Veronica's Closet is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000.
Kirstie Alley starred as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, the owner and head of the titular fictional lingerie company in New York City, which was derived from the real-life lingerie company, Victoria's Secret. Kathy Najimy, Dan Cortese, Wallace Langham, Darryl Mitchell, Robert Prosky (season 1), Ron Silver (season 2), and Lorri Bagley (season 3) co-starred.
The show was a top 10 success during its first two seasons (ranking No. 3 in its first year and No. 5 in its second), airing between Seinfeld and ER within the 'Must See TV' lineup. Ratings dropped when NBC moved it to a new timeslot, resulting in the show being cancelled after three seasons on the air. During its run, it aired a total of 66 episodes (22 per season).
The series marked Kirstie Alley's returned to NBC for the first time since Cheers in 1993.
Overview
Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, played by Alley, has made a living being known as the "Queen of Romance". She is the owner of Veronica's Closet, a company that sells lingerie and other bedroom accessories. Her husband Bryce (Christopher McDonald), regularly cheats on her, though she always takes him back because of the image she has created. However, after another tryst, Veronica decides to leave him and begins her life as a single woman.
She is championed by her best friend and Chief Financial Officer Olive Massery (Kathy Najimy), and her father Pat Chase (Robert Prosky), who is also her chauffeur. She works with Perry Rollins (Dan Cortese), a former thong model who is her publicist; her assistant Josh Blair (Wallace Langham); and Leo Michaels (Darryl Mitchell). Later in the first season, she gets a silent partner in Millicent (Holland Taylor), but when Millicent dies, the company is taken over by her incompetent son.
During the second season, Millicent's ex-husband Alec Bilson (Ron Silver) takes the company from his former stepson and helps the company regain some financial ground. However, he and Ronnie get close romantically as the season progresses. He dies between seasons two and three and is revealed to have married someone else. His widow, June Bilson (Lorri Bagley), is a stereotypical dumb blonde who has some secret intelligence. She remodels the entire office and refuses to give up her share of the company until Olive buys her out in the series finale.
Cast
Main
- Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase
- Dan Cortese as Laird "Perry" Rollins, former underwear model and publicist
- Wallace Langham as Josh Nicolé Blair, Veronica's assistant, whose sexual identity is unclear
- Daryl Mitchell as Leo Michaels, Veronica's harried marketing manager
- Kathy Najimy as Olive Massery
- Robert Prosky as Pat Chase (season 1)
- Ron Silver as Alec Bilson, Veronica's business partner and rival (season 2)
- Lorri Bagley as June Bilson Anderson, Alec's wife and Veronica's partner (season 3)
Recurring
- Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe (15 episodes)
- Cynthia Mann as Virginia/Receptionist (15 episodes)
- Christopher McDonald as Bryce Anderson (9 episodes), Ronnie's ex-husband
- Ever Carradine as Pepper (8 episodes)
- Tamala Jones as Tina (8 episodes)
- Alan F. Smith as Brian (7 episodes)
- David Starzyk as Pete (5 episodes)
- Lupe Ontiveros as Louisa (4 episodes)
- James Wilder as Hunter (3 episodes)
- Erica Shaffer as Waitress/Assistant (3 episodes)
- Mark Harelik as Paul Byrne (3 episodes)
- John Schneider as Tom (3 episodes)
- John Mariano as Chris (3 episodes)
- Holland Taylor as Millicent (2 episodes)
- Scott Baio as Kevin (2 episodes)
Guest stars
- Eric McCormack as Griffin
- Ted Danson as Nick Vanover
- Michael Jeter as Edwin Murloff
- Conan O'Brien as Himself
- Jay Leno as Himself
- Portia de Rossi as Carolyn
- Leeza Gibbons as Herself
- Ingo Rademacher as Reg
- Zooey Deschanel as Elena
- Tia Carrere as Kim
- Tom Arnold as Chris
- John Ritter as Tim
- RuPaul as Brett
- Anna Nicole Smith as Donna
Production history, reception, and ratings
The show was taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, on soundstage 25.
The role of Bryce was originally played by Jamey Sheridan in an unaired pilot before the role was recast with Christopher McDonald. The producers had wanted McDonald to play Bryce but he could not accept the role at first because when they were filming the pilot, he was shooting Into Thin Air. The original pilot was then reshot when McDonald became available.
The series premiered on September 25, 1997, after Seinfeld, to 35 million viewers. Variety gave it a mixed review but said it had potential. Its title was derived from the real-life lingerie company, Victoria's Secret. They complained about it. Hammocked between Seinfeld and ER within the 'Must See TV' lineup, the show was a huge success, although the initial ratings died down a bit later in the first season. The New York Times said it "has the highest Nielsen ratings of any new show this season and critics are lining up to proclaim her show 'must-she TV'."
|ShortSummary= Ronnie must decide whether to leave her husband or stay with him "for the sake of the business."
|LineColor=FFEF00
Season 2 (1998–99)
Season 3 (1999–2000)
Broadcast and ratings history
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Season
! TV season
! Timeslot (ET)
! Season premiere
! Season finale
! Rank
! Viewers<br/>(in millions)
|-
! 1
| 1997–1998
| rowspan="2" | Thursdays @ 9:30/8:30 Central (NBC's Must See TV Thursdays)
| September 25, 1997
| May 9, 1998
| style="text-align:center" | #3
| style="text-align:center" |24.4
| style="text-align:center" |19.3
| style="text-align:center" |7.97
|-
|Emmy Awards (Primetime)
|Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
|Kirstie Alley
|
|
|-
|Golden Globes
|Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Comedy or Musical
|Kirstie Alley
|
|
|-
|Kids' Choice Awards
|Favorite Television Actress
|Kirstie Alley
|
|
|-
| rowspan="7" |Online Film & Television Association
|Best New Comedy Series
|Veronica's Closet
|
| rowspan="7" |
|-
|Best Supporting Actress in a Series
|Kathy Najimy
|
|-
|Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
|Kathy Najimy
|
|-
|Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
|Wallace Langham
|
|-
|Best Episode of a Comedy Series <small>(for episode "Veronica's First Thanksgiving")</small>
|Lee Shallat Chemel <small>(directed by)</small><br/>Doty Abrams <small>(written by)</small>
|
|-
|Best New Title Sequence in a Series
|Gavin MacKillop
|
|-
|Best New Theme Song in a Series
|Giorgio Bertuccelli<br/>Michael Skloff
|
|-
|People's Choice Awards
|Favorite New Television Comedy Series <small>(tied with Dharma & Greg)</small>
|Veronica's Closet
|
|
|-
|Screen Actors Guild Awards
|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
|Kirstie Alley
|
|
|}