The NewsRadio Story - Chapter 2: The Short First Season (1995)

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Chapter 2: The Short First Season (1995)

A few months had passed since the cast and crew shot the pilot episode. The NBC sitcom was scheduled to begin airing on Tuesday March 21st at 8:30pm. The cast was in place… for the most part. The roles of Rick and Catherine had to be recast. The talented Khandi Alexander got the part of Catherine Duke. Rick, however, was a different story. The character’s name was changed to Ted and Joe Rogan, fresh off the short-lived sitcom Hard Ball was cast. He didn’t like the name “Ted” and asked Paul Simms if he could change it to “Joe.” Simms okayed it and they were ready to shoot the next episode.

Besides Paul Simms, the writing staff consisted of Joe Furey, Brad Isaacs and Josh Lieb. Their writing style became legendary among other Hollywood writers as they would start work at 11pm and write throughout the night. Even though a writer or two would get the credit during certain episodes, it was generally a collaborative process, where all four writers wrote for all the episodes.

James Burrows signed on to direct the first few shows of the debut season. The cast and crew loved working with him and he assured them that by the time he goes, he would leave them “director-proof.”

Episodes were shot out of order as the first episode made after the pilot was called “The Crisis.” In it, Dave and Lisa are already a couple who keep their relationship a secret from the staff (except Beth). Yet the episode they shot after that was the one where Dave and Lisa first get together. The idea of getting Dave and Lisa together in episode two went against what both the network and James Burrows wanted. They wanted a will they/won’t they relationship that could last a few seasons and be good for promoting the show. That wasn’t what NewsRadio was about, however.

A classic episode for the series was born in its first season. “Smoking” saw WNYX become a non-smoking office. Bill - a heavy smoker - simply couldn’t stop. In order to help him out, Dave - a heavy coffee drinker - agreed to give up caffeine if the anchorman would give up nicotine. They agreed and were miserable together for the entire episode. By the end, they both decided to continue with their vices. No moral was preached. No lesson was learned. It was just a funny half-hour of television.

Besides working on NewsRadio, Andy Dick was also starring on FOX’s updated version of the ‘60s sitcom Get Smart where he played Maxwell Smart’s son, Zach. That show aired from January 15th to February 19th, 1995 with a total of seven episodes. At a press conference, Andy mentioned that NewsRadio was the far superior show, which angered people at FOX. It didn’t much matter though because that show was cancelled before NewsRadio went on the air in March.

After James Burrows left, Alan Myerson, Peter Baldwin and Peter Bonerz each took the helm for one of the final three episodes that season. As the cast and crew were working on the seventh episode - their final for the season - NBC aired the first episode. It was the lead-out of Wings and the lead-in to Frasier. NewsRadio won its timeslot and came in 26th place for the week. Critics loved the show and the ratings remained good. NBC had a potential hit on their hands so they renewed the show for a second season of twenty-two episodes.