1990s American TV series
The Naked Truth
is an American
sitcom
television series that aired on
ABC
from September 13, 1995, to February 28, 1996, and on
NBC
from January 16, 1997, to May 25, 1998. The series stars
Tea Leoni
and
Holland Taylor
. The show took place at the office of a
tabloid
news publication.
Plot
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]
Pulitzer Prize
nominated photographer Nora Wilde (
Tea Leoni
) divorces her rich, philandering husband Leland Banks, asking for nothing in the settlement except the use of her maiden name. Broke and without prospects for employment, after Leland blackballs her from respectable mainstream work, Nora seeks work at
The Comet
, a sleazy celebrity
tabloid
owned by Sir Rudolph Halley (
Tim Curry
) and run by ruthless Camilla Dane (
Holland Taylor
). Initially, Nora is repulsed by the depths to which she has to sink for her new job ? she finds herself in demeaning situations such as stealing
Anna Nicole Smith
's urine to run a pregnancy test, and staking out the
sewer for mutant alligators
? but before long, she begins to feel at home. Nora's coworkers include egotistical Nicky Columbus (
Jonathan Penner
), a potential love interest; T.J. (
Darryl Sivad
), a humorless African-American man always clad in dark sunglasses; and Stupid Dave (
Mark Roberts
) who is mentally disabled. At home, Nora deals with deranged building manager Mr. Donner (
Jack Blessing
) and Chloe Banks (
Amy Ryan
), her best friend and former step-daughter.
In the second season, the show switched networks and was retooled. Meat-mogul Les Polanski (
George Wendt
) buys
The Comet
, intending to make it a respectable publication. Gone were the outlandishly zany antics from the first season, and
Stupid Dave
was now merely referred to as
Dave
. Chloe disappears without explanation, as does Mr. Donner (since Nora has a new apartment).
Mary Tyler Moore
(replacing
Dyan Cannon
from season one) and
George Segal
both make frequent guest appearances as Nora's parents in season two, eventually moving into the apartment across the hall. Most episodes centered on Nora's romantic life and how her job could intrude on that.
Season three saw enormous changes. Camilla quits
The Comet
and moves on to rival tabloid
The National Inquisitor
, leaving most of the staff behind. By this point, she and Nora had become close, so she asks Nora to join her at the
Inquisitor
. Also moving to
The Inquisitor
was Dave, who was no longer mentally disabled. Their new coworkers include smug reporter Jake Sullivan (
Tom Verica
), photographer Suji (
Amy Hill
), studious
fact checker
Harris (
Jim Rash
), and Bradley Crosby (
Chris Elliott
), the self-proclaimed illegitimate son of
Bing Crosby
.
History
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The series began on
ABC
and was canceled after a single season despite ranking at #25 with an 11.4 rating. For its second season, the series moved to
NBC
[1]
with new cast members and a general retooling of the show away from its tabloid settings. The second season ranked at #4 with a 16.8 rating. Its third and final season plummeted to #74 and was canceled at the end of the season.
Episodes
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- ^
Episodes 16-22 never aired.
References
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External links
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