| Kate Brasher | |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Stephen Tolkin |
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| Theme music composer |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Gordon Lonsdale |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | February 24 (2001-02-24) – April 14, 2001 (2001-04-14) |
Kate Brasher is an American drama television series created by Stephen Tolkin, that was broadcast on CBS from February 24 until April 14, 2001. It premiered at 9:00pm ET/PT on Saturday, February 24, 2001 and was cancelled after six episodes.
The title character was the single mother of teenaged sons Daniel and Elvis living in Santa Monica, California. Facing a financial crisis, she seeks legal advice at Brothers Keepers, an inner city community advocacy center, and is offered a job as a social worker. Her co-workers include attorney Abbie Schaeffer and Joe Almeida, the organization's street-smart director, who founded it after his daughter was killed in gang crossfire.
Among those actors making guest appearances during the series' short run were K Callan, Dennis Christopher, Paul Dooley, Mariette Hartley, Josh Hopkins, Carl Lumbly, Spencer Breslin, David Naughton and Mackenzie Phillips.[1]
Series creator Stephen Tolkin based the character of Almeida on Rabbi Mark Borovitz, an ex-convict and alcoholic who became the spiritual leader of Gateways Beit T'Shuvah, a residential treatment center for Jews in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. The two men met when Tolkin contacted the rabbi for help with a friend who was dealing with substance abuse.[2]
Although set in Santa Monica, California, the series was shot on location in San Diego, California.
| No. | Title | Directed by [3] | Written by [3] | Original air date | Prod. code [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kate" "Pilot" | James Frawley | Stephen Tolkin | February 24, 2001 (2001-02-24) | 1AEA01 |
| 2 | "Simon" | Jerry Levine | Story by : John Landgraf, Joel Fields, Stephen Tolkin Written by : Joel Fields, Stephen Tolkin | March 3, 2001 (2001-03-03) | 1AEA04 |
| 3 | "Jeff" | Steve Robman | Joel Fields, Stephen Tolkin | March 10, 2001 (2001-03-10) | 1AEA06 |
| 4 | "Jackson" | Joe Napolitano | Phil Penningroth | March 24, 2001 (2001-03-24) | 1AEA05 |
| 5 | "Tracy" | Arvin Brown | Stephen Tolkin | April 7, 2001 (2001-04-07) | 1AEA02 |
| 6 | "Georgia" | Steve Miner | Dana Baratta | April 14, 2001 (2001-04-14) | 1AEA03 |
Anita Gates of the New York Times said the series "has an appealing cast and doesn't insult viewers' intelligence most of the time. But the main characters - who are 100 percent good and face off against people who are 100 percent bad - always seem to be making self-righteous speeches . . . There's nothing wrong with inspiring little speeches that make audiences cheer. It was always a pleasure to see Dixie Carter get carried away with one of hers on Designing Women. But the speeches have to say something in a fresh way, and even Ms. Carter's orations got old once the show's writers became so self-conscious about them.
Kate Brasher is trying too hard . . . to be quirky . . . to create a noisy ER-ish atmosphere of hustle, bustle, chaos and crisis, . . . [and] to be simultaneously uplifting and cynical."[4]
