Skeletons in the Closet

I don't know where this blog idea came from today, but it's perfect for some things I've been noticing and remembering that fit this title--in some ways.


First, about two months ago, I began remembering a TV show that ran on NBC from 1997 to 2000, called Veronica's Closet.  No one I know seems to remember this. I  know I watched it, especially during the first season, when it aired after Seinfeld (then in its final season).  Marta Kaufman, Kevin Bright, and  David Crane, the executive producers for the long-running hit series Friends, were also the executive producers of Veronica's Closet.

The show's title of course is a takeoff on the real-life lingerie company Victoria's Secret. 

Along with Kirstie Alley's title character, Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, head of the company, the staff included:

Perry Rollins (Dan Cortese), former underwear model turned company publicist

Leo Michaels (Daryl Mitchell), head of marketing

Josh Blair (Wallace Langham) Ronnie's secretary, a closeted homosexual (He came out toward the end of the series just as he was planning to get married)

Olive Massery (Kathy Najimy), the top executive, who was also Ronnie's best friend

These five cast members remained with the series for its entire run. 

Some details from Wikipedia:

Season one[edit]

As the country’s leading romance expert and owner of Veronica’s Closet, purveyor of lingerie and books designed to keep romance alive, Veronica Chase seems to have it all. Her only problem has been a rocky marriage to a womanizing husband, Bryce, (Christopher McDonald) whom she finally gathered the strength to leave. Having written The Guide to a Fairy Tale Marriage and built an empire as the foremost authority on relationships, Ronnie must now confront the charade she’s been living in the public eye as the perfect wife and career woman. Helping Ronnie run the company and her personal life is her top executive, Olive, who is always ready with solid business advice or a shoulder to cry on.

Season two[edit]

In the second season, Ron Silver joins the cast as Alec, Ronnie’s new business partner and nemesis who buys controlling interest of the company she built. Robert Prosky, who played Ronnie’s father in season one, was written out of the show (no explanation is ever given).

Season three[edit]

In the third and final season, Alec was killed off the show as it was shown that audiences did not like Ron Silver’s character. His widow, June, took over his role in the company and later admitted to pushing Alec into a volcano. Although the final few episodes of Veronica’s Closet did not air in the U.S. on NBC, they were later aired on the USA Cable Network during its syndicated run. In the final episodes, Veronica ends up dating Perry, Olive sells her Internet company and buys June’s half of Veronica’s Closet, making her a co-owner with Veronica, and Josh finally accepts the fact that he is gay and starts dating his neighbor and friend, Brian.

History[edit]

The series premiered on Sept 25, 1997, after Seinfeld, to 35 million viewers. Its title was derived from the “real life” lingerie company, Victoria’s Secret. The show was a top 10 hit, although the initial ratings died down later in the first season. The sitcom spent the first two seasons on Thursdays at 9:30 (after Seinfeld in season 1 and after Frasier in season 2). NBC moved the show to Mondays after Suddenly Susan for the 1999–2000 season. Ratings fell more than 50 percent, and NBC put it on hiatus with Suddenly Susan. The show returned on Tuesdays at 9:30 (after Will & Grace) with only a slight boost in ratings. NBC canceled the series in 2000, along with Suddenly Susan, due to low ratings. Reruns were shown on USA Network for a short time in 2000–2001 and on TV Guide Network from 2011–2012.

The show was taped Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, on soundstage 25.

I couldn't find many episodes, just three here at DailyMotion:
Veronica's Blackout (S1E17)
Veronica's Silent Partner (S1Finale)
Veronica's Great Model Search (S2E3)

And on Youtube I found a clip from an episode featuring an early acting job by Zooey Deschanel:





And these clips of the show's first-season intro  and third-season intro (No intro was used during the second season):
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Do any of you remember this series? Would you have watched it back in the day? Or now if it should become available on DVD (it isn't as of yet) or if more episodes should surface on Youtube or elsewhere?
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I have another "closet" themed post planned for this week.  Stay tuned.