Bill Wrubel Movies

The NBC sitcom Teachers was based on the British comedy series of the same name, which first aired in the U.K. in 2001. Whereas the British series was set in Summerdown School in Bristol, the American edition of Teachers took place at Fillmore Middle School in New Jersey. In both cases, the schools were less than prestigious, weighed down by apathetic instructors, "don't give a damn" students, ridiculous and self-defeating rules and regulations, mediocre-to-poor facilities, and miles and miles of bureaucratic red tape. The American Teachers starred Justin Bartha as English teacher Jeff Cahill, a Kotteresque wise guy and iconoclast who eagerly did battle against the educational establishment -- and sometimes his fellow teachers -- in hopes of helping those few students who really cared about learning something to reach their full potential. Sarah Alexander co-starred as Alice, a former Fillmore student who, in a burst of idealism, had returned as a teacher, and for whom Jeff carried a torch. The rest of the cast included Deon Richmond as Calvin Babbet, the school's drama teacher and Jeff's best friend; radio talk-show host Phil Hendrie as the all-but-burned-out veteran teacher Dick; Sarah Shahi as hot new "sub" teacher Tina; Matt Winston as the wheedling, sycophantic instructor Mitch; and Kali Rocha as Fillmore's ineffectual, p.c.-obsessed principal Ms. Wiggins. Executive-produced by reliable sitcom hands Matt Tarses and Bill Wrubel, Teachers debuted March 28, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A sportscaster's nightmare occurs when a highly touted prizefight ends after only seven seconds into the first round, leaving the Sports Night crew with the remaining 89 minutes and 53 seconds that was dedicated to the fight. Dan (Josh Charles) and Casey (Peter Krause) fly into super-stall mode, while coming to the realization that their fight commentator Chuck Kimmel (Allen Garfield) is not only vastly underqualified to be on television, but he's also drunk and a complete loon. Meanwhile, Dan's psychiatric well-being meets another obstacle when his father Jay (Peter Riegert) comes to town for a visit and begins berating Dan on nearly every aspect of his life. As the show begins its slow decent into an absurd chaos, Dana (Felicity Huffman) agonizes over what may be a missed romantic opportunity with Casey, who is now smitten with one of the women Dana made him go out on a date with. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Dan (Josh Charles) continues to see psychiatrist Abby Jacobs (Jayne Brook), who continues to analyze Dan's neuroses -- a development that begins a very introspective time for the confused sportscaster. Meanwhile, Casey (Peter Krause) enthuses about his upcoming interview with old friend and new Yankees star player Shane McArthur (Richard Steinmetz), prompting Jeremy (Joshua Malina) to assert his belief that McArthur is an idiot. As the interview is underway, the baseball player casually and ignorantly announces his disdain for everything about New York City -- which Casey finds unnerving and makes assurances to edit the disparaging comments out of the interview. Unfortunately for Casey, Dana (Felicity Huffman) is overjoyed with the resultant interview and refuses to cut anything from it, leaving Casey in a very uncomfortable position with his old friend. Both Dan and Casey are thus forced to partake in some serious soul searching as Dan begins to come to terms with his past while Casey must choose between his loyalty to his friend or maintaining his journalistic integrity. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Sports Night co-anchors Dan (Josh Charles) and Casey (Peter Krause) have been following a developing story out of Tennessee involving the suspension of student athletes who have protested the flying of the Confederate flag. The network's CEO Luther Sachs is an alumnus and benefactor of the same school in the report and orders Isaac (Robert Guillaume) to prepare a segment explaining the importance of the flag in Southern history. As Isaac gives him the assignment, an incredulous Dan argues that Isaac should instead prepare an op-ed piece to support the students and demand their reinstatement back into school. After some thought, Isaac does just that -- prompting both the unanimous support and admiration from his staff and a call from his angry boss. Meanwhile, Casey makes an appearance on the popular daytime talk show The View and undeservedly takes credit for his snappy wardrobe, when in fact all his clothes are chosen by Sports Night's wardrobe department. Back in the studio, Dan points out Casey's apparent lack of regard for the rest of the crew while one of the wardrobe assistants comes down on him for taking the credit for her department's work. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi