Season 1 • Episode 13
LatestWIOU is an American television drama series, which aired on CBS in 1990 and 1991. The show is set in the news department of a fictional television station whose actual callsign is WNDY, but which is nicknamed WIOU by its staff because of the station's perennial financial struggles. The show stars John Shea as news director Hank Zaret. The cast also includes Mariette Hartley as executive producer Liz McVay, Harris Yulin and Helen Shaver as news anchors Neal Frazier and Kelby Robinson, Phil Morris as aggressive reporter Eddie Bock, Jayne Brook as reporter Ann Hudson, Kate McNeil as reporter Taylor Young, Dick Van Patten as aging weatherman Floyd Graham, and Wallace Langham as news intern Willis Teitelbaum. According to television researchers Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, this program received such low ratings that although 18 episodes were actually produced, five were never aired upon the program's cancellation.
Acting
Harris Yulin and Helen Shaver anchor with volcanic chemistry.
Writing
Smart, cynical newsroom banter that predates The West Wing.
Production
Authentic TV-station grime before everything went glossy.
Creators
John Eisendrath, Kathryn Pratt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Creator John Eisendrath later ran Alias and The Blacklist — WIOU was his training ground for high-stakes ensemble chaos.
The 'WIOU' nickname (We 'Owe You) was savagely prophetic — CBS owed viewers 5 episodes they never aired.
US
