Mr. Sunshine (2011 TV series)
Mr. Sunshine is an American television sitcom that aired from February 9 to April 6, 2011, as a mid-season replacement. The single-camera comedy was co-created by Matthew Perry, who also starred in the series. ABC cancelled the series on May 13, 2011, due to low ratings. Premise. Ben Donovan (Perry) is the operations manager for the Sunshine Center, a second-tier arena in San Diego, who has to deal with the unusual demands of his job and his unpredictable boss (Allison Janney). Development and production. "Mr. Sunshine" is based on a concept  by Matthew Perry, who planned to co-write, star in, and executive produce. The project sparked a bidding war among the networks, with ABC landing the comedy in October 2009. The deal came with hefty penalties for ABC if the pilot hadn't made it to series. Perry teamed with Sony writers Alex Barnow and Marc Firek to pen the script. A green light to produce the pilot came from ABC in early January 2010. Thomas Schlamme, of Shoe Money Productions, was chosen to direct the half-hour pilot. Perry, Schlamme, and co-writers Barnow and Firek were all listed  as executive producers for the pilot, along with Jamie Tarses of FanFare Productions. Casting began in late January, with Allison Janney as the first actor added to the cast as Ben's boss. In February, Andrea Anders was tapped as Ben's "friend with benefits", and Nate Torrence brought on board to play Roman, the son of Ben's boss. The casting of Portia Doubleday as Ben's assistant, and James Lesure as an ex-basketball star, was announced at the end of April. In May 2010, ABC picked up the pilot for the 2010–2011 television season. On May 13 , 2011, ABC announced that it had canceled "Mr. Sunshine". Home media. The series was released on DVD on November 1, 2011, featuring the 4 unaired episodes. Mill Creek Entertainment announced the re-released of the complete series on DVD.