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jakncoke
01-12-2009, 01:53 AM
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 10, 2008 — On the heels of its groundbreaking deal that made a new home for the critically acclaimed series Friday Night Lights, DIRECTV makes television history once again with the bold return of the highly controversial television series Wonderland, the gritty drama that delves into the lives of the doctors of Rivervue, a fictional New York psychiatric hospital.

All eight episodes of the series, including six never-before-seen on television, will air Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning Jan. 14, 2009, only on DIRECTV's The 101® Network and DIRECTV on DEMAND.

Revered as a show that was ahead of its time, Wonderland first aired on ABC in the spring of 2000 and was met with both critical praise and controversy. Because of its dark tone and intense nature, it was quickly taken off the air. Now, fans will be able to see the entire series from start to finish with new opening commentary, circa 2009, by Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights), the series' creator and executive producer.

"This show was deemed so intense for network television that it was removed from ABC's lineup after just two episodes, so viewers who enjoy quality television were frustrated — now they will get to see what they missed," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president of Entertainment at DIRECTV. "We are proud to add such a provocative and original show to our Network lineup and, as we've seen with Friday Night Lights, Peter Berg is an exceptional story teller who knows how to present compelling drama."

"I'm pleased that Wonderland has been given another chance so that viewers can see these characters' stories evolve," said Berg. "There was so much debate about the portrayal of the mentally ill patients that fans missed the opportunity to see what the show is really about — the complicated lives of the doctors charged with caring for their patients while balancing aspects of their personal life, such as divorce, impending fatherhood and everyday married life."

Wonderland will join The 101's Wednesday night lineup following the season 3 finale of another critical and fan favorite, Friday Night Lights (9 p.m. ET/PT), commercial-free and in HD at 10 p.m. ET/PT. DIRECTV's The 101® Network will be the only place viewers will be able to see this incredible series in its entirety with episodes that feature many of today's leading television and film stars including Michelle Forbes (HBO's In Treatment), Billy Burke (Fringe, My Boys), Dax Griffin (Bold and the Beautiful, All My Children),Martin Donovan (Ghost Whisperer, Weeds), Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight, Why Did I Get Married), Ted Levine (Monk, American Gangster) and Patricia Clarkson (Vicky Christina Barcelona). The show also featured guest cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Piven.

The series was created and written by Peter Berg and executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Tony Krantz and Peter Berg. Wonderland is a production of Touchstone Television ABC Studios/Imagine Television.
Here is a old pr from December
Wonderland | DIRECTV.com - Video Lounge (http://directv.feedroom.com/?fr_story=ced4f7635fac0fa1518cb77c6c82ecef741cc3ed )

Here is a clip from DTV's ****ty video center

Anyone catch the 2 episodes that were shown on ABC ? How was it?
Anyone with DTV going to tune in to check it for the first time?

I plan on checking it out for the first time because Jeremy Piven is all sorts of awesome

rukisuto
01-12-2009, 05:43 AM
I don't remember hearing about this show at all.
Of course, I was 10 when that happened.
It sounds pretty interesting though.

Is it really still as controversial as it was 9 years ago?
If so, it'd have to be pretty out there seeing some of the stuff we have on TV today.

Did they say they were going to continue the series at all, or are they just showing these episodes for a limited time?

jakncoke
01-12-2009, 09:57 AM
Don't know, I suppose if the 8 episodes get good enough ratings that perhaps HBO will pick up the show or perhaps DTV will fund production of a 2nd season. I doubt it will get good ratings though with it being exclusive to DTV and on a channel many probably don't pass by often, I mean hell I never knew they showed Friday Night Lights episodes on 101