| Austin Stories | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | James Jones[1] |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | James Jones Howard Kremer |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | September 10, 1997 – January 7, 1998 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Austin Stories is an American sitcom that aired on MTV from September 10, 1997[3] until January 7, 1998.[2] It aired Wednesday nights at 10:30 pm.[4] The show aired twelve episodes filmed on location in Austin, Texas.
An MTV search brought executives James Jones and Lisa Berger to Austin in 1994.[5] Jones had previously produced The Ben Stiller Show and Berger was vice-president and director of development at the network. MTV scouts were drawn to the city's emerging comedy scene and noticed Laura House, Howard Kremer and Brad "Chip" Pope. They were all discovered at a showcase for MTV at the Laff Stop for professional comics. All three had to pull strings to get on the showcase as none of them had been paid for their comedy. House was a junior high journalism teacher when she was cast on the show.[5] Both she and Brad "Chip" Pope were University of Texas graduates.[citation needed] Originally, the show was only guaranteed 13 episodes on the channel.[5] In March 1997, MTV flew House, Kremer and Pope to Los Angeles to write two scripts in three days.[6] Austin Stories was green-lighted on March 20, 1997, and they often spent 16-hour days working on the show with taping wrapping in November.[citation needed]
Their contract expired on May 8, 1998, and MTV extended it for three more weeks before permanently canceling the show on June 1, 1998.[6]
- ^ Adalian, Josef (2002-08-22). "CBS hoping hicks click". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ a b Elizondo, Juan B. Jr. (1997-09-16). "MTV rocks into sitcoms with 'Austin Stories'". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "Cowboys Owner Assists Farm Aid". The Seattle Times. 1997-08-24. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "AUSTIN, TEXAS, SETS THE MOOD FOR MTV SITCOM". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 1997-10-06. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ a b c Shakespeare, J. C. (1997-05-30). "Yo! MTV Laughs!: The Long, Strange Trip to TV for Three Austin Comics". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ a b Moser, Margaret (1998-06-04). "TV Eye". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-11-03.