The Closer (1998 TV series)

This article is about the short-lived 1998 CBS sitcom. For the 2005 TNT drama, see The Closer.

The Closer is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS for 10 episodes from February 23 to May 4, 1998. The show starred Tom Selleck as a successful advertising agency executive.

The Closer
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Ed Decter John J. Strauss
Starring	Tom Selleck David Krumholtz Hedy Burress Ed Asner Suzy Nakamura Penelope Ann Miller
Composer	Ed Alton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	T.W.S. II Productions Frontier Pictures CBS Productions Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	February 23 (1998-02-23) – May 4, 1998 (1998-05-04)

Plot

Jack McLaren (Tom Selleck), a successful advertising executive, starts his own agency. The business, the employees in the agency, and his personal life provide the story lines. The characters include a creative director, Carl Dobson (Ed Asner), an accountant, Erica Hewitt (Penelope Ann Miller), and a bored secretary, Beverly (Suzy Nakamura); McLaren's estranged and eventually divorced wife, Claire McLaren (Joanna Kerns), and daughter Alex (Hedy Burress).

Cast

• Tom Selleck as Jack McLaren
• Hedy Burress as Alex McLaren
• Ed Asner as Carl "Dobbs" Dobson
• David Krumholtz as Bruno Verma
• Suzy Nakamura as Beverly Andolini
• Penelope Ann Miller as Erica Hewitt

Production

The project was originally started off at Paramount Television with Barry Kemp at the helm. Eventually, it parted ways and moved to project to Warner Bros., and recruited Ed Decter and John J. Strauss as the new writer/producing/showrunning team.^[1]

Director and writers

The director for the series was Andrew D. Weyman. It had the following writers:

• Tom Burkhard
• Howard Busgang
• Ed Decter
• David Kidd
• Laura Perkins-Brittain
• Ron Burch

Producers

• Howard Busgang
• Ed Decter
• Penny Segal
• Tom Selleck
• John J. Strauss
• Craig Wyrick-Solari

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Andrew D. Weyman	Ed Decter & John J. Strauss	February 23, 1998 (1998-02-23)	15.74[2]
2	"Morality Bites"	Unknown	Unknown	March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02)	13.56[3]
3	"Dobbs Takes A Holiday"	Unknown	Unknown	March 9, 1998 (1998-03-09)	11.31[4]
4	"The Closure"	Shelley Jensen	Tad Quill	March 16, 1998 (1998-03-16)	9.96[5]
5	"The Rebound"	Unknown	Unknown	March 30, 1998 (1998-03-30)	10.79[6]
6	"Baby, It's Cold Outside"	Unknown	Unknown	April 6, 1998 (1998-04-06)	10.06[7]
An old flame, actress Victoria, visits and she and Jack start to rekindle their romance – Victoria and Jack sing and dance in a fantasy musical sequence.
7	"Honor Thy Jack"	Will Mackenzie	Howard Busgang & Mark Blutman	April 13, 1998 (1998-04-13)	8.42[8]
8	"Deep Game"	Gil Junger	Ron Burch & David Kidd	April 20, 1998 (1998-04-20)	8.81[9]
9	"The Hand That Rocks the Office"	Shelley Jensen	Story by : Rita Mimoun Teleplay by : Ethan Banville & Shari Brooks	April 27, 1998 (1998-04-27)	8.50[10]
10	"My Best Friend's Funeral"	Alan Rafkin	Bill Wolkoff	May 4, 1998 (1998-05-04)	7.66[11]

Awards and nominations

• Emmy Award — Outstanding Music and Lyrics (for the song "You Don't Know Jack") (nominated)