, marriages, and experiences.
Cast and characters
Regular and semi-regular
- Cybill Shepherd as Cybill Sheridan – Cybill is a middle aged actress who has had a varied, though mediocre career (which, even in her salad days, seems to have consisted primarily of television commercials, soap operas, and B-movies). She now finds that, due to her age, roles are becoming harder to find and that the quality of roles she is offered is diminishing. Her fortunes seem to vary over the course of the series. Sometimes, she has consistent work and appears to be relatively wealthy, other times, she scrambles to find and keep jobs, and seems to be struggling financially; this inconsistency could be attributed to the nature of her career, as even the most successful actors tend to have their professional ups and downs, both financially and creatively. Cybill is a rather eccentric feminist who practices New Age philosophy, as well as a native Southerner from Memphis, Tennessee. Her loud, public, and honest rantings about female sexuality, her perkiness, bouts of outrage, and hysteria, and her exhibitions of "down-home" Southern behavior often embarrass her two daughters, Zoey and Rachel. Cybill has a civil relationship with her ex-husbands Jeff and Ira, even tolerating their tendency to cling to her. She does sometimes spar, however, with Jeff over his past infidelities, and is quick to remind Ira of how controlling he was when they were married. Cybill's best friend is the wealthy, alcoholic divorcee Maryann Thorpe, whom she supports emotionally and assists in her bitter war with her ex-husband. Cybill has a caustic sense of humor and an acid tongue. Although eccentric and flawed, Cybill's strength and wisdom shines through in her support of her family and friends. (87 episodes)
- Christine Baranski as Maryann Thorpe
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Cancellation
The series got respectable (though never spectacular) ratings throughout most of its run, but was abruptly canceled by CBS at the end of the 1997–98 season after a noticeable ratings decline. The show was actually pulled from the CBS schedule after the April 8, 1998, episode had aired; the remaining new episodes that had already been produced were aired over the summer. Shepherd later alleged that the cancellation occurred because the network was uncomfortable with Cybills feminist leanings and frank depiction of female sexuality.
The cancellation was not expected by the show's staff, as the series ends with a cliffhanger and the words "To Be Continued..." on the screen. At the time of its cancellation, the show's ratings were higher than Nash Bridges (1996–2001) and Chicago Hope (1994–2000); those shows continued to air on CBS. In 2018, Shepherd claimed that Les Moonves hit on her during a dinner date, but she refused him. As a result, she said, he soon interfered with the series' concepts, and ultimately canceled the show.
Awards and nominations
Cybill was nominated for twelve Emmy Awards throughout its entire run, winning three. Nominated for her performance in each season, Baranski was the only cast member to win an Emmy. Baranski also received an American Comedy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Viewers for Quality Television Award for her portrayal, while Shepherd was awarded the 1996 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy.
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| GLAAD Media Awards
| 1997
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | Outstanding TV - Individual Episode
| "Cybill and Maryann Go to Japan"
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| rowspan="5"| Golden Globe Awards
| rowspan="3"| 1996
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
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| rowspan="3"|
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
| Cybill Shepherd
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
| Christine Baranski
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| rowspan="2"| 1997
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
| Cybill Shepherd
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| rowspan="2"|
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Actress in a Comedy Series
| Cybill Shepherd
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| Christine Baranski
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| rowspan="2"| 1998
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Actress in a Comedy Series
| Cybill Shepherd
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| rowspan="2"|
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| Christine Baranski
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| rowspan="12"| Primetime Emmy Awards
| rowspan="4"| 1995
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| Cybill Shepherd
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| Christine Baranski
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Series
| Garvin Eddy and Rochelle Moser
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Series
| Robert Turturice
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| rowspan="5"| 1996
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| Cybill Shepherd
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| Christine Baranski
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|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Series
| Garvin Eddy and Rochelle Moser
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Costume Design for a Series
| Marion Kirk, Daniel Grant North and Leslie Simmons Potts
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Series Or A Special
| Jerry Clemans, Edward L. Moskowitz and Craig Porter
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| rowspan="2"| 1997
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| Cybill Shepherd
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2"| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| rowspan="2"| Christine Baranski
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|-
| 1998
|
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| rowspan="2"| Satellite Awards
| rowspan="2"| 1997
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
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|
| rowspan="2"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
| Cybill Shepherd
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| rowspan="3"| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| rowspan="2"| 1996
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
| Christine Baranski
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| rowspan="2"|
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
| Christine Baranski, Dedee Pfeiffer, Alan Rosenberg, Cybill Shepherd, Alicia Witt and Tom Wopat
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|-
| 1997
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Serie
| Christine Baranski
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| rowspan="3"| Viewers for Quality Television Awards
| rowspan="2"| 1996
! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series
| Cybill Shepherd
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| rowspan="2"|
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! scope="row" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2"| Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series
| rowspan="2"| Christine Baranski
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| 1997
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Home media
Region 1
On September 16, 2008, First Look Studios released Cybill: The Collector's Edition, Vol. 1, a 2-disc best of DVD.
Region 2
Anchor Bay Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in the UK.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! scope="col" | DVD Name
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Release Date
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| The Complete First Series
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 24 April 2006
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| The Complete Second Series
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
| 2 July 2007
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| The Complete Third Series
| style="text-align:center;" | 26
| 5 May 2008
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| The Complete Fourth Series
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
| 4 August 2008
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| The Complete Box Set
| style="text-align:center;" | 87
| 29 September 2008
|}
References
External links
- Cybill @ Carsey-Werner
- Carsey-Werner - Cybill