Shark (TV series)

For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation).

Shark
Shark
Created by	Ian Biederman
Starring	James Woods Danielle Panabaker Kevin Pollak Sophina Brown Sarah Carter Kevin Alejandro Henry Simmons Jeri Ryan
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	38 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	45 minutes
Production company(s)	Imagine Television Deforestation Services 20th Century Fox Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21) – May 20, 2008 (2008-05-20)

Shark is an American legal drama created by Ian Biederman that originally aired on CBS from September 21, 2006 to May 20, 2008. The series stars James Woods.

Synopsis

The show revolves around Sebastian Stark (Woods), a notorious Los Angeles defense attorney who becomes disillusioned with his career after his successful defense of a wife-abuser results in the wife's death; after more than a month trying to come to grips with his situation, he is invited by the Los Angeles district attorney to become a public prosecutor so he can apply his unorthodox-but-effective talents to putting guilty people away instead of putting them back on the street. Stark's relationship with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, his staff, and his daughter, forms the central plot for the series.

Cast members

Actor	Role	Notes
James Woods	Sebastian Stark, Deputy DA	Main cast
Jeri Ryan	Jessica Devlin, District Attorney (DA) first season, Assistant DA second season	Main cast
Kevin Pollak	Leo Cutler, District Attorney (DA) second season	Main cast (Season 2)
Danielle Panabaker	Julie Stark	Main cast
Sophina Brown	Raina Troy, Assistant DA	Main cast
Sarah Carter	Madeleine Poe, Assistant DA	Main cast
Henry Simmons	Isaac Wright, DA Investigator	Main cast (Season 1, Episode 8 – Season 2) Guest (Season 1, Episode 2)
Kevin Alejandro	Danny Reyes, Assistant DA	Main cast (Season 2)
Samuel Page	Casey Woodland, Assistant DA	Main cast (Season 1)
Alexis Cruz	Martin Allende, Assistant DA	Main cast (Season 1, Episodes 1–11) Died in episode "The Wrath of Khan"
Carlos Gómez	Manuel Delgado, Mayor	Recurring (Season 1–Season 2)
Michael Cotter	Lewis Slocombe	Recurring (Season 1–Season 2)
Shaun Sipos	Trevor Boyd	Recurring (Season 2)
Ivar Brogger	Kenneth Woodruff, Judge	Recurring (Season 1–Season 2)
Billy Campbell	Wayne Robert Callison	Guest star (Season 1, Episodes 12 & 22; Season 2, Episode 16)

Characters

• Sebastian Stark: A confident and stern former high end defense attorney. Stark was recruited to the DA's office by the mayor after a client he had previously defended against assault charges killed his (the client's) wife just a few days later. Despite his realization after this case, his methods as a defense attorney have not been changed dramatically in his role as a prosecutor.
• Jessica Devlin: Los Angeles District Attorney for 14 years, Devlin was Stark's boss for the duration of the season one. When she was defeated in an election, however, Stark hired her as the Senior Member of his team.
• Leo Cutler: Los Angeles District Attorney second season.
• Madeline Poe: Poe was the only voluntary member of Stark's original team. She had the highest conviction rate of the entire DA's office in the last two years prior to the show's start, and arguably the best lawyer of Stark's original team.
• Casey Woodland: A young, handsome lawyer from an influential family, Casey finds himself having to prove his worth to those who think he bought his way into the job. He begins a sexual relationship with Madeline Poe in spite of their disdain for each other.
• Raina Troy: Troy is passionate, smart and tough, and described by Stark as "brilliant" but "a contempt citation waiting to happen." Midway through the first season she begins a relationship with Isaac Wright.
• Danny Reyes: Reyes was transferred from the gang-crime unit, and used past experience to influence his motives. He often conflicts with Stark and Jessica, both of whom privately agree that he is a very good lawyer.
• Isaac Wright: A former LAPD officer, Stark offered him a job on his team after Wright resigned from LAPD because he planted evidence in the home of a suspect in an effort to arrest his partner's killer.
• Julie Stark: The daughter of Sebastian, she decided to stay with her father after her custody hearing, because "he needs her more than he'll ever know."
• Wayne Callison: A serial killer, creative writing teacher and Stark's personal nemesis throughout season 1. He targeted emotionally damaged women in their 20s and tortured them to death by cutting them. After he is acquitted, Stark becomes obsessed with putting him behind bars.

Shark's rules

• Trial is War. Second place is death.
• Truth is relative. Pick one that works.
• In a jury trial, there are only 12 opinions that matter and yours (speaking to his team) is not one of them.

Episodes

Main article: List of Shark episodes

Broadcast history

The show first aired in the 10:00 p.m., Eastern Thursday night slot. On October 20, 2006, it was announced that CBS had picked up the show for a full 22-episode season. CBS announced on May 16, 2007 that Shark would return for a second season.

In Shark's second season, it moved to Sunday night at 10:00 p.m., switching timeslots with Without a Trace and thereby competing against another highly rated series, ABC's Brothers & Sisters. In Canada, Global had also picked up Brothers & Sisters, so they decided to keep Shark on Thursday 10 p.m. timeslot, three days ahead of the CBS broadcast (except for the Season 2 premiere), and Brothers & Sisters for their Sunday night 10 p.m. timeslot.

The show returned Tuesday April 29, 2008 in a new timeslot at 9:00 p.m. to air the four remaining post-strike episodes. CBS officially cancelled the series on May 13, 2008.

Filming locations

Shark was filmed mostly in and around Hollywood and Los Angeles in California. Many Hollywood landmarks can be seen including Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Hills. There were roof top scenes shot at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and exterior and interior shots at the Vibe Hotel both located on Hollywood Boulevard .

Ratings

Season	Timeslot (EDT)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Rank	Rating
1	Thursday 10:00 P.M.	September 21, 2006	May 3, 2007	2006–2007	#20	8.7 (Tied with 60 Minutes)
2	Sunday 10:00 P.M. Tuesday 9:00 P.M.	September 23, 2007	May 20, 2008	2007–2008	#30	7.0 (Tied with The Unit and Hell's Kitchen)

DVD release

DVD name	Release date	Ep #	Additional information
Season 1	October 2, 2007	22	2 Commentary Tracks, "Creating Shark" Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel.

Syndication

Shark began airing on Ion in early 2010 late Sundays (10 p.m.-Midnight in a two episode block) but was later canceled except for marathons held holiday weekends.

International airings

In Australia Shark started airing season 2 at 10pm on Thursdays from November 12, 2009, on Seven's new digital channel 7TWO. Season 2l and the series overall completed its first run airing on W on Friday, December 18.

In the United Kingdom, Shark was shown at 11.00 am every weekday on Channel 5.

External links

• Shark at IMDb
• Shark at TV.com
• Shark at Yahoo! TV
• James Woods Stars in CBS Shark
• Thefutoncritic.com Development Update: October 17, 2005
• TV Guide's Shark page