Sordid Lives: The Series
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Sordid Lives: The Series | |
---|---|
Directed by | Del Shores |
Starring | Bonnie Bedelia Beth Grant Leslie Jordan Rue McClanahan Olivia Newton-John Jason Dottley |
Music by | Joe Patrick Ward |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Production | |
Producers | Stanley M. Brooks, Damian Ganczewski |
Running time | 30 min. (including commercials) |
Original release | |
Network | Logo |
Release | July 23 October 29, 2008 | –
Sordid Lives: The Series is an American television series created, written, and directed by Del Shores, which was written as a prequel to the 2000 film Sordid Lives. It is set in a small town in Texas and centers on the Ingram family, and stars Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John, Caroline Rhea, Leslie Jordan, Beth Grant, Jason Dottley, and most of the original cast of the film.
It premiered on Logo in the United States on July 2008. The series premiered in the UK on Film24 in August 2009. In Canada, the uncut version can be seen on Super Channel (also in HD), and the censored version on Out TV. There was only one season of the series.
Premise[edit]
Matriarch Peggy Ingram (Rue McClanahan) takes in the town bar singer Bitsy Mae Harling (Olivia Newton-John) who has just been released from prison. Peggy's wild child daughter LaVonda (Ann Walker) lives with Peggy's chain-smoking sister Sissy (Beth Grant), while Peggy's good girl Latrelle (Bonnie Bedelia) maintains an image of seeming perfection.
Peggy's third child, Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram (Leslie Jordan), is locked in a mental institution where he performs as Tammy Wynette. He plots to escape while he attends therapy sessions with the crazy Dr. Eve (Rosemary Alexander) who believes she can de-homosexualize him.
LaVonda's white trash best friend Noleta (Caroline Rhea) lives in a trailer in Sissy's backyard with her husband G.W. (David Steen), a Vietnam veteran with two wooden legs. G.W. escapes regularly to the local bar in town amidst a small crowd of regulars including brothers Wardell (Newell Alexander) and Odell (David Cowgill), Bitsy Mae, and the bar's resident drunk Juanita (Sarah Hunley).
Latrelle's son Ty (Jason Dottley) is an actor living in Los Angeles and struggling with several therapists (including ones played by Margaret Cho, Carson Kressley, and Candis Cayne) to come to terms with his homosexuality. Along the way he deals with his first boyfriend (Ted Detwiler), his stalker ex-girlfriend (Sharron Alexis), a vengeful trick (Emerson Collins), and the difficulty of coming out to his straight best friend (Robert Lewis Stephenson) and his family back in Texas.
Production[edit]
Sordid Lives: The Series was executive produced by Stanley M. Brooks of Once Upon A Time Films,[1] a Santa Monica, California based production company known for its television programming, for MTV Networks' Logo Channel as its first original series. The series was scored by composer Joe Patrick Ward. The first season of 12 episodes was shot in Shreveport, Louisiana, from November 28, 2007, to January 27, 2008.[citation needed]
Cast and characters[edit]
Actor | Character | Notes |
---|---|---|
Olivia Newton-John | Bitsy Mae Harling | A local singer with "a reputation" who is a close friend of Peggy's, recently released from prison for arson. |
Jason Dottley | Ty Williamson | The son of Latrelle, Ty is a closeted 20-something gay man who left behind the small Southern Baptist town in Texas and moved to West Hollywood to become an actor. |
Sarah Hunley | Juanita Bartlett | The local bar's crazy fly. |
Newell Alexander | Wardell 'Bubba' Owens | G.W.'s friend and the object of Brother Boy's affection. |
David Steen | G.W. Nethercott | Noleta's unfaithful husband, who regularly escapes to the local bar. He starts an affair with Peggy. |
David Cowgill | Odell Owens | Bubba's brother, who is scarred for life by a pig-bloating incident. |
Beth Grant | Sissy Hickey | Peggy's much younger sister, an aunt to Brother Boy, LaVonda and Latrelle, who is frequently distressed by her family and neighbors. |
Dale Dickey | Glyndora Roberts | Bitsy Mae's secret love. |
Caroline Rhea | Noleta Nethercott | Sissy's next-door neighbor, the distraught wife of G.W. Nethercott, and best friend to LaVonda. |
Leslie Jordan | Earl 'Brother Boy' Ingram | Brother Boy has been institutionalized for 23 years by his parents for being a cross-dressing homosexual, who performs as Tammy Wynette. |
Mitch Carter | Bumper | Security guard at the mental institution where Brother Boy is kept. He is always trying to get Brother Boy to "pleasure" him. |
Bonnie Bedelia | Latrelle Williamson | Ty's mother, who is primarily concerned with keeping up appearances. |
Sharron Alexis | Sara Kaufman | Ty's stalker ex-girlfriend. |
Ann Walker | LaVonda DuPree | Peggy's eldest daughter, a free spirit who is also Noleta's best friend. |
Mary-Margaret Lewis | Ethel | An employee at the mental institution, and a friend for Brother Boy. |
Rosemary Alexander | Dr. Eve Bolinger | "Doctor Evil" wants to de-homosexualize Brother Boy so she can write a book, appear on Oprah, and quit her psychiatrist job at the mental institution. |
Rue McClanahan | Peggy Ingram | The older sister of Sissy and mother of Latrelle, LaVonda, and Brother Boy. |
David Allen | The Cowboy | Walk-on part of local bar sweep with eyes for Bitsy Mae - Seen tipping hat to Bitsy in the show credits. |
Episodes[edit]
No. | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|
101 | "The Day Tammy Wynette Died—Part 1" | July 23, 2008 |
102 | "The Day Tammy Wynette Died—Part 2" | July 30, 2008 |
103 | "Pills, Poison & Penises" | August 6, 2008 |
104 | "Secrets and Lies" | August 13, 2008 |
105 | "The Fall and Rise of Brother Boy" | August 20, 2008 |
106 | "Call Waiting" | September 10, 2008 |
107 | "An Audacious Affair" | September 17, 2008 |
108 | "Guess Who's Coming to Bubba's" | September 24, 2008 |
109 | "Those Pesky Little Stalkers" | October 1, 2008 |
110 | "Desperately Seeking Ty" | October 8, 2008 |
111 | "Compromising Situations" | October 22, 2008 |
112 | "The Trip" | October 29, 2008 |
DVD release[edit]
Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 (Canada only) on October 13, 2009.[2] The 3-disc set features all 12 episodes of the series uncensored and uncut as well as several bonus features including deleted scenes, bloopers and several performances by Olivia Newton-John.[citation needed]
Well Go USA released the complete series on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States. The set contains all 12 episodes uncensored and uncut, as well as special features including deleted scenes, bloopers, performances by Olivia Newton-John and music videos (series promo/trailers).[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.onceuponatimefilms.com Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Sordid Lives: the series". Archived from the original on September 30, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2010.