City Guys


City Guys is an American sitcom television series that aired for five seasons on NBC from September 6, 1997 to December 15, 2001. The series aired as part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC.

Plot

The series was very similar in style to Saved by the Bell, but with an urban setting and more diverse cast. City Guys was mainly centered on its two main characters, Jamal Grant and Chris Anderson, two teenagers from different backgrounds – Chris coming from a wealthy family, and Jamal coming from a working-class family – who had to stay on the ball while attending Manhattan High School and avoid trouble, while their principal Karen Noble attempted to keep them in line and out of trouble. Jamal and Chris's similar personalities caused friction between them in the beginning, but they became best friends as the series went on. The boys and their friends – overachiever Dawn Tartikoff, slick guy Al Ramos, aspiring actress Cassidy Giuliani and dimwitted bully-turned-friend Lionel "L-Train" Johnson – dealt with the typical teen issues, such as cheating on tests, peer pressure, racism, and dealing with school violence.

Cast

Theme song

The theme song for "City Guys" was written by Joey Schwartz, Eric Swerdloff and Michael Muta-Ali Muhammad and composed by Joey Schwartz. The rap and R&B-infused theme included a chorus, "C-I-T-Y you can see why, these guys, the neat guys, smart and streetwise," which repeating twice consecutively during the beginning, middle and near the end of the song.

Episodes

Season 1: 1997

Season 2: 1998

Season 3: 1999-2000

Season 4: 2000-2001

Season 5: 2001

Syndication

City Guys ran in syndication on local television stations throughout the United States from September 10, 2001 to September 13, 2002; Tribune Entertainment, which distributed the series, sold the series as a syndication package – alongside fellow TNBC sitcom California Dreams – for stations to count towards educational programming guidelines set by the Federal Communications Commission. The series later briefly aired on BET for three weeks from October 2 to October 16, 2010.