Working (TV series)
| Working | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Michael Davidoff Bill Rosenthal |
| Directed by |
Robert Berlinger Linda Day David Owen Trainor Fred Savage Andrew Tsao James Widdoes Steve Zuckerman |
| Starring |
Fred Savage Arden Myrin |
| Opening theme | "Working in the Coal Mine" performed by Devo |
| Composer(s) | Craig Jerris Mark Mothersbaugh |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (4 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Michael Davidoff Bill Rosenthal |
| Producer(s) | Sy Rosen Noah Taft Andrew Tsao Werner Walian Mark Wilding |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Davidoff/Rosenthal Productions NBC Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 8, 1997 – January 25, 1999 |
Working is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1997 to 1999. The series was created and executive produced by Michael Davidoff and Bill Rosenthal.
Working took a satirical (and sometimes over-the-top) look at office life within a big corporate company. The show starred Fred Savage as the naive Matt Peyser who just graduated from college and ready to climb the corporate ladder, whose ideals are constantly challenged by his boss, Tim Deale, played by Maurice Godin. Other characters included dim-witted Jimmy (Dana Gould), under-appreciated secretary Hal (Sarah Knowlton), overly perky Abby Cosgrove (Arden Myrin), acerbic Delaney (Steve Hytner), and no-nonsense manager Evelyn (Yvette Freeman), that Matt makes friends and work with.
Due to faltering ratings, the network attempted to breathe new life into the show during the second season with some cast changes. This included writing out the characters of Jimmy and Hal. They were replaced by Debi Mazar as the ruthless Liz and Rebecca McFarland as Val (As an in-joke, when Matt first sees Liz and Val he mistakenly calls them Jimmy and Hal). During the series run, Danica McKellar, formerly Savage's costar in The Wonder Years, made two guest-appearances playing a woman Savage's character meets in a bar, and of whom he says "she reminds me of a girl I grew up with!"
Ratings for the series didn't improve, however, and NBC canceled Working in January 1999. 35 of the 39 episodes produced were aired. Working was later reaired on the USA Network, including the never-before-seen episodes.
The show used a cover of the song "Working in the Coal Mine" performed by Devo, set over top of scenes of work, including marching workers from the film Metropolis, frantic work scenes from Terry Gilliam's Brazil and office scenes from Billy Wilder's The Apartment. The vocals of the theme song were removed for the USA Network broadcasts.
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