Moonlight (TV series)

Moonlight (TV series)

Moonlight is an American paranormal romance television drama created by Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson, who also served as executive producers for all episodes alongside Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio, Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman. The series follows private investigator Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin), who was turned into a vampire by his bride Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon) on the couple's wedding night fifty-five years earlier. In the present day, he struggles with his attraction to a mortal woman, Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), his friendship with Josef Kostan (Jason Dohring), and his dealings with other vampires in Los Angeles.

The series was commissioned by Warner Bros. Television in 2007 as a presentation lasting 14–20 minutes. Alex O'Loughlin, Shannon Lucio, Rade Šerbedžija and Amber Valletta were cast in the lead roles, and Rod Holcomb was hired as director. David Greenwalt joined the staff in May 2007 as showrunner and executive producer alongside Joel Silver; however, health reasons forced Greenwalt to leave the series. All of the original actors, save for the male lead role, were recast in June 2007, and Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon replaced them. With an almost entirely different cast, a retooled, full-length pilot for television audiences was re-shot.

Moonlight premiered on September 28, 2007, airing on Friday nights on CBS. Although received poorly by critics, the pilot finished first among total viewers and adults 18–49 for its night. The series garnered generally negative reviews, and averaged 7.57 million American viewers per episode. Many critics criticized the acting and the writing; however Jason Dohring's performance was praised. Moonlight went on hiatus due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but returned with four new episodes once the strike ended. On May 13, 2008, CBS announced that Moonlight was officially canceled.