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Jake in Progress aired from March 2005 until January 2006 on ABC.

Suave publicist Jake Phillips ( John Stamos) juggled demanding A-list clients and an uneven love life in this amiable but low-rated sitcom. Jake, a star agent at the New York Agency Magnum P.R., was always on the run, juggling crises on his cell phone while trying to romance dates, often winding up with egg on his handsome face in the process. Naomi ( Wendie Malick) was his irratable boss, pregnant by an unknown sperm doner. His two best pals were Adrian ( Ian Gomez), a married, balding, suburban dentist who often hit him up for tickets, and Patrick ( Rick Hoffman), an excentrick " performance artist" given to stunts like encasing himself in Plexiglas. Numerous beautiful women passed through the series ( some announced as "regulars" although they never seemed to stay very long). After a short and unsuccessful run in the spring of 2005, ABC brought the show back the following January ( by which time Naomi had given birth), but then canceled it after a single telecast. Charlotte Ross and Dondre T. Whitfild joined the cast for season two. Ross played Jake's old flame Annie and Whitfield played an old college friend of Jake's named Mark. Annie only appeared in that one aired episode however and Mark 's episodes never even aired . At least three episodes remained unaired when the series was canceled.

A Review from Variety

Jake in Progress
(Series -- ABC, Sun. March 13, 9 p.m.)
By BRIAN LOWRY

Filmed in Los Angeles and New York City by Brad Grey Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Executive producers, Austin Winsberg, Tim Doyle, Peter Traugott, Jeffrey Richman; supervising producer, Stephen Lloyd; producers, Michael Spiller, John Stamos, Jeff Morton; director, Spiller; writer, Winsberg.

Jake - John Stamos
Adrian - Ian Gomez
Patrick - Rick Hoffman
Naomi - Wendie Malick

ABC's promos make no bones about hoping to establish this promising comedy as a male-centric "Sex and the City," and like the show itself, that's trying too hard. John Stamos, well supported by colorful characters, provides pleasant company as a celebrity PR exec afflicted with "grass is greener" complex -- forever worrying there's some woman better for him at the next cocktail party. Show's biggest problem is that ABC has no natural home for it, but at least it's smart, stylish and sporadically funny, words seldom affixed to the net's recent half-hours.
Not exactly a romantic, Stamos' Jake is one of those good-looking chaps who woos and discards dazzling women, due to a combination of his shallowness and their insanity. His glamorous life is all about juggling needy clients and romance via cell phones and mile-a-minute chatter, with split screens capturing the frenetic pace.

Jake's interplay with married college chum Adrian (Ian Gomez) -- a sponge for whatever free tickets his pal can deliver -- only scratches the surface of this hare-brained world. The immediate circle includes the ever-reliable Wendie Malick as Jake's pregnant boss and Rick Hoffman as a sort-of magician/performance artist obsessed with David Blaine, who he's convinced has stolen his shtick.

That character comes across a bit over the top, as does half-hour in which Jake reps a "Queer Eye"-type sensation dubbed the "Three Gaymigos." It's also worth pointing out that the title character frequently functions more like an agent than a flack, a bit of hairsplitting given the show's other modest charms.

Since the premise was altered after the fact, the "Jake" pilot (written by twentysomething Austin Winsberg, who was 8 years old when Stamos first achieved heartthrob status on "Full House") doesn't put its best foot forward. Specifically, it's been awkwardly reconstructed to turn Madchen Amick, initially positioned as a regular love interest, into a guest star.

Moreover, the best of five previewed episodes isn't scheduled for either of the show's first two nights. In that half-hour, Jake meets No. 47 on the "Super Sexy 66" list, as played by "Unscripted's" Krista Allen, which makes one curious to see Nos. 1-46.

"She eats. She said 'preclude,' " Jake tells Adrian, implying that those are adorable qualities in someone so gorgeous; limited motor skills are assumed. Of course, nothing lasts forever, especially when Jake meets her friend, ranked No. 3 on the same list.

Where "Jake" clocks in on Nielsen's hit list could be another matter. Because the show doesn't mesh with "According to Jim," ABC will run back-to-back episodes Thursdays, trying to create a comedy hour opposite "Survivor" and "Joey." Even facing reruns of the latter, establishing an ABC series that night remains a tall order, unless this Sunday's preview in "Desperate Housewives' " neighborhood leads comedy-starved viewers to the trough.

Despite some promise, then, it's unclear whether "Jake" will be able sustain that first blush of attraction, or if it's destined to find that any fledgling comedy seeking to romance viewers

An Article from USA TODAY
Published on March 8, 2005

'Jake' tracks the progress of Stamos' real life
By William Keck, USA TODAY

When 28-year-old TV writer Austin Winsberg first dreamed up Jake in Progress, a new half-hour comedy about the dating life of a single man in New York, his concept differed dramatically from what will appear on screen.

(Two episodes premiere Sunday at 9 and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, before the show moves to its regular Thursday time slot with weekly back-to-back episodes March 17 at 8 and 8:30 p.m.)

Back then, the show was called The Date, and an entire season's worth of episodes was to have chronicled a banker's first date with a new love.

After considering Freddie Prinze Jr. for the role, Winsberg met in November 2003 with John Stamos, who was then still married to Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.

The show's title changed several times in two years, and the single-date gimmick is gone. (Related story: Stamos, starting over)

Jake the banker is now Jake the PR guy who will be seen dating a slew of women.

But the most influential change came when Romijn dropped the Stamos from both her name and her life, leaving her ex, John, looking awkwardly like his unlucky-in-love character.

"The show definitely got tailored to what was going on with me personally," Stamos concedes. "So it all of a sudden became very personal for me, and it's probably more interesting to watch."

Winsberg acknowledges that the parallels between Jake and John can't hurt. "Obviously, none of this was intentional, but I think it makes it more palatable for the viewing audience. Because John is going through a lot of this in his own life now, I think he brings a lot of his feeling of longing to the character."

Jake in Progress began filming its pilot in March 2004 just as the Stamoses were separating. When the show was picked up for 13 episodes, filming started up again in August when the divorce was well underway.

Viewers can take pleasure in knowing that, like his character, he, too, is "just as neurotic, lonely and insecure as anybody," Stamos says. "But I feel like people are rooting for me to succeed."

Like Stamos, Jake has lost a love of his own — a fiancée who left two weeks before their wedding. Her name is Annie, a character who is often discussed but will not be seen until the end of the season when her head will be shown only from the back.

The gimmick leaves casting opportunities wide open should the show return for a second season. With Romijn now actively pursuing TV projects, might she be considered for the role?

"Annie's a brunette, so probably not," Winsberg says. "But I can pretty much guarantee that wouldn't happen anyway."

A Review from Entertainment Weekly

TV Review
Jake in Progress
C By Mark Harris Mark Harris

The problems of a rakishly handsome, always-on-the-go bad boy who sees 40 on the horizon but just can't settle down with one woman may elicit sympathy from a very small demographic. (Possibly one that includes only George Clooney.) And the problems facing a high-strung urban celebrity publicist probably appeal to an equally tiny subset. (Possibly only George Clooney's publicist.) So it's hard to determine the audience for Jake in Progress, unless it's a demographic of John Stamos fans who will follow him anywhere, even to an underdeveloped sitcom in which Stamos'Jake alternates snappy talk while he strides along Manhattan's fast track with sappy talk while he apologizes to an ever-regenerating supply of irked women.

I wanted to like Jake, if only because, as a single-camera, laugh-track-free comedy, it lacks the creepy yellow-orange glow that makes every ABC sitcom look as if it's shot in an egg incubator. And I wanted to like Jake because Stamos, whether playing Full House or full louse, is an affable and durable presence; a few years from now he'll probably be raising four orphans with his sister Marisa Tomei on the new Fox hit Six-Pack! Stamos is most appealing playing against his handsome-smoothie qualities, and here, he's best when he's slightly unsettled. The first few episodes give him a funny subplot in which he represents a barely closeted athlete. ''You were making out with the bartender?'' Stamos asks with a sigh as he drags his client out of a strip joint. '' No, he was making out with me'' is the injured reply. (We'll see if that joke survives the show's inappropriate 8 p.m. time slot.)

Network restrictions prevent Jake in Progress from being either the Entourage-like take on showbiz or the male Sex and the City that it wants to be. That leaves too much time for his standard sitcom crew: Best Buddy (Felicity's Ian Gomez) and Irritating Guy (Cellular's Rick Hoffman, an actor best taken in humming-bird's-eyelash-size doses). The show desperately needs a female character who doesn't find Jake dazzling; his tart boss, a forty-something single woman pregnant by a sperm donor (the always excellent Wendie Malick), could be that adversary if the scripts didn't force her to be so benignly amused by the little scamp. But is it really charming when a guy says, ''Whenever I get close to someone, I freak out and then I convince myself that there's someone better out there for me''? The woman he's whining to smartly remarks: ''I appreciate your honesty...but I don't think so.'' I'm with her.

An Article from the AP
March 14, 2005

John Stamos plays
ladies man on ‘Jake’
Comedy parallels actor's real life

NEW YORK - Consider “Jake in Progress” the latest example of how things can come in threes.

After a preview last Sunday, the new John Stamos comedy arrives on its regular night, Thursday, with back-to-back episodes airing 8 p.m. ET. Its network: ABC, which already has enjoyed a Lazarus-like recovery with “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives,” the season’s most-talked-about hits. Now could “Jake in Progress” be the third?

Why not? “Jake” is fresh, antic and smart, with the former “Full House” star exhibiting a gift for adult romantic comedy while making sport of his image since teenhood as a heartthrob.

Playing a slick PR agent who mostly handles celebrity clients, he is surrounded by a splendid supporting cast: Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me”) as Jake’s diva-ish boss; Ian Gomez as his childhood friend, a schlubby suburban dentist with the stable family life Jake thinks he wants; and, as a demented performance artist forever hounding Jake to either be his publicist or his best friend, the hilarious Rick Hoffman.

“I knew the character I wanted to play,” says Stamos, thinking back to when the show first began to take shape. “He’s a guy who can make everyone else seem like they have their act together — but HE doesn’t. His life is in shambles.”

Well, maybe not in shambles. But Jake has his hang-ups — sweaty palms when he gets nervous; issues about age (he’s observed his 32nd birthday the past three years); a grass-is-greener fixation, whether it’s for the supermodel across the room who seems sexier than the girl he’s with, or for the latest model cell phone in somebody else’s hand that makes him instantly unhappy with the one he owns.

His biggest problem: Weary (or so he claims) of bedding one hottie after another, Jake believes he wants to settle down.

The series was originally meant to have Jake settling down from its first week — “basically, ‘Mad About You,”’ Stamos explains.

Parallelling real life
Then his life and the show’s evolving concept began to mirror each other.

A year ago, Stamos separated from his wife, supermodel-turned-actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.

“Meanwhile, ABC picked up the show, but wanted Jake out there dating. I said, ‘Yeah, let him be a guy who’s looking to fall in love again.’ So it all paralleled my life, and suddenly the show became more personal to me. There are scenes sometimes that hit right to the core.

“I never thought I’d be single at 41, never in a million years,” says Stamos, whose divorce became final earlier this month. “It’s for the best, and it’s exciting. But a lot of it’s depressing.”

Mind you, there is no self-pity in evidence. Nor, for that matter, does Stamos display a leading-man swagger, despite his poster-boy status since landing a role on “General Hospital” at

18. Turns out he is, if anything, better-looking than his handsome on-screen puss. No big deal. He comes across in person as an ordinary joe. One minute he is voicing pride and cautious optimism about his new show, the next commiserating with a fellow loser in love.

“I had two three-year relationships before I met Rebecca, and then I was with her for 10 years,” he muses, “so this is really kind of new to me.”

‘Full House’ remembered
Sure, John, but isn’t it like riding a bicycle? So how about advice on how to find a new bicycle?

Stamos laughs. “I was just in Brazil with my friends, who were making fun of me because girls weren’t falling all over me — they didn’t know who I was. And I had no idea what to do. In Brazil, of all places! For 2½ weeks! Nothing! Not a kiss! All of a sudden, I was just a regular guy, without a 20-year history on television. You want advice? Don’t ask me!”

Not that it was the first time he’s been asked. Nor is this the first time he is asked the next, inevitable question: What about “Full House,” the treacly family sitcom that ran on ABC from 1987 to 1995, and has haunted him since.

“The whole time I was on it, I wished I was on another show, I’m not gonna lie to you,” he gamely replies. “But I look back on it fondly, and I’m proud of it. Was it ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Friends,’ ‘Mary Tyler Moore’? No. Was it a heartwarming show you could watch with your kids? Yes. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

“But it’s taken me years to have people realize that I can do more than that mullet-headed, guitar-playing motorcycle guy. It’s been methodical, it’s been slow, it’s been 10 years of doing theater, independent movies, and hiding out for a while and just growing up and becoming a man.”

Among other things, Stamos has toured with the Beach Boys playing drums, and co-produced the miniseries, “Beach Boys: An American Family.” He played the master of ceremonies in a Broadway revival of “Cabaret.” In 2001 he starred in “Thieves,” a short-lived romantic action series on ABC.

“I also took a back seat for a while to my ex’s success, and loved it,” he says. “I was proud of her. So I’ve performed under the radar the last few years, and I don’t blame people for just knowing me from ‘Full House.’ As soon as I give them something else to see me in — hopefully it’s ‘Jake in Progress’ — then they’ll have a different perception.”

An actor looking to leave his past behind, Stamos just might do it here, with a comic version of his present.

An Interview With John Stamos

John Stamos Dishes About a Revamped 'Jake in Progress'

Jan. 10 -- 'Jake in Progress,' indeed. ABC's year-old sitcom starring John Stamos is getting a reboot, with a new storyline, new characters and new wardrobe for its leading man.

In season two, which premieres tonight, the show will become more of a traditional romantic comedy after introducing Annie, played by 'NYPD Blue' star Charlotte Ross, who left Jake at the altar three years ago. She's getting married to another man, but when the exes start working together at Jake's PR firm, old feelings start coming back.

Stamos chatted with AOL Television editor Kelly Woo about the changes, his New Year resolutions and the hilarious short film 'I Am Stamos.'

I watched the first two episodes of season two, and the premiere really feels like a pilot for an almost totally new show.
It's interesting that you say the first show is like a pilot because we always treated it like that, like it was going to be a new fresh show that people saw for the first time. The main goal was to make Jake more vulnerable and accessible and less slick Last year, we started out and we really got thrown into so many different directions because the show was initially going to be a romantic comedy version of '24.' We threw that idea out. Then we thought he should date a bunch of girls, and that became kind of disrespectful I thought. It takes time to figure these shows out; luckily we got to do it under the radar last year. So, our goal this year was to figure out what worked and do only that.

So the girl of the week stories weren't working?
A lot of it didn't work. I never liked the idea of different girl of the week. I think that a good, smart, traditional romantic comedy is a guy and a girl. That's been the backbone of this season, and everything else seems to be falling into place really well. Everyone has their own thing to do and their own storyline, with Jake still weaved within them. Our goal also was to put more out there for more people, so you wouldn't just have to watch my ass for 22 minutes.

Will the season be focused on the Jake/Annie relationship, or will he still be a bit of the man about town?
Certainly the first six or seven episodes, I end up working with her. She's still getting married. We go through broad-stroke romantic comedy themes, but I think we do it really well. I try to break up her wedding. So the first half is about Jake and Annie. The second half … you'll have to watch.

How was Charlotte Ross cast as Annie?
The usual way -- she came in and auditioned. There was some great people who wanted to do the show, but it's all about chemistry. She's got an old-school movie star quality that I like about her. We're playing a lot of Hepburn-Tracy fast dialogue and she did that really well. I think she kind of grounds me as Jake. She's been a good match for me.

Jake has a new friend, Mark. Why was he brought into the fold?
We needed Jake to have a friend. We were having issues with the Patrick character, making it believable that he would be someone that Jake would hang out with all the time.We love Rick Hoffman, he's so funny. We figured out what worked best for him: It wasn't really him being a friend of mine, it was more him antagonizing me all the time. And then Ian [Gomez, as Adrian], he's got the wife and kids. We wanted a fun old friend that could be my buddy, and also take some of the heat off of me dating. He's freshly single, he's out there in the field. He can be more of the "date of the week" kind of guy.

The first two episodes didn't show Jake doing much PR work. Will we be seeing those stories again?
We see it. Actually we're doing an episode next week where I'm kind of on a rebound of Annie, she leaves again, it's about episode seven or eight. We do a story that parallels Brad and Jennifer. So I have to deal with her break-up, and we kind of fall for each other a bit as a rebound thing. We have a lot more references coming up and we get into it more.

There were some rumors you were joining the cast of 'ER,' and then you ended up doing a guest stint in November. Is drama something you'd like to do later down the road?
My absolute first priority is 'Jake.' I'm doing everything I can do keep it on the air, I'm doing everything I can to make people want to watch the show. That's all I'm really thinking about. I did 'ER,' I had the time and I wanted to continue my relationship with John Wells. But I'm really not thinking past 'Jake' at all.

Our sister site, Moviefone, ran a funny short called 'I Am Stamos' in its short film festival. How did you get involved in that?
These two smart kids came and saw me in … I think it was 'Cabaret.' I think they felt I had a sense of humor about myself, which I do. They pitched me this idea about some guy, a character actor who wanted to look like me and gets his wish and destroys my life. I thought they made a really funny little movie.

Have you been doing much with music?
Not enough. I play with the Beach Boys once in awhile. There was a time when I was doing so many different things, my goal was a little unfocused. I'm trying to be the best actor I can be right now and trying to make 'Jake' as good as it can be. But I'll do some big shows with the Beach Boys, occasionally, and benefits. We did some Katrina benefits.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions?
I usually start bad habits at New Year's. No, no I haven't made any.

For The Official Website of John Stamos go to http://www.johnstamos.net/

For The Unofficial John Stamos Homepage go to http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/johnstamos/

For a Website dedicated to Wendie Malick go to http://www.wendiemalick.itgo.com/