Karen Sisco

2025-06-10T01:19:21Z

2600:1000:B19F:814D:6575:14AB:B69F:D4D4: Deleted redundant sentence

{{short description|American crime drama TV series (2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = KarenSisco.jpg
| caption = Carla Gugino as Karen Sisco
| genre = [[Crime drama]]
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[Out of Sight (novel)|Out of Sight]]''|[[Elmore Leonard]]}}
| developer = [[Jason Smilovic]]
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Carla Gugino]]
* [[Robert Forster]]
* [[Bill Duke]]}}
| composer = [[Jon Ehrlich]]
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 10
| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Danny DeVito]]
* [[Michael Shamberg]]
* [[Stacey Sher]]
* [[John Landgraf]]
* [[Bob Brush]]
* [[Michael Dinner]]}}
| producer =
| camera = [[Single-camera setup|Single-camera]]
| runtime = 60 minutes
| company = {{Plain list|
* [[Jersey Group|Jersey Television]]
* Eighty D Productions
* [[Universal Television|Universal Network Television]]}}
| network = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|2003|10|1}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2004|4|14}}
}}
'''''Karen Sisco''''' is an American [[crime drama]] television series starring [[Carla Gugino]] in the title role. The series was created by novelist [[Elmore Leonard]], based on a character who had appeared in several of his written works, as well as one film adaptation, 1998's ''[[Out of Sight (1998 film)|Out of Sight]]''. The series debuted on October 1, 2003 on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and was canceled in November after 7 episodes aired, with the final 3 episodes [[burned off]] in [[Late-night television|late-night]] during the spring of 2004.

As a [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Deputy Marshal]], based on [[Miami]], [[Florida]]'s [[Gold Coast (Florida)|Gold Coast]], Karen must deal with the underbelly of South Beach nightlife and Palm Beach high life while tracking down fugitives. She also struggles to win the respect of her fellow officers. Karen occasionally gets advice from her father, a retired Miami police officer turned private investigator, who is Karen’s confidant, counselor, and confessor. The show ran in the same time slot as the [[Law & Order season 14|14th season]] of NBC's ''[[Law & Order]]'', drawing less than half the audience during its opening weeks,<ref name=SiscoOct8/> losing audience until it drew less than one third the viewership of ''Law & Order'' before it was cancelled.<ref name=SiscoNov12/>

In 2012, Gugino reprised her role, now as an Assistant Director with the Marshals Service, in a [[Cut Ties|third season episode]] of ''[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]''. In 2013, ''[[TV Guide]]'' included the series in its list of 60 shows that were "Canceled Too Soon".<ref>Roush, Matt (June 3, 2013). "Canceled Too Soon". ''[[TV Guide]]''. pp. 20 and 21</ref>

== Character history ==
Prior to the events of the series, the character appeared in two stories:
* "Karen Makes Out", a 1996 short story, available in two collections: ''Murder for Love'', and ''When the Women Come Out to Dance, and Other Stories''
* ''Out of Sight'', a [[Out of Sight (novel)|1996 novel]], and [[Out of Sight|1998 film]] wherein she was played by [[Jennifer Lopez]], and Marshall Sisco was played by [[Dennis Farina]].

== Cast ==
* [[Carla Gugino]] as Karen Sisco
* [[Robert Forster]] as Marshall Sisco, Karen's father
* [[Bill Duke]] as Amos Andrews, Karen's boss

=== Recurring ===
* Jeffrey De Serrano as Edwards
* [[Frank Pesce]] as Sonny
* Robert Deacon as Mordecai Jones
* Obba Babatundé as Daniel Burden
* Jake Mailey as Jethro

== Production ==
[[Jason Smilovic]] and [[Peter Lefcourt]] were co-executive producers and writers, with Smilovic having developed the series. [[Scott Frank]], nominated for an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for [[71st Academy Awards#Awards|Best Adapted Screenplay]] for ''Out of Sight'', served as an executive consultant.

== Episodes ==

{{Episode table |background=#FFBF00 |total_width= |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |viewers= |episodes=

{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Blown Away
| DirectedBy = [[Michael Dinner]]
| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=[[Elmore Leonard]]|t=[[Bob Brush]]}}
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|10|1}}
| Viewers = 9.13<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41426688/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Sep. 29–Oct. 5)|date=October 8, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Dumb Bunnies
| DirectedBy = [[Jeremy Kagan]]
| WrittenBy = [[John Mankiewicz]]
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|10|8}}
| Viewers = 8.03<ref name=SiscoOct8>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41428246/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 6-12)|date=October 15, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=#9 Law & Order NBC 16.47 million… #65 Karen Sisco ABC 8.03 million}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = The One That Got Away
| DirectedBy = Michael Dinner
| WrittenBy = [[Jason Smilovic]]
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|10|15}}
| Viewers = 7.86<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41428423/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 13-19)|date=October 22, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Justice
| DirectedBy = [[John David Coles]]
| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=[[Charles H. Eglee]]|t=[[Robert Palm]]}}
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|10|22}}
| Viewers = 7.06<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41425125/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 20-26)|date=October 29, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Nostalgia
| DirectedBy = [[Steve Miner]]
| WrittenBy = Jason Smilovic
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|10|29}}
| Viewers = 7.68<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41426518/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 27-Nov. 2)|date=November 5, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Dear Derwood
| DirectedBy = [[Charles Haid]]
| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=Bob Brush|t=[[Peter Lefcourt]] & Jason Smilovic}}
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|11|5}}
| Viewers = 6.62<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41428347/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 3-9)|date=November 12, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Nobody's Perfect
| DirectedBy = [[Michael Katleman]]
| WrittenBy = Peter Lefcourt
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2003|11|12}}
| Viewers = 6.70<ref name=SiscoNov12>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41425370/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 10-16)|date=November 19, 2003|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 28, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=#7 Law & Order NBC 18.92 million… #81 Karen Sisco ABC 6.70 million}}{{free access}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = Dog Day Sisco
| DirectedBy = [[Rick Wallace]]
| WrittenBy = [[Sebastian Gutierrez (director)|Sebastian Gutierrez]]
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2004|3|31}}
| Viewers = [[Template:Not applicable|NA]]{{efn|name=NotPrimeTime|Not applicable, [[burned off]] during the [[late-night television]] block, no [[prime time]] viewership.}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = No One's Girl
| DirectedBy = [[David Carson (director)|David Carson]]
| WrittenBy = [[John Landgraf]]
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2004|4|7}}
| Viewers = NA{{efn|name=NotPrimeTime}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| Title = He Was a Friend of Mine
| DirectedBy = [[Kathryn Bigelow]]
| WrittenBy = Peter Lefcourt
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2004|4|14}}
| Viewers = NA{{efn|name=NotPrimeTime}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFBF00
}}
}}

== Connections to other media ==
Gugino appeared as "Karen Goodall" in the [[Cut Ties|second episode]] of the [[Justified (season 3)|third season]] of ''[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]'', which is also based on a work by Leonard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/01/justified-recap-season-3-episode-2.html|title = Justified Recap: The Karen Sisco That Dare Not Speak Its Name| date=25 January 2012 }}</ref> There, the character had been promoted to Assistant Director in the Marshals Service, and had married and divorced, taking and keeping the last name Goodall. This name change was necessary as FX did not own the rights to the Karen Sisco character, or her stories.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2012/01/justified_recap_carla_gugino_a.html|title = 'Justified' recap: Carla Gugino, an Elmore Leonard favorite, brings some sizzle|date = 24 January 2012|access-date = August 16, 2019|archive-date = August 26, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210826235925/https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2012/01/justified_recap_carla_gugino_a.html|url-status = dead}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title}}

{{Elmore Leonard}}
{{Justified (TV series)}}

[[Category:2003 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:2003 American television series endings]]
[[Category:2000s American crime drama television series]]
[[Category:2000s American police procedural television series]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Fictional Marshals Service personnel|Sisco, Karen]]
[[Category:Television shows based on books]]
[[Category:Live action television shows based on films]]
[[Category:Television series by Universal Television]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Miami]]
[[Category:United States Marshals Service in fiction]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company crime dramas]]

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Karen Sisco