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Playmakers is an American drama series that aired on ESPN from August 26 to November 11, 2003. It depicted the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team in an unidentified city. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thedford, Christopher Wiehl, Jason Matthew Smith, Russell Hornsby, and Tony Denison. 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.
Original Release
08/26/2003
US Release
08/26/2003
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Tony Denison | Coach George |
Omar Gooding | Demetrius Harris |
Russell Hornsby | Leon Taylor |
Jason Matthew Smith | Eric Olczyk |
Marcello Thedford | Kelvin 'Buffalo' James |
Christopher Wiehl | Derek McConnell |
Bruce Gray | Gene Wilbanks |
Stephen Bogaert | Phil Chambers |
Phillip Jarrett | Coach Rudman |
Karen LeBlanc | Robin Taylor |
# | Title | Air Date |
---|---|---|
1 | Game Day | Tuesday, 26 August 2003 |
2 | Piss Man | Tuesday, 02 September 2003 |
3 | Choice: Part 1 | Tuesday, 09 September 2003 |
4 | Choice: Part 2 | Tuesday, 16 September 2003 |
5 | Halftime | Tuesday, 23 September 2003 |
6 | Man in Motion | Tuesday, 30 September 2003 |
7 | Talk Radio | Tuesday, 07 October 2003 |
8 | Down & Distance | Tuesday, 14 October 2003 |
9 | The Outing | Tuesday, 28 October 2003 |
10 | Tenth of a Second | Tuesday, 04 November 2003 |
11 | Week 17 | Tuesday, 11 November 2003 |
Directors
T.J. Scott, John Bell, Chris Grismer, Stephen Williams, Scott Brazil, Ken Girotti, Brad Turner, John Fawcett, Bruce McDonald, Terry Ingram
Writers
John Eisendrath, Peter Egan, Michael Angeli, Stephen Hootstein, Craig Sweeny, Edwin Eisendrath, Charles Holland
Creators
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Tony Denison | Coach George |
Omar Gooding | Demetrius Harris |
Russell Hornsby | Leon Taylor |
Jason Matthew Smith | Eric Olczyk |
Marcello Thedford | Kelvin 'Buffalo' James |
Christopher Wiehl | Derek McConnell |
Bruce Gray | Gene Wilbanks |
Stephen Bogaert | Phil Chambers |
Phillip Jarrett | Coach Rudman |
Karen LeBlanc | Robin Taylor |
Dan Petronijevic | Thad Guerwitcz |
Thea Andrews | Samantha Lovett |
Sasha Roiz | Stephen Lyles |
Andrew Martin | (as Drew Martin) |
Kevin Jubinville | Dr. Gatewood |
Gabriel Hogan | Guard Dog Fredericks |
Tacquira LaTouche | Self |
Clé Bennett | (as Cle Bennett) |
Laura Jordan | August |
Frank Chiesurin | David |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
John Eisendrath | Executive Producer |
Mark Shapiro | Executive Producer |
Michael Angeli | Executive Producer |
Orly Adelson | Executive Producer |
Jamie Paul Rock | Producer |
Charles Holland | Producer |