Emeril is an American sitcom television series created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, starring Emeril Lagasse as himself. It aired on Tuesday nights on NBC from September 25, 2001, to December 11, 2001, from 8:00-8:30 EST. A total of 10 half-hour episodes were produced over one season, but only 7 aired. Cast Emeril Lagasse as himself Lisa Ann Walter as Cassandra Gilman Carrie Preston as B.D. Benson Robert Urich as Jerry McKenney Sherri Shepherd as Melva LeBlanc Tricia O'Kelley as Trish O'Connell Mary Page Keller as Nora Lagasse Development Having lost her development deal at CBS, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason sought to build a show around TV chef Emeril Lagasse. ABC passed on the show, even though Lagasse was appearing at that time on Good Morning America as a food correspondent. NBC had high hopes for the show, as it was created by the once-respected Bloodworth-Thomason, however the show was savaged by many critics, one calling it a train wreck. Lagasse was said to be hesitant to participate in the project. The show was in the middle of filming when the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred; the show was scheduled to premiere on September 18, a week after the attacks, but was delayed by a week. Despite this, the opening sequence still featured the World Trade Center towers standing. Those involved with the show blamed the continuous news coverage of the terrorist attacks as the reason the show was never able to find much of an audience. Others blamed its non-acting leading man and unfunny scripts. The sitcom quietly went off the air by December 2001, with seven of its 10 episodes having been aired. Bloodworth-Thomason had planned for the show to be "a very sophisticated, grown up comedy" that would "do for men what the women did for Designing Women." However, a regime change at NBC left the show without any defenders at executive levels. After the poorly received first pilot, the show was revamped turning the focus from Emeril's fictionalized home life to life on the set of a fictional version of Lagasse's Food Network show. A food stylist was added to the cast, as well as the additional casting of Robert Urich as Emeril's agent. The show was produced by Mozark Studios in association with NBC Studios. The kitchen on the show was fully functional, and Lagasse would cook for the cast and staff. Episodes Reception The E! show 101 Biggest