LateLine is an American TV sitcom that ran on NBC from March 17, 1998, through March 16, 1999. Due to an abrupt cancellation, there were seven unaired episodes.
Created by John Markus and Al Franken, LateLine depicted the behind-the-scenes goings-on of a fictitious late-night television news broadcast, patterned in part after the long-running ABC program Nightline. Many plotlines in the series were satirical, dealing with topics like Deep Throat and the Watergate break-in, and the episodes often had cameos by famous politicians.
On August 17, 2004, Paramount released a DVD set containing all nineteen episodes on three discs.
Episodes
Cast
Season 1
1. Pilot
30min
17th Mar 1998
Pearce McKenzie, the anchor of hit news show ""Lateline"" makes a publicity stunt to ensure that he, and no other, is the richest anchor in the network. He claims that he is going to retire just so people will be shocked. But it all goes wrong when the new anchor is going to be Al Freundlich.
2. Al Anonymous
30min
24th Mar 1998
Gale is considered to start a spin-off of ""LateLine"" for younger viewers called ""KidLine"". Meanwhile, Al is suspected of writing a book.
3. Gale Gets a Life
30min
31st Mar 1998
Al is out sick, and Pearce starts to realize his true feelings for Gale.
4. Buddy Hackett
30min
7th Apr 1998
An internet page claims that actor Buddy Hackett has passed away. The gang, stressed about not finding stories for the show, decide to air a special show about the late Hackett. But soon they will find out the Buddy is still alive.
5. Pearce's New Best Friend
30min
14th Apr 1998
Gale auditions for a different network. Meanwhile, Al goes mad trying to score some tickets for a party hosted by Julia Roberts.
6. Lawyer, Lawyer
30min
21st Apr 1998
Al tries to convince Pearce to come to his Jewish temple. When Pearce finally agrees, Al asks him to participate in a charity the temple is having.