Playmakers

Playmakers is an American drama television series created by John Eisendrath that aired on ESPN from August 26 to November 11, 2003. It depicts the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team playing in an unidentified city. The show stars Tony Denison, Omar Gooding, Russell Hornsby, Jason Matthew Smith, Marcello Thedford, and Christopher Wiehl. The show, which ran eleven episodes, was the first original drama series created by ESPN. Although the ratings were very high for ESPN—Playmakers was the highest-rated show on the network other than its Sunday night NFL and Saturday college football games—ESPN eventually canceled the series under pressure from the National Football League, who disliked the portrayal of the negative aspects of its players' lives off the field.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Style

The show follows the lives of various members of an ensemble cast who portray the players and personnel on a fictional American football team, the Cougars, in a fictional league (referred to in the series as "The League"<ref>Movie/TV helmets Template:Webarchive</ref>) during the regular season.

Many of these segments are prefaced by an internal monologue in the format of a character narrating in his head.

Cast and characters

Main

• Tony Denison as Coach Mike George - The head coach in his ninth season with the team.
• Omar Gooding as Demetrius Harris, #39 - A rookie running back from Colorado.
• Russell Hornsby as Leon Taylor, #33 - A ninth year running back from USC.
• Jason Matthew Smith as Eric Olczyk, #54 - A fifth year middle linebacker from Penn State.
• Marcello Thedford as Kelvin "The Buffalo" James, #60 - A fourth year offensive tackle from Oklahoma State.
• Christopher Wiehl as Derek McConnell, #11 - A fourth year quarterback from Louisville.

Recurring

• Stephen Bogaert - Phil Chambers, Team Equipment Manager
• Bruce Gray - Gene Wilbanks, the team's owner
• Phillip Jarrett - Coach Rudman, Defensive Coordinator and close friend of Coach George
• Karen LeBlanc - Robin Taylor, Leon's wife
• Thea Andrews - Samantha Lovett, reporter who presumably shows a love interest for Leon Taylor.
• Dan Petronijevic - Thad Guerwicz, a wide receiver who is a closeted gay man
• Kevin Jubinville - Dr. Gatewood, The team Physician
• Sasha Roiz - Stephen Lyles, Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator
• Gabriel Hogan - Guard Dog Fredericks
• Tacquira LaTouche - Herself
• Frank Chiesurin - David, Guerwictz's boyfriend
• Laura Jordan - August, Guerwictz's girlfriend and later fiancé to publicly cover up his homosexuality
• K. C. Collins - Ron Martin, a rookie Wide Receiver for the Cougars.

Roster

Cougars
Quarterbacks Template:Player Madziak Template:Player Derek McConnell Template:Player Phillips Running backs Template:Player Bradford FB Template:Player Demetrius Harris Template:Player Beiderman FB Template:Player Leon Taylor Template:Player Thaysen FB Wide receivers Template:Player Connon Template:Player Davies Template:Player Thad Guerwitcz Template:Player Lawrence Template:Player Martin Template:Player Pearson Tight ends Template:Player Belling Template:Player Ireson Template:Player Valentine		Offensive linemen Template:Player Curtis RG Template:Player Earle LT Template:Player Federov RT Template:Player "Guard Dog" Fredericks RG Template:Player Harvey LG Template:Player Henton RG Template:Player Inglis C Template:Player Kelvin "The Buffalo" James LT Template:Player Katz C Template:Player Moore C Template:Player Katz C Template:Player Sands RT Template:Player Wallace LG Template:Player Wilson LT Template:Player Wright RT Defensive linemen Template:Player Brophy RE Template:Player Carter DT Template:Player Downey DT Template:Player Flynn LE Template:Player Gerstein DT Template:Player Green DT Template:Player Hart DT Template:Player Hupponen RE Template:Player Krauskopf LE Template:Player Maltais RE Template:Player Rock LE Template:Player Simons DT		Linebackers Template:Player Edwards OLB Template:Player Egan MLB Template:Player Ferguson OLB Template:Player Hootstein OLB Template:Player Trent King OLB Template:Player Knight OLB Template:Player Mooney MLB Template:Player Nelson OLB Template:Player Eric Olczyk MLB Defensive backs Template:Player Adams SS Template:Player Angeli FS Template:Player Ray Barnes CB Template:Player Carter SS Template:Player Clarke CB Template:Player Gibson FS Template:Player Grazian CB Template:Player Holland SS Template:Player Oliver CB Template:Player Peters CB Template:Player Rodriguez FS Special teams Template:Player Mendes K Template:Player O’Shae P				Unknown Positions Template:Player Harvey Template:Player Johnson Template:Player Rodgers Template:Player Stark Template:Player Williams

Production

Filming took place in Toronto from May to October 2003. Game scenes were filmed at the SkyDome, with Canadian Football League players serving as background actors or stunt doubles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

DVD

The only season of Playmakers was released on DVD by ESPN Home Video in 2004.

Awards

• Won AFI TV Award, Top TV Series (2003)
• Won GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding Drama Series (2004)
• Nominated CSC Award, Best Cinematography in TV Series (2004)
• Nominated DGC Craft Award, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Television Series (2004)

See also

• List of American football films

External links

• Template:Official website
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