The Loop (American TV series)


The Loop is an American sitcom that ran from March 15, 2006 to July 1, 2007 on Fox. The show starred Bret Harrison as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S. airline. Set in the city of Chicago, whose downtown loop area acted as the setting for most of the show. The show's theme song is "Hockey Monkey" by James Kochalka Superstar and the Zambonis.

Premise

The Loop focuses on the life of its main character, Sam Sullivan. The show is shot with a single-camera setup instead of a multiple-camera setup more typical for situation comedies. The series follows Sam, his friends and his co-workers, as they try to survive both their personal and professional lives. In every episode most of the characters say many "situation comedy" style lines, which are often a result of improvisation. A complete script is written for each episode of The Loop; however, actors are given opportunities to improvise their lines during the shooting process.

Cast and characters

The series was filmed in 480i, 720p. The Loop lasted only two seasons. Season 1 lasted only 7 episodes. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 13 episodes on May 12 by Fox. It was one of only two live-action sitcoms renewed for the 2006-2007 season on Fox, along with The War at Home. The Loop's second season took place mainly in the workplace, and less of it with Sam's friends. The producers stated they "found most of the comedy to be with Sam and his co-workers and they wanted to expand on that." On November 28, 2006, it was announced that the show's second season episode order had been reduced from thirteen to ten, with Fox's crowded spring schedule believed to be the main reason for the reduction. The show was cancelled on May 17, 2007, before the second season was even broadcast. Fox eventually burned off the remaining episodes on Sundays beginning June 10, 2007.

Episodes

Season 1: 2006

Season 2: 2007

U.S. television ratings

Below is a table of the seasonal rankings of The Loop on Fox.
SeasonEpisodesTimeslot Season PremiereSeason FinaleViewers
1Wednesday 9:30 PM
Tuesday 9:00 PM		March 15, 2006April 13, 20063.86
2Sunday 8:30 PM and 9:30 PMJune 10, 2007July 1, 20072.36

Broadcast and distribution

Online distribution

In the U.S., both the first and second seasons of the show are available for purchase on the iTunes Store, as well as the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace or for free on Hulu. In an aggressive marketing campaign by Fox, the pilot episode was released across a broad range of mediums from satellite broadcasting to popular social networking websites such as Facebook, shown on United Airlines flights, freely distributed on video on demand on about 30 cable and satellite systems including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Dish Network, on Yahoo, and from Amazon Unbox. Also, prior to the airing of The Loop in the United Kingdom the pilot episode was released as a free temporary download on iTunes.

Home media

The first season of The Loop was released on DVD on March 6, 2007. Bonus features included a featurette with interviews from the cast and crew.

International airdates