DirecTV's 101 Network to Re-Run 'Wonderland'
Cancelled ABC series from Friday Night Lights ' Peter Berg to begin eight-episode run following FNL season finale.
By P.J. Bednarski -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/10/2008 8:01:00 AM
Related: DirecTV's New Role: Show Saver
Like Friday Night Lights before it, DirecTV is bringing back Wonderland, another broadcast network series critically acclaimed but viewer challenged (and also executive produced by Peter Berg).
The satellite TV operator will show all eight episodes of Wonderland on its special channel, The 101 Network, and on DirecTV on Demand, beginning Jan. 14 at 10 p.m. Only two episodes ran on ABC in the spring of 2000 before the network pulled the plug. DirecTV says it will air in HD and without commercials.
The gritty series concerned the the doctors and patients at a fictional New York psychiatric hospital called Rivervue. The dark and violent series was reviled by many psychiatrists for showing an extreme example of mentally ill patients. (The first episode featured a madman who shot several people in Times Square and then tried to kill himself.)
Critics generally gave it high praise. The first episode attracted 13 million viewers, but a week later, the audience for Wonderland was only 7.5 million and ABC stopped airing it.
All the episodes will run Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET and begins following the Season Three finale of Friday Night Lights, the series that is uniquely "sharing" itself with NBC where it originally aired. Friday Night Lights makes its season debut on NBC two nights later, on Jan. 16.
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I just recently saw the first air wed what is the name of the theme song and who wrote it.
Debz Haziz - 10/29/2009 3:12:29 PM EDT -
What is the theme music from?
Walter Daleske - 2/16/2009 3:23:53 PM EST -
Wonderland was one of the best tv medical dramas ever. I'm glad to see DirectTV giving this series a second look and introduce newbies to it. Now if only we can get it on DVD.....
Matt Reed - 12/11/2008 11:15:00 AM EST
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