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Romantic comedy/drama television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Valentine is an American romantic comedy-drama television series that aired on The CW and City in Canada from October 5, 2008 to July 19, 2009. The series was created by Kevin Murphy, who also serves as executive producer alongside Courtney Conte. The show was produced by Media Rights Capital and aired on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. On November 20, 2008, CW pulled Valentine along with Easy Money.[1] However, the series returned on Sunday, June 28, 2009, to begin burning-off the remaining unaired episodes.[2] The show's only season averaged 0.72 million viewers and 0.2 demo in Adults 18–49.
Valentine | |
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Genre | Romantic Comedy drama |
Created by | Kevin Murphy |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
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Running time | 42 minutes |
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Original release | |
Network | The CW |
Release | October 5, 2008 – July 19, 2009 |
The show focuses on the Valentine family, a group of gods living amongst humans. They must keep their true identities secret as they do whatever it takes to bring soulmates together. In modern times however the gods' methods have become less effective, and unless they improve their matchmaking skills they will end up becoming mortal. As a result, Grace, aka the goddess Aphrodite, has decided to recruit romance novelist Kate Providence to help them adapt their skills. With help from the fates and the Oracle of Delphi, now housed in a hot tub, it is up to the gods and Kate to help bring love back into people's lives.
The show was ordered into production after Media Rights Capital (MRC) took over programming Sunday nights on The CW. The show was originally titled Valentine, Inc. but dropped the "Inc." from the title prior to the fall 2008 television season. The 13-episode first season filmed in the Los Angeles area, with filming primarily taking place at the Los Angeles Centre Studios. The show is filmed on Sound Stage 1, which has previously been used to film Women's Murder Club and also Mad Men.
On October 13, 2008, MRC stopped production on Valentine for 4–6 weeks, due to failure to secure a bridge loan to complete the order.[3] This meant that only eight of the 13 episodes ordered were filmed prior to the hiatus. Two weeks later, MRC canceled both Valentine and Easy Money.[4] On November 20, 2008, The CW announced that it was ending its Sunday Night agreement with MRC, instead programming the night itself.[5]
Autumn Reeser, Kristoffer Polaha, and Robert Baker[6] were the first actors announced to join the series on July 15, 2008. Just days after the first announcement on July 18, 2008 The Hollywood Reporter announced that Jaime Murray would also be part of the cast, playing the show's title character Grace Valentine.[7] On July 19, The CW formally announced the shows cast, adding Nikki Snelson, Patrick Fabian and Greg Ellis to the previously announced actors on the show.[8] Prior to production of the pilot Nikki Snelson had to leave the cast due to conflicts with her role in the 2008 tour of A Chorus Line. As a result, Christine Lakin joined the cast, replacing Snelson as romance novelist Kate.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
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1 | "Valentine" | Kevin Dowling | Kevin Murphy | October 5, 2008 | 1.146[9] | |
The Greek gods have set up base in Los Angeles, disguised as the Valentine family. However, they haven't had as much success as they would like, and family matriarch Grace reveals that their failures have begun to cost them their immortality. In order to learn how to bring people together in the modern age, Grace brings a successful romance novelist named Kate into the mix. While the rest of the family isn't keen on the idea, they must accept her help in bringing a spark of romance into the relationship of two longtime best friends. Problem is, she has begun seeing her sleazy ex-boyfriend, who may ruin her chances at finding true love. Guest stars: Lauren Cohan and Mike Faiola | ||||||
2 | "Daddy's Home" | Kevin Dowling | Kevin Murphy & Jennifer Schuur | October 12, 2008 | 1.020[10] | |
Grace's affair with Ray is put on hold when her husband, Ari, the god of war, returns home. But Ari hasn't come back for her; He's there to persuade Danny to work for him instead of Grace, as he deems love to be an unprofitable business. Things take a wrong turn after Ari shows an interest in Kate, and Danny decides to bring them together for his own amusement. Elsewhere, the Valentines try to bring a perfume chemist together with his soul mate, an employee at her family's restaurant. This is easier said than done, however, as she is obligated to take part in an arranged marriage with a man she has never met. Guest stars: Greg Ellis, Tejal Shah, Johnathan McClain, and Marshall Manesh | ||||||
3 | "Act Naturally" | John Putch | John J. Sakmar & Kerry Lenhart | October 19, 2008 | 0.743[11] | |
After fallen starlet Vivi Langdon crashes her car into a struggling theater while drunk, the Valentines use their supernatural abilities to get the judge to give her a sentence of community service at the theater. Why? Because the fates have named the theater's owner as her soul mate and last chance at happiness. Vivi is resistant to cooperating with her sentence, however, making it difficult for the Valentines to do their job. On top of all of this, Phoebe's mistrust of Kate has only heightened, and she convinces Leo to help her break into Kate's apartment, with devastating results. Guest stars: Holly Valance, Larry Poindexter, and Ryan Devlin | ||||||
4 | "The Book of Love" | David Warren | Phoef Sutton | October 26, 2008 | 0.847[12] | |
Grace sends Phoebe to reignite passion between two former independent bookstore owners whose lives have now been almost nearly consumed by the stress of the corporate world. This isn't the only obstacle, as Phoebe's attempts to bring them back together lead to an unintended hookup. Meanwhile, Ari alerts Danny that there might be enemy forces plotting against the family, which leads to the family to ask for Ray's help. Ray, however, is skeptical about the situation, since he does not trust Ari, and is also frightened by the possibility of Ari finding out that he is having an affair with his wife. Guest stars: Seana Kofoed and David Burke | ||||||
5 | "Summer Nights" | Fred Gerber | Melissa Byer & Treena Hancock | June 28, 2009 | 0.592[13] | |
The fates reveal a personal trainer and nutritionist are destined to be together, so Grace hires them to work with her at the mansion. Things don't go smoothly when Kate reveals that she previously had a relationship with the personal trainer, and after a drunken evening together, he rejects his soul mate to try to revive his relationship with Kate. Meanwhile Ari convinces Danny to find his love gun, telling him that there are forces that want the gods dead, starting with Grace. Danny is also told about an intricate safe that Ray built for Grace long ago, which is where the gun is likely hidden. Guest stars: Wynn Everett and Aaron Hill | ||||||
6 | "Hound Dog" | Bob Berlinger | Coleman Herbert | July 5, 2009 | 0.571[14] | |
A dog comes in the way of true love for a fated couple, leading Kate and Danny to seek the help of Aunt Circe. Ari is also seeking out Circe, to confront her of the recent events that have befalling the Valentines. Guest stars: Ana Gasteyer and Joshua Malina | ||||||
7 | "She's Gone" | Kevin Dowling | Dan Studney | July 12, 2009 | 0.647[15] | |
The disappearance of Aunt Circe leaves the Valentines on edge. Meanwhile The fates lead the Valentines to a teen couple separated by college. In order to reunite the pair, Leo and Grace embark on a road trip, while Kate, Danny and Phoebe gatecrash a dorm party. Guest stars: Alyssa Diaz and Rob Mayes | ||||||
8 | "Only God Knows" | John Whitesell | Kevin Murphy & Flint Wainess | July 19, 2009 | 0.467[16] | |
Grace stages a fake wedding to bring together a rabbi and a wedding planner. Ray tries to return the Adamantine Blade to Hades, but is intercepted by the goddess Bastet who uses the blade to kill Ari. Guest stars: Wynter Kullman, Noa Tishby, and Heather Ankeny |
Valentine aired in South Africa on Pay-TV operator DStv, beginning January 2010. All 8 episodes were aired in Australia on Network 10 in 2010, late on Friday nights.