7th Heaven (TV series)
| 7th Heaven | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre |
Family drama Serial drama |
| Created by | Brenda Hampton |
| Starring |
Stephen Collins Catherine Hicks Barry Watson Jessica Biel Beverley Mitchell David Gallagher Mackenzie Rosman Nikolas Brino Lorenzo Brino George Stults Tyler Hoechlin Adam LaVorgna Rachel Blanchard Chaz Lamar Shepherd Ashlee Simpson Jeremy London Haylie Duff Sarah Thompson |
| Theme music composer | Dan Foliart |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 243 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Brenda Hampton Aaron Spelling E. Duke Vincent (both; seasons 1–10) Chris Olsen Jeff Olsen (both; season 11) |
| Camera setup | Film; Single-camera |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Spelling Television CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–07) (season 11) |
| Distributor |
Worldvision Enterprises (1996–1999, International) Paramount Domestic Television (2000–2002) CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006–07) CBS Television Distribution (2007–08) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
The WB (1996–2006) The CW (2006–07) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | August 26, 1996 – May 13, 2007 |
7th Heaven is an American television drama series created and produced by Brenda Hampton that centers on the Camden family and their lives in the fictional town of Glenoak, California. The series debuted on The WB on August 26, 1996, where it aired for ten seasons before its move to The CW on September 25, 2006. It concluded on that network after eleven seasons on May 13, 2007.
The series tells the story of the Reverend Eric Camden, a Protestant minister living in the fictional town of Glenoak, California. The other eight central characters are Eric's wife Annie and their seven children. Except for Lucy, the children are all named after key biblical figures. Originally, there are five children (making it a family of seven). The twins are born in season three, in the episode "In Praise of Women". Four of the children, Matt, Mary, Lucy, and Simon, at different times, move away from home during the show's run. Simon goes to college, Mary goes to live with her grandparents and Matt marries and pursues his career as a doctor, far away from the family. Despite these three being absent from the Camden home, the house is always full. When Lucy marries, they moved into the garage apartment. Their daughter is born while they are there. Later, they move into a home next door. Ruthie leaves for a short while in the final season to go to Scotland. The Camdens offer shelter to various house guests at different points in the show.
For complete list, see List of 7th Heaven characters
Although originally produced for Fox in 1996, the show aired on the WB. It was produced by Spelling Television and distributed for syndication by CBS Television Distribution. Its producers, including Aaron Spelling, considered it wholesome family viewing, incorporating public service announcements into the show. The final season of 7th Heaven was shown on the inaugural season of The CW. The show wrapped production on the final episode March 8, 2007 about one month before most shows film their last episodes of the season. This was due largely to the fact that after ten years of working together, the actors, producers and crew had gotten production down to a steady pace, slashing costs repeatedly and routinely coming in well under budget. This resulted in 7th Heaven filming episodes in shorter time during the final seasons.
After much deliberation within the now-defunct WB network, it was made public in November 2005 that the tenth season would be the program's final season because of high costs, which were revealed to be due to a poorly negotiated licensing agreement by the WB network a few years earlier. The program's future was hanging in the balance and it was entirely in the hands of the newly established CW network whether to renew it for an eleventh seasonal run. In March 2006, the main cast of characters were approached about the possibility of returning for an eleventh season. After further consideration by the CW network, it was decided three days after the airing of its "series finale", that 7th Heaven would be picked up for an eleventh season, which would air on their network in the Monday-night slot that had helped make it famous. Originally the show was renewed for thirteen episodes, but on September 18, 2006, the renewal was extended to a full twenty-two episodes. Along with the show's unexpected and last-minute renewal came some changes. The show's already-low budget was moderately trimmed, forcing cuts in the salaries of some cast members and shortened taping schedules (seven days per episode instead of the typical eight). David Gallagher, who played Simon, chose not to return as a regular. Furthermore, Mackenzie Rosman, who played youngest daughter Ruthie, did not appear in the first six episodes. Catherine Hicks missed three episodes in Season 11, as another cost-cutting move. Additionally, George Stults was absent for a few episodes at the beginning of season 11. Also, after airing Monday nights at 8/7c for ten seasons, plus the first two episodes of season 11, the CW unexpectedly moved 7th Heaven to Sunday nights as of October 15, 2006. The Sunday/Monday lineup swap was attributed to mediocre ratings of shows on both nights. While 7th Heaven did improve in numbers over the CW's previous Sunday night programming, it never quite hit its Monday-night momentum again.
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