Cybill
Encyclopedia
Cybill is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre
, which aired on CBS
from January 2, 1995 to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd
, the series revolves around Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her show business breakthrough. Alicia Witt
and Dedee Pfeiffer
co-starred as Sheridan's daughters, with Alan Rosenberg
and Tom Wopat
playing their fathers each, while Christine Baranski
appeared as Cybill's hard-drinking friend Maryanne.
The sitcom was produced by Carsey-Werner Productions
and YBYL Productions, with Shepherd, Lorre, Howard Gould
, Jay Daniel, Marcy Carsey
and Tom Werner
serving as the show's original executive producers. Broadcast to critical praise, Cybill was nominated for twelve Emmy Award
s 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 SAG and an American Comedy Award.
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 (Alicia Witt
) and uptight Rachel (Dedee Pfeiffer
), her two ex-husbands, Ira (Alan Rosenberg
) and Jeff (Tom Wopat
), and her hard-drinking best friend Maryann (Christine Baranski
).
released Cybill the Collectors Edition, Vol. 1, a 2-disc best of DVD.
has released the entire series on DVD in the UK.
Chuck Lorre
Chuck Lorre is a writer, director, producer and composer who has created many American sitcoms, including Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory...
, which aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from January 2, 1995 to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
, the series revolves around Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her show business breakthrough. Alicia Witt
Alicia Witt
Alicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
and Dedee Pfeiffer
Dedee Pfeiffer
Dedee Pfeiffer is an American film and television actress.Pfeiffer was born Dorothy D. Pfeiffer in Midway City, California, the daughter of Donna , a home-maker, and Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air-conditioning contractor...
co-starred as Sheridan's daughters, with Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg is an American actor of both stage and screen. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union.-Early life:...
and Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
playing their fathers each, while Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
appeared as Cybill's hard-drinking friend Maryanne.
The sitcom was produced by Carsey-Werner Productions
Carsey-Werner Productions
Carsey-Werner Productions is an independent production company founded in 1981 by former ABC writer/producer duo Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner...
and YBYL Productions, with Shepherd, Lorre, Howard Gould
Howard Gould
Howard Gould was a financier and the son of Jay Gould.- Birth and marriage :He was the son of Jay Gould and Helen Day Miller . He married Katherine Clemmons on October 12, 1898. She was an actress whose career had been heavily subsidized by William F. Cody...
, Jay Daniel, Marcy Carsey
Marcy Carsey
Marcy Carsey is American television producer. She is best known for her work with fellow producer Tom Werner forming the company Carsey-Werner Productions in 1981.-Life and career:...
and Tom Werner
Tom Werner
Thomas Charles "Tom" Werner is an American television producer and businessman who, via his investment in New England Sports Ventures, is chairman of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club....
serving as the show's original executive producers. Broadcast to critical praise, Cybill was nominated for twelve Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s 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 SAG and an American Comedy Award.
Premise
Cybill takes place in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and focuses on the character of a somewhat faded actress Cybill Sheridan (played by Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
) who, because of her age, had been relegated to playing character roles
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, bit parts and TV commercials. Also featured are her daughters, headstrong Zoey (Alicia Witt
Alicia Witt
Alicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
) and uptight Rachel (Dedee Pfeiffer
Dedee Pfeiffer
Dedee Pfeiffer is an American film and television actress.Pfeiffer was born Dorothy D. Pfeiffer in Midway City, California, the daughter of Donna , a home-maker, and Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air-conditioning contractor...
), her two ex-husbands, Ira (Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg is an American actor of both stage and screen. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union.-Early life:...
) and Jeff (Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
), and her hard-drinking best friend Maryann (Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
).
Main cast
- Cybill ShepherdCybill ShepherdCybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
as Cybill Sheridan – Cybill is a middle-ageing actress who has a had a varied and relatively successful career. She now finds that, due to her age, roles are becoming harder to find and that the roles she is offered are changing. Her fortunes seem to vary over the course of the series, sometimes she has consistent work and appears to be relatively wealthy, and at other times she struggles to find and keep jobs, and struggles financially as well. She is a rather eccentric feminist and aging hippy, as well as a native southerner. Her loud, public and honest rantings about female sexuality, her perkiness, bouts of outrage and hysteria, and her exhibitions of southern charm often embarrass her two daughters, Zoey and Rachel. Cybill has a civil relationship with her ex-husbands Jeff and Ira, even tolerating their frequent clinginess. 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 Maryanne Thorpe, whom she supports emotionally and assists in her bitter war with her ex-husband. Cybill's own rival Andrea, has also often been the target of Cybill's own immature pranks and their enmity has resulted in personal humiliations, professional loss and injury on both sides. Cybill has a caustic sense of humour and an acid tongue. Although eccentric and flawed, Cybill's strength and wisdom shines through in her support of her family and friends.
- Christine BaranskiChristine BaranskiChristine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
as Maryanne Thorpe – Cybill's best friend, she is a former nurse now fabulously wealthy due to her divorce settlement with her unfaithful ex-husband, celebrity plastic surgeon Richard Thorpe. Maryanne is a bored, bitter alcoholic who often seems unstable and emotionally dependent on Cybill. When she is not stalking her ex-husband and playing elaborate and destructive pranks on him, she spends lavishly, drinks and pursues younger men. She has a few healthy relationships with men of her own age over the course of the series, including Cybill's ex-husband Ira, but these do not last. She has a son who spends time with her occasionally but seems to be at odds with her extravagant lifestyle. Her most consistent and healthy relationship is with Cybill. They seem to be endlessly sharing martinis in an upmarket Hollywood restaurant and are accomplices in each others' bad behaviour. Maryanne seems to spend most of her time at Cybill's house and involving herself in Cybill's family life to alleviate her own boredom. Her caustic tongue that vies with Cybill, but her remarks are more inappropriate, bitter and cynical. She is, however, a constant support for Cybill at crucial moments.
- Alicia WittAlicia WittAlicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
as Zoey Woodbine – Cybill's younger daughter.
- Dedee PfeifferDedee PfeifferDedee Pfeiffer is an American film and television actress.Pfeiffer was born Dorothy D. Pfeiffer in Midway City, California, the daughter of Donna , a home-maker, and Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air-conditioning contractor...
as Rachel Blanders – Cybill's elder daughter.
- Alan RosenbergAlan RosenbergAlan Rosenberg is an American actor of both stage and screen. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture industry on-screen performers' union.-Early life:...
as Ira Woodbine – Cybill's second husband.
- Tom WopatTom WopatTom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
as Jeff Robbins – Cybill's first husband.
Awards
Cybill was nominated for twelve Emmy Awards throughout its entire run, winning three. Nominated for her performance in each season, Baranski is the only main cast members to win an Emmy. Baranski also received an American Comedy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Viewers for Quality Television Awardf or her portrayal, while Shepherd was awarded the 1996 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. The same year, the sitcom also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, its only win for both the crew and the cast.Ratings
The series got respectable ratings throughout its run, but was abruptly canceled by CBS at the end of the 1997-98 season, amid allegations by Shepherd that the network was uncomfortable with Cybills feminist leanings and frank depiction of female sexuality.Average seasonal ratings
| Season | Premiere | Finale | TV Season | Season rank |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 2, 1995 | May 15, 1995 | 1994-1995 1994-95 United States network television schedule This was the broadcast television schedule on all four United States commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1994. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.... |
#22 | 12.8 |
| 2 | September 17, 1995 | May 20, 1996 | 1995-1996 1995-96 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the Fall season beginning in September 1995. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New series highlighted in bold.... |
#50 | 10.0 |
| 3 | September 16, 1996 | May 19, 1997 | 1996-1997 1996-97 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1996. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New series highlighted in bold.... |
#32 | 10.5 |
| 4 | September 15, 1997 | July 13, 1998 | 1997-1998 | #50 | 8.3 |
Season 1
| # | Episode title | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Episode title | |||
| # | Episode title | |||
| # | Episode title | |||
| Year | Award Show | Category | Result | Recipient(s) |
| 1995 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Series | Crew | |
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Series | Crew | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Cybill Shepherd | |||
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | |||
| 1996 | American Comedy Award | Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series | Christine Baranski | |
| Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Series | Crew | ||
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series | Crew | |||
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special | Crew | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Cybill Shepherd | |||
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | |||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best TV-Series - Comedy/Musical | Cast and Crew | ||
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical | Cybill Shepherd | |||
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series | Christine Baranski | |||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"... |
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Cast | ||
| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | |||
| Viewers for Quality Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | ||
| 1997 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Cybill Shepherd | |
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | |||
| GLAAD Awards | Outstanding TV - Individual Episode | Cast and Crew | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical | Cybill Shepherd | ||
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series | Christine Baranski | |||
| Satellite Awards Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama... |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy | Cybill Shepherd | ||
| Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy | Cast and Crew | |||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"... |
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | ||
| 1998 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Christine Baranski | |
Syndication
- In the UK, Cybill is aired on Comedy Central (UK)Comedy Central (UK)Comedy Central in the United Kingdom and Ireland is a localised version of Comedy Central which first began in the United States in the 1990s. The television channel is available through the Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV in the United Kingdom, Sky Ireland, UPC Ireland and Magnet Networks in the...
. - In the United States, Cybill began airing on Lifetime Network in May, 2009.
Region 1
On September 16, 2008, First Look StudiosFirst Look Studios
First Look Studios was an independent American film studio that specialized in home video releases of films and TV series. It purchased the Blockbuster subsidiary, DEJ Productions, in 2005...
released Cybill the Collectors Edition, Vol. 1, a 2-disc best of DVD.
Region 2
Anchor Bay EntertainmentAnchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
has released the entire series on DVD in the UK.
| DVD Name | Ep# | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Series | 13 | 24 April 2006 |
| The Complete Second Series | 24 | 2 July 2007 |
| The Complete Third Series | 26 | 5 May 2008 |
| The Complete Fourth Series | 24 | 4 August 2008 |
| The Complete Box Set | 87 | 29 September 2008 |