# Scoundrels (TV series)

Scoundrels is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on the ABC network. It is based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune. The one-hour comedy-drama premiered on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 9 pm. The eight-episode run ended on August 15, 2010.

## Plot

Cheryl West is a middle-aged woman with four children: twin brothers Logan and Cal, and daughters Heather, an aspiring model and Hope, the youngest and an aspiring filmmaker. After Cheryl's career criminal husband Wolf is sentenced to five years in prison, Cheryl forces her family to quit its criminal activities. However, even from jail, Wolf interferes with her attempts to reform their family.

## Cast

* Virginia Madsen as Cheryl West
* David James Elliott as Wolfgang "Wolf" West
* Patrick Flueger as Logan and Calvin "Cal" West (twins)
* Leven Rambin as Heather West
* Vanessa Marano as Hope West
* Carlos Bernard as Sergeant Mack

## Development and production

The series is based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang. (See also "Honest" starring Amanda Redman - a UK version of the New Zealand series which transmitted on ITV in 2008.) Lyn Greene and Richard Levine wrote the pilot of Scoundrels for American television, and they serve as the series show runners. ABC green-lit the series in January 2010 with an eight episode order.
Madsen was cast in early February, followed by Flueger. Rambin came on board in late February, along with Neal McDonough, who was originally cast as Wolf West. Filming began March 16, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three days into the shoot, McDonough was replaced by David James Elliot due to McDonough's religious beliefs and refusal to film sex scenes.
This was ABC's second attempt at reformatting Outrageous Fortune for an American audience. In 2008, a pilot named Good Behavior wasn't picked up by the network.

## Reception

The series pilot "And Jill Came Tumbling After" received mixed reviews with The Boston Herald claiming the show was "wicked fun" and praised the show's cast. A reviewer from The Boston Globe was quoted to say "Not a single one of the characters were funny enough, or touching enough, to make me want to see more of them. If the Wests were thrown in jail, I’d be tempted to throw away the key." On the review collaboration site Metacritic, Scoundrels currently holds 56% (mixed or average) based on 18 critic reviews. The show's second episode Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary got overall a better response than the pilot with it earning positive reviews. TV Fanatic gave the episode 3/5 saying "the episode was an improvement on the pilot, with the characters developing and the show overall finding its tone and footing a bit." and "there were decent dramatic moments and good laughs in “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary."

## Cancellation

On October 24, 2010 it was revealed on ABC's Twitter page that Scoundrels would not be returning for another season.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (in millions) |
| 1 | "And Jill Came Tumbling After" | Julie Anne Robinson | Lyn Greene & Richard Levine | June 20, 2010 (2010-06-20) | 5.17 |
| 2 | "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" | Julie Anne Robinson | Lyn Greene & Richard Levine | June 27, 2010 (2010-06-27) | 3.63 |
| 3 | "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" | Michael Katleman | Rick Cleveland | July 11, 2010 (2010-07-11) | 3.00 |
| 4 | "Where Have You Been, Charming Billy?" | Michael Katleman | Lisa Melamed | July 18, 2010 (2010-07-18) | 3.16 |
| 5 | "Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir, Three Bags Full" | Deran Sarafian | Joy Gregory | July 25, 2010 (2010-07-25) | 3.1 |
| 6 | "Birds of a Feather Flock Together" | Deran Sarafian | Lisa Melamed | August 1, 2010 (2010-08-01) | 3.22 |
| 7 | "That's the Way the Money Goes" | John Scott | Joy Gregory | August 8, 2010 (2010-08-08) | 3.33 |
| 8 | "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" | John Scott | Rick Cleveland | August 15, 2010 (2010-08-15) | 2.84 |

## Ratings
### U.S. Nielsen ratings
#### Weekly ratings

| Episode Number | Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | Rank (Timeslot) | Rank (Night) |
| 1 | "And Jill Came Tumbling After" | 3.5 | 6 | 1.3/4 | 5.17 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" | 3.3 | 4 | 1.1/3 | 3.63 | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" | 2.0 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 3.00 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | "Where Have You Been, Charming Billy?" | 2.1 | 4 | 0.7/2 | 3.16 | 4 | 14 |
| 5 | "Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir, Three Bags Full" | 2.1 | 3 | 3.10 | 4 | 14 |
| 6 | "Birds of a Feather Flock Together" | 2.0 | 3 | 0.7/2 | 3.22 | 4 | 13 |
| 7 | "That's the Way the Money Goes" | 2.1 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 3.33 | 4 | 14 |
| 8 | "Who's Afraid Of the Big Bad Wolf?" | 1.8 | 3 | 0.8/2 | 2.84 | 4 | 14 |

#### Seasonal ratings

| Season | Episodes | Original airing | Original airing | Original airing | Viewers (in millions) | Network |
| Season | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale | TV Season | Viewers (in millions) | Network |
| 1 | 8 | June 20, 2010 (2010-06-20) | August 15, 2010 (2010-08-15) | 2009–2010 | 3.43 | ABC |

### Canadian ratings

| Episode Number | Episode | Viewers (millions) | Rank (Week) |
| 1 | "And Jill Came Tumbling After" | 1.041 | #17 |
| 2 | "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" | 1.260 | #15 |
| 3 | "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" | 0.936 | #28 |
| 4 | "Where Have You Been, Charming Billy?" | 0.925 | #28 |