State of Grace (TV series)

State of Grace is an American comedy-drama series that ran for two seasons on Fox Family, later ABC Family during 2001 and 2002.^[1]

State of Grace
Created by	Brenda Lilly Hollis Rich
Starring	Dinah Manoff Michael Mantell Alia Shawkat Erica Yohn Jason Blicker Faye Grant Mae Whitman
Narrated by	Frances McDormand
Opening theme	"Do You Believe in Magic" performed by Lovin' Spoonful
Composers	Paul Gordon Inon Zur Shuki Levy Kussa Mahchi
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	38
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company	Stan Rogow Productions
Original release
Network	Fox Family (season 1) ABC Family (season 2)
Release	June 25, 2001 (2001-06-25) – December 4, 2002 (2002-12-04)

Plot

The show is centered on two 12-year-old girls from very different backgrounds, Hannah and Grace, who are best friends. Hannah is from a middle class Jewish family and lives with her parents, her grandmother, and her uncle. Her parents are the owners of a furniture factory in the fictitious town of Ashmore, North Carolina, to where they have recently moved from Chicago. Grace is from a wealthy Catholic family and lives with her mother, a socialite. Typically, they are depicted as more intelligent, thoughtful, funny, and rebellious than other children of their age. Set in 1965, the show was compared by some to another look-back-through-the-years show, The Wonder Years. Fred Savage, the star of the hit ABC series, appeared in the series' final episode.

The theme song is the original version of "Do You Believe in Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful.^[2] The show was taped at Ren-Mar Studios stage 4.

Cast and characters

Main

• Dinah Manoff: Evelyn Rayburn, Hannah's mother
• Michael Mantell: David Rayburn, Hannah's father
• Alia Shawkat: 12-year-old Jewish-American girl Hannah Rayburn
• Erica Yohn: Grandma Ida, Hannah's grandmother
• Jason Blicker: Uncle Heschie, Hannah's uncle
• Faye Grant: Tattie McKee, Grace's mother
• Mae Whitman: 12-year-old Emma 'Grace' McKee, Hannah's best friend
• Frances McDormand: Narrator, voice of adult Hannah

Guest stars

• Bryan Neal: Walker Adams, Grace's older half-brother
• Bonnie Bailey-Reed: Shirley, the Rayburns' receptionist
• Carl M. Craig: Greer, the McKees' chauffeur
• Patricia Forte: Cookie, the McKees' maid
• Tom Verica: Tommy Austin, Tattie's fiancé
• Adrian Neil: Nigel Grenville III, Tattie's friend

Cast collaborations

The two main actresses, Shawkat and Whitman, went on to co-star on Fox's Arrested Development.^[3] Shawkat was in the main cast and Whitman was a recurring guest star in season two and the beginning of season three 2004–2005. Shawkat played Maeby Funke on the show, while Whitman played Ann Veal, the girlfriend of Maeby's cousin George Michael Bluth who was portrayed by Michael Cera. Shawkat, Manoff and Mantell would later have roles in the film Bart Got a Room.

Episodes

Season 1 (2001)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Love, Love Me Do"	Melanie Mayron	Brenda Lilly & Hollis Rich	June 25, 2001 (2001-06-25)
2	2	"Homeward Bound"	Melanie Mayron	Brenda Lilly & Hollis Rich	June 25, 2001 (2001-06-25)
3	3	"Perfect Day"	Sheldon Larry	Mike Martineau	July 2, 2001 (2001-07-02)
4	4	"We Gotta Get Outta This Place"	Melanie Mayron	Brenda Lilly & Hollis Rich	July 2, 2001 (2001-07-02)
5	5	"Time in a Bottle"	Dennis Erdman	Mike Martineau	July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09)
6	6	"Crime and Self-Punishment"	Sheldon Larry	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09)
7	7	"Eve of Discussion"	Unknown	Unknown	July 16, 2001 (2001-07-16)
8	8	"The Force of Fun"	Melanie Mayron	Hollis Rich & Brenda Lilly	July 16, 2001 (2001-07-16)
9	9	"Book by Its Cover"	Dennis Erdman	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	July 30, 2001 (2001-07-30)
10	10	"Saving Grace"	Sheldon Larry	Marcy Vosburgh	August 6, 2001 (2001-08-06)
11	11	"Looking for God in All the Right Places"	Sheldon Larry	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	August 13, 2001 (2001-08-13)
12	12	"Happy Together (a.k.a. The Tango Affair)"	Sheldon Larry	Sy Rosen	August 20, 2001 (2001-08-20)
13	13	"This Diamond Ring"	Ellen Gittelsohn	Hollis Rich & Brenda Lilly	August 27, 2001 (2001-08-27)

Season 2 (2002)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
14	1	"Get Me to the Church on Time"	Sheldon Larry	Brenda Lilly & Hollis Rich	March 1, 2002 (2002-03-01)
15	2	"Of Diamonds and Deli Meats"	Mark Rosman	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	March 8, 2002 (2002-03-08)
16	3	"For the Birds"	Sheldon Larry	Lisa Albert	March 15, 2002 (2002-03-15)
17	4	"All That Jazz"	Linda Day	Elaine Aronson	March 22, 2002 (2002-03-22)
18	5	"It's a Wonderful Heschie"	Victoria Hochberg	Ed Simpson	March 22, 2002 (2002-03-22)
19	6	"All Kinds of Heroes"	Sheldon Larry	Marcy Vosburgh	March 29, 2002 (2002-03-29)
20	7	"The Expanding Universe"	Melanie Mayron	Lisa Albert	March 29, 2002 (2002-03-29)
21	8	"Fortunate Son"	Sheldon Larry	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	April 5, 2002 (2002-04-05)
22	9	"Hello Goodbye"	Unknown	Unknown	April 12, 2002 (2002-04-12)
23	10	"The Name Game"	Jim Kramer	Steven Peterson & Gary Dontzig	April 19, 2002 (2002-04-19)
24	11	"The Way We Weren't"	Victoria Hochberg	Jeanette Collins & Mimi Friedman	April 26, 2002 (2002-04-26)
25	12	"Take Good Care of My Baby"	Sheldon Larry	Story by : Ed Simpson Teleplay by : Lisa Albert	May 3, 2002 (2002-05-03)
26	13	"Where the Boys Are"	Sheldon Larry	Story by : Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig and Lisa Albert Teleplay by : Hollis Rich & Brenda Lilly	May 10, 2002 (2002-05-10)
27	14	"Smoke, Mirrors and Chicken Fat"	Sheldon Larry	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	June 3, 2002 (2002-06-03)
28	15	"Scandalous Behavior"	Unknown	Unknown	June 3, 2002 (2002-06-03)
29	16	"Dating Games"	Sheldon Larry	Brenda Lilly & Hollis Rich	June 10, 2002 (2002-06-10)
30	17	"Driving Miss Ida"	Sheldon Larry	Tom Seeley	June 17, 2002 (2002-06-17)
31	18	"Spy Games"	Sheldon Larry	Tom Seeley	June 24, 2002 (2002-06-24)
32	19	"Monkey Business"	Jim Kramer	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08)
33	20	"To Be Young at Heart"	Sheldon Larry	Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)
34	21	"Sophisticated Ladies"	Sheldon Larry	James Kramer	July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22)
35	22	"A Taste of Money"	Mark Rosman	James Kramer	July 29, 2002 (2002-07-29)
36	23	"Great Wall of Rayburn"	Victoria Hochberg	Lisa Albert	August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05)
37	24	"Someone to Watch Over You"	Victoria Hochberg	Lisa Albert	August 19, 2002 (2002-08-19)
38	25	"Legacy"	Victoria Hochberg	Tom Seeley	August 19, 2002 (2002-08-19)
Special	Special	"Holiday on Ice"	Sheldon Larry	Story by : Brenda Lilly & Hollis Rich Teleplay by : Hollis Rich & Brenda Lilly and Steven Peterman & Gary Dontzig	December 4, 2002 (2002-12-04)

Awards and nominations

The series was created by Brenda Lilly and Hollis Rich and was recipient of many awards including The Parents Television Council, the Humanitas Award,^[4] and a Jewish Image Award. Shawkat and Whitman were both nominated for the Young Artist Award for the Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Leading Young Actress in 2002.