Life as We Know It (TV series)

Plot

Set at Woodrow Wilson High School in Seattle, Washington, Life as We Know It's lead was Dino Whitman (Sean Faris), a star ice hockey player. He had an uneasy relationship with his girlfriend, Jackie Bradford (Missy Peregrym), a soccer player. Jackie's best friend was Sue Miller (Jessica Lucas), a very competitive academic star. His best friends were Ben Connor (Jon Foster), who was carrying on an affair with a teacher, Monica Young (Marguerite Moreau); and Jonathan Fields (Chris Lowell), a nervous soul, especially about his girlfriend, Deborah Tynan (Kelly Osbourne). Jonathan was made even more nervous by Deborah's mother Mia (Sarah Strange), a nurse, sitting him down for a frank and graphic discussion about sex and its consequences.

Dino's parents' marriage fell apart after his mother had an affair with his hockey coach. His father, Michael, was played by D. B. Sweeney and his mother, Annie, was played by Lisa Darr. Coach Dave Scott was played by Martin Cummins.

Regular

Recurring

Guest stars

Character asiding

The show broke the fourth wall by having characters step out of the scene—which proceeded behind them in slow motion—and directly address the camera.

Critical acclaims

Variety called it "a sly, sweet look at high school . . . so good that you immediately make room on your shelf for the cult-fave DVD because you know this is the kind of show that gets cancelled after five episodes."

Reaction from the Parents Television Council

The Parents Television Council protested against Life as We Know It saying that the October 2004 episode was sexually charged.

Filming locations

The show was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington by Sachs-Judah Productions and (ca)bloom!, in association with Touchstone Television, a corporate sibling of ABC, both owned by The Walt Disney Company. The school used for exterior shots, possibly interior as well, is Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver.

Cancellation

Life as We Know It originally aired on Thursdays from 9 to 10pm, premiering on October 7, 2004. Pulled during November sweeps, the show was rerun on MTV to good ratings in November and December 2004 but ultimately was cancelled by ABC. The series, including two previously unaired episodes, was released on DVD in the United States in 2005. Life aired abroad after its American cancellation.

In Brazil the show aired on Sony Entertainment Television starting June 13, 2005 at 7:00pm Tuesdays. In New Zealand, the show premiered in December 2005 on TV2, scheduled against America's Next Top Model. It replaced Veronica Mars, another American import, but was rescheduled after four episodes because of poor ratings. The remaining episodes were rescheduled from their prime-time slot (7:30pm Friday) to midnight Saturday, then pushed back after midnight as the season progressed. The final two episodes were played in reverse order. TV2 repeated the series from the beginning during the third quarter of 2006, just after midnight Thursdays, but again played the final two episodes in reverse order.

Life was also shown in the Philippines in the free cable channel Studio 23. While there were reruns after the initial showing, the two DVD episodes weren't released. In Portugal it is shown on SIC Radical cable channel and is popular among teenagers and young adults. In Hong Kong, it is shown on TVB Pearl and in Asia, it is shown on STAR World.

Life was also shown in South Africa on M-Net (DStv Channel 101), a subscription funded channel. The show was broadcast in prime-time and was popular. When the series 'ran out', M-Net received a large number of complaints from subscribers on their internet forums. Subsequently, the show was replayed in an 11:00am morning slot in early 2006. Life was also broadcast in 2005 on the M-Net Series channel (DStv Channel 104), a channel which is part of the DStv offering. This channel is broadcast via satellite to sub-Saharan Africa.

Life showed in Sweden on Kanal 5 during autumn and winter 2006.

In December 2006 (the beginning of the summer non-ratings period), the show began airing in Australia on the Seven Network at 10:30pm Tuesday nights. The show was also sold to FOX8, where it screened at 7:30pm Saturdays. In Ireland RTE2 showed two episodes every Monday (approximately 2:30am) from mid-January 2007. In Norway the show started airing in August 2006, but was cancelled after eight episodes

It was also broadcast in India in the 2007 fall season on the subscription channel Star World, where it ran all the episodes except the two bonus DVD ones. It is being rerun in India in the same channel in the 5:30-6:30 time slot.

Life was broadcast from January to March 2005 on Living TV in the UK. The series has since been rerun on Living's sister channel Trouble.

DVD release

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (formerly Buena Vista Home Entertainment) released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on August 23, 2005 . It included all 13 episodes, 2 of which were unaired, on 3 discs. Bonus features included audio commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, and the producer's photo gallery.