Almost Perfect

For the grocery store, see Almost Perfect (grocery store chain).

Almost Perfect
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Ken Levine David Isaacs Robin Schiff
Written by	Sue Herring George McGrath Robin Schiff
Directed by	Andy Ackerman Stan Daniels Victor Fresco Kim Friedman Leonard R. Garner, Jr. David Lee Ken Levine Philip Charles MacKenzie Gail Mancuso Jeffrey Melman Alan Myerson Thomas Schlamme Rob Schiller
Starring	Nancy Travis Kevin Kilner Chip Zien Matthew Letscher David Clennon Lisa Edelstein
Composer(s)	Bruce Miller
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	34 (6 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Isaacs Ken Levine Robin Schiff
Producer(s)	Larina Adamson Robin Chamberlin Linda Teverbaugh Michael Teverbaugh
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 mins.
Production company(s)	Levine & Isaacs Productions Robin Schiff Productions (Season 2) Paramount Television
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 17, 1995 – October 30, 1996
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Almost Perfect is an American situation comedy that aired on the CBS television network from September 17, 1995 until October 30, 1996. The series focused on the professional life of the female executive producer of a television cop show, her witty, zany staff which doubled as her family, and initially, how she balanced her high-powered role with that of her newfound romance with a busy assistant D.A. The series was created by Ken Levine, David Isaacs and Robin Schiff, and produced by Levine & Isaacs Productions and Robin Schiff Productions (in season two only), in association with Paramount Television.

Levine and Isaacs were previously known for their work as writers and producers on Cheers, as well as Wings. Like the latter shows, Almost Perfect featured a tight-knit ensemble aspect between the cast, which in this case was formed by the production staff of the fictional cop show (as opposed to the Cheers ensemble being that of bar employees and patrons, and Wings group being airport terminal employees).

CBS canceled the series just four episodes into its second season. Six leftover episodes aired on Lifetime in December 1997, followed by reruns of the entire series surfacing on USA Network's weekday morning lineup between 1998 and 2001.

Synopsis

Almost Perfect starred Nancy Travis as Kim Cooper, a television writer on the (fictional) hit show Blue Justice (a parody of NYPD Blue) who had just been promoted to executive producer. Kim was a prototypical "gotta-have-it-all" young professional; she took pride in being a strong female figure who had risen in the ranks above her mostly male staff. She was headstrong, witty, and had a good sense of direction when it came to the creative matters of Blue Justice, but her personal life was another story.

In the process of working up to her promotion, Kim had struggled to find Mr. Right; many past boyfriends were needy, and eventually unaccepting of Kim's busy schedule. Then she met Mike Ryan (Kevin Kilner), a district attorney. Kim had run into him at a restaurant when she mistook him for the blind date she was supposed to meet, who ended up standing her up. Mike was instantly taken by Kim, and convinced her to have dinner with him, which she did—but not before she quizzed him to make sure he wasn't going to be as shallow as her exes. Before either of them knew it, they were both off on a hot and heavy affair. Both brought extreme pressures to the relationship, mostly due to their high-powered, high-pressure, time-consuming professions.

As Kim learned to juggle her hot career and even hotter, very promising new romance, she received support and camaraderie from her staff at Blue Justice. Heading the writing team was energetic, neurotic Gary Karp (Chip Zien), a veteran of many cop shows who had hoped to become executive producer, but who now had to accept the fact that he was answering to someone ten years younger than him. Gary's attempts to gain more responsibility and edge into Kim's level importance were always slapstick and comical, and his sexist attitudes often got him into trouble with Kim and his colleagues—but he always meant well. Rob Paley (Matthew Letscher) was the gentle, naive farm boy-turned-Hollywood writer who always gave the more idealistic points of view, and was probably the most neutral to Kim's ascent to executive producer. Neal Luder (David Clennon) was the spaced-out hippie of the group whose ideas and advice were scarily on target occasionally, amid being far removed from reality most of the time. Having something of a colorful career before becoming a TV writer, Neal once worked as a roadie for the Osmond Family in the 1970s.

Kim and Mike were in the process of breaking up when the series (not the portrayed fictional program) was cancelled only four episodes into its second season.

Cast

Actor	Role
Nancy Travis	Kim Cooper
Kevin Kilner	Mike Ryan
David Clennon	Neal Luder
Matthew Letscher	Rob Paley
Chip Zien	Gary Karp

Episodes

Season 1

Ep #	Title	Airdate
1	"I'm Gregory Peck"	September 17, 1995
2	"Now, Where Were We?"	September 24, 1995
3	"A Dog Day Afternoon"	October 1, 1995
4	"My Way"	October 8, 1995
5	"Your Place or Mine? (a.k.a. Princess of the City)"	October 15, 1995
6	"You Like Me, You Really Like Me"	October 22, 1995
7	"The Ex-Files"	November 5, 1995
8	"The Lost Weekend: Part 1"	November 19, 1995
9	"The Lost Weekend: Part 2"	November 26, 1995
10	"Presumed Impotent"	December 3, 1995
11	"Love Hurts"	December 10, 1995
12	"Risky Christmas"	December 11, 1995
13	"Mind Games"	January 14, 1996
14	"Overly Meditated"	February 4, 1996
15	"El Pollo Loco"	February 11, 1996
16	"Auto Neurotic"	February 18, 1996
17	"A Midseason Night's Sex Comedy"	March 3, 1996
18	"Suites for the Sweet"	March 4, 1996
19	"Being Fired Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry"	March 11, 1996
20	"Lights, Camera, Mike?!"	March 18, 1996
21	"The Hunted House"	April 1, 1996
22	"Moving In: Part 1"	April 8, 1996
23	"Moving In: Part 2"	April 15, 1996
24	"It's a Wrap!"	April 22, 1996

Season 2

Ep #	Title	Airdate
1	"The Break-Up"	October 9, 1996
2	"Shelf Doubt"	October 16, 1996
3	"Good Grief"	October 23, 1996
4	"Heaven's Helper"	October 30, 1996
5	"Dating for Ratings"	December 20, 1997
6	"Where No Woman Has Gone Before"	December 20, 1997
7	"K.I.S.S."	December 24, 1997
8	"Gimme Shelter"	December 29, 1997
9	"The Laws"	December 30, 1997
10	"This Is What Happens When You Don't Watch PBS"	December 31, 1997

External links

• Almost Perfect at IMDb
• Almost Perfect at TV.com