Reaper (TV series)

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Reaper
Format	Dramedy Fantasy
Created by	Michele Fazekas Tara Butters
Starring	Bret Harrison Tyler Labine Missy Peregrym Ray Wise Rick Gonzalez Valarie Rae Miller Andrew Airlie
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	40 - 42 min
Broadcast
Original channel	The CW
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original run	September 25, 2007 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Reaper is an American supernatural television comedy-drama created by Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, who also serve as executive producers alongside Mark Gordon, Deborah Spera and Tom Spezialy. Kevin Smith directed the pilot,^[1] and is credited as a creative consultant for the series.

Contents 1 History 2 Premise 3 Cast 3.1 Principal characters 3.1.1 Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison) 3.1.2 Bert "Sock" Wysocki (Tyler Labine) 3.1.3 The Devil (Ray Wise) 3.1.4 Ben Gonzalez (Rick Gonzalez) 3.1.5 Andi Prendergast (Missy Peregrym) 3.2 Supporting characters 3.3 Minor characters 3.4 Demons 3.5 Reapers 3.6 Escaped Souls 3.7 Vessels 4 Production history 4.1 Weekly ratings 4.2 Conception 4.3 Reception 4.4 Casting 4.5 Broadcast history 4.6 International distribution 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

Produced by ABC Television Studios and The Mark Gordon Company, the series premiered on September 25, 2007 in the U.S., airing on Tuesday nights at 8:00/7:00c on The CW, following Beauty and the Geek.^[2]

Reaper will have a full eighteen episode order for the 2007-08 season, with thirteen pre-strike episodes and five post strike episodes. ^[3]

The show Reaper stopped airing new episodes after the tenth episode due to an industry-wide screenwriters strike. It resumed new pre-strike episodes for three weeks on Thursdays in March, and began airing post-strike episodes on April 22. Reaper now airs on Tuesdays 9/8c after Beauty and the Geek.

On May 12, 2008, Reaper was officially renewed for a thirteen episode second season. Reaper is scheduled to return mid-season.^[4]

[edit] Premise

Main article: List of Reaper episodes

Sam Oliver lives at home with his parents and brother in the Seattle area. He has always wondered why his mom and dad were so easy on him, whether it was sports, school, or career choices, and so hard on his younger brother, Keith. Sam dropped out of college ("It made him sleepy", Sock explains) and takes a dead-end job at the 'Work Bench', a home-repair superstore similar to Home Depot (the pilot was filmed at a Canadian Tire in Burnaby, British Columbia). He spends the rest of his time hanging out, playing video games, and pining for his co-worker Andi (Missy Peregrym).

On Sam's 21st birthday, his parents are behaving very strangely, and Sam himself is seeing hellish visions, and experiencing odd events. His father (Andrew Airlie) eventually explains that many years ago he was very sick, and in return for restoring his health, he and his wife promised their firstborn child to the Devil (Ray Wise). Although the couple intended to cheat the devil by having no children, this plan goes awry when Satan convinces their doctor to lie, and tell the couple that they cannot conceive in exchange for wiping his gambling debts clean. Sam is born shortly thereafter.

After informing him of his fate, Satan explains to Sam that he must serve as his bounty hunter (or "Reaper"), tracking down souls that have escaped from Hell, and sending them back using his new powers (which have included telekinesis and electrical powers) and vessels. These are varied objects said to have been hand-made in the bowels of hell by the iniquitous and the vile. They appear inside a long wooden box sent for Sam to open (with an Italian inscription reading: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"as was written on the hell entrance in Dante's inferno "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here") and are specially designed for each job. Examples throughout the series have included a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner, a Taser gun and a cigarette lighter. Although Sam initially balks, Satan tells him that should he refuse, then Sam's mother's soul is forfeit. Unwilling to sacrifice his mother, and convinced that he is doing good in the world by tracking down evil souls, Sam accepts his fate. With the help of his slacker friends, he begins his new life tracking down the corrupted souls trying to escape their own eternal rewards.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Principal characters

[edit] Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison)

The protagonist of the show, Sam Oliver is a college dropout and all-around slacker who, thanks to a deal made by his parents before he was born, becomes a bounty hunter for the devil when he turns 21. He has a crush on his co-worker Andi, which appears to be reciprocated. Upon learning of his infernal debt, Sam initially thought that he was instantly doomed to be dragged down to Hell, only to be informed by the Devil that he is required to function as a bounty hunter for Hell - for the rest of his life. He now collects souls for the Devil using a vessel (which varies by episode), with the assistance of his best friends, Sock and Ben. Sam is also given various powers to capture each soul, but these are often as much a hindrance as a help. In Season 1 finale, it is revealed that at least one of these abilities was retained when he inadvertently used telekinesis to prevent a falling washing machine from crashing on his head. A quitter by nature, his morality was immediately pressed when he realized that if he didn't go along with his part of the bargain, more and more people would be hurt because he failed to capture the escaped souls. At the end of season 1, Tony tells Sam that he believes Sam's parents were paid by the devil to carry his (the Devil's) baby, though Sam's mother denied this, and The Devil admits that he would probably not answer Sam honestly if asked about it.

[edit] Bert "Sock" Wysocki (Tyler Labine)

The lowest-performing salesman at 'Work Bench', Bert "Sock" Wysocki spends most of his time sleeping in the stock shelves, planning his topless home supply store, and other time-wasting activities. Fortunately, he is braver and more athletic than his slacker persona suggests. He assists Sam with collecting souls. He also has a tendency to laugh while in uncomfortable conditions. He is not above criminal activity in his attempts to improve his life - replacing ex-girlfriend Josie Miller's belongings using stolen money, using her ID to access the city morgue, stealing from work, and forging his friends' signatures on a lease.

In the first season's finale, Sock gained brief access to superhuman strength after receiving a kiss from a succubus at the expense of forfeiting years from his lifespan. Sock is one of two people (along with Sam's girlfriend, Andi) who have literally captured a soul for Sam - he captured the slime soul with the sweater vessel and the fortune teller with a baseball vessel.

[edit] The Devil (Ray Wise)

Smooth-talking and debonair, known as "Jerry Belvedere" to those who have no idea of his true identity, the Devil claims the rights to Sam's soul thanks to a deal he made with Sam's parents before Sam was even born. Although he knows how it all ends ("God wins"), he is determined to do as much as he can to oppose God until the end. He convinces Sam that he (Sam) is doing good by clearing the world of the escaped evil souls. While firm at times, the Devil has never expressed outright anger, in spite of Sam's frequent complaints and meddling; however, when Sam cheated him out of a deal with another human, he caused all of the surrounding racks in the Work Bench to collapse on Sam out of "disappointment".

He has nearly omnipotent supernatural powers and often teleports an unsuspecting Sam to locations that serve to exemplify whatever subject he wishes to speak with Sam about. He also has a habit of providing Sam "motivation" in catching escaped souls, usually by informing him that someone just died (or about to die) due mainly to Sam's inaction - a habit which generally gets acceptable results. This habit became less displayed at the later episodes, however, as Sam is beginning to "adjust" into his infernal fate. He is nigh-indestructible, demonstrated when he takes multiple blows with a baseball bat by Sam, and is insusceptible to a Solomon's cage, which is something that could confine most demons,and super-strong, having tricked and placed Sam in a painful arm-hold to interrogate him. He can be affected by Angelic Relics, as he can be killed by the Sword of the Archangel Michael, which he has in safekeeping. The Devil also can be "destroyed" when the whole world turns to Pacifism, as Sam figured out after the Devil's near annihilation of the demon rebellion, as the Devil couldn't tempt others with sin and will cease to exist, though the Devil notes that all humanity presenting complete pacifism would be nearly impossible. In addition, the Devil cannot see, hear, or appear within curves or circles, although he can be summoned within a circle.

He holds no influence over true love, which may be attributed to his belief that humans are incapable of experiencing it.

He loves ice cream, but cannot eat it, as it melts as soon as he touches it. This doesn't happen on his own volition, but was apparently a curse given upon him by the Almighty shortly before he was cast out of the heavens, knowing how much he loves ice cream.

[edit] Ben Gonzalez (Rick Gonzalez)

One of Sam and Sock's co-workers and friends, Ben Gonzalez knows Sam is working for Satan as a bounty hunter and helps him out. He seems to have a tendency to get hurt when assisting Sam in capturing escaped souls, though this tendency diminished as the series progressed, partly because he doesn't go soul-hunting along with Sam as extensively as Sock does. He was initially seen as the brains of the trio as he is usually the one responsible for coming up with tactics and strategies in aiding Sam capture escaped souls, and is not above recommending and taking advantage of the Work Bench's merchandise as make-shift hunting-gear whenever the three conducts a hunt; he initially sought training as a priest and has an extensive knowledge of the Bible, and often raises theological questions about the nature of their missions and the Devil's involvement.

Ben appears far less competent when he agrees to a green card marriage with his British co-worker, Sara. He had just given up on his search for the perfect girl, who happens to be independently wealthy, enjoys mixed martial arts, and reads Sue Grafton novels. Once married, he immediately meets his perfect girl, Cassidy, while chasing a soul. Sara, far crueler and more shrewd than she initially lets on, forbids Ben to see Cassidy, though she has no qualms about her own extramarital affairs that she keeps secret from Ben. Ben is eventually able to negotiate a compromise with Sara after discovering she is pregnant with her married boyfriend Esteban's child.

When Ben's sham marriage is discovered by an INS agent, he is told he is going to jail. He gets money together to pay a fine in lieu of jail time, but Sara tricks him into giving her the money so that she can go on the lam. At the end of the episode "The Leak", Cassidy drives him to jail, telling Sock "when this is all over, my boyfriend will no longer be married." Early in the next episode, "Cancun," Ben arrives at the Bench disappointed that his friends forgot to pick him up after serving his eight day sentence.

[edit] Andi Prendergast (Missy Peregrym)

Andi Prendergast is Sam's co-worker and current girlfriend. Initially unaware of Sam's Reaper duties, she is let down by Sam multiple times when he is called away from dates to capture souls. Chancing to see him on duty, she watches Sam behead an escaped soul from a distance, and initially threatens to go to the police. Sam is warned by the Devil to ensure she remains unaware of his activities, but eventually he receives permission to ler her know what he does. With help from Tony the Demon, as well as from the escaped soul at the time, Sam convinces her of his "job".

She reacts poorly, but eventually accepts Sam's job and becomes his third assistant when hunting souls, though her assistance seems more focused on research rather than actual confrontation.

Andi is one of two people who have literally captured a soul for Sam (the other is Sock) - she captured the multiplying soul in Episode 15 with Sam's scythe vessel.

[edit] Supporting characters

• Josie Miller (Valarie Rae Miller) - Sock's ex-girlfriend, who works at the District Attorney's office. Despite her obvious dislike for Sock, she remains friendly with Sam and agrees to provide information that helps him track down different souls (though she doesn't know he works for the Devil). However, after Sock used a share of stolen bank loot to buy duplicates of all the stuff lost in a fire at her apartment (which he inadvertently caused), she begins to suspect that something isn't quite on the "up-and-up" with the boys, and she is even more suspicious and upset when her lost I.D. is used to access the city morgue. Toward the end of season one, Josie got back together (and subsequently broke up) with Sock, due to his insecurity and his apathetic nature, respectively.
• Mr. Oliver (Andrew Airlie) - Sam's ambiguous father. Though equally distressed by his son's predicament as his wife, he, in effect, works against Sam for the protection of his family. In the first season, he is seen burning a page from the contract, seemingly because he is hiding information from Sam (which he reveals to be true in the finale of the first season). It has recently been implied that not only may he not be Sam's father, but that he possesses some degree of supernatural power; it is not known whether or not it had something to do with the "cure" the Devil provided him more than 21 years ago prior to the deal he made involving the then-unborn Sam at that time (as to the fact that he survived being buried alive).
• Mrs. Oliver (Allison Hossack) - Sam's guilt-ridden mother. Initially led to believe that Sam refused to do the Devil's work, she now accepts her son's fate, and actively supports him in his everyday life. According to the Devil, her soul is on the line if Sam should decide to "quit" his "job" as a reaper.
• Tony (Ken Marino) - Sam's former neighbor, demon, and Steve's "ex"-husband. Tony was a leader of the anti-Devil rebellion, and was often seen plotting (or setting plots into motion) against the Devil. He often helps Sam and his friends in their quest to capture escaped souls. As of the first season finale, his whereabouts are unknown. It is Tony who tells Sam that he is the son of the Devil.
• Steve (Michael Ian Black) - A deceased former neighbor of Sam, demon, and Tony's "ex"-husband. Prior to his death, Steve was an active part of the rebellion against the Devil (which, ironically, led to his demise). He chose the more passive path of rebellion over Tony's aggressive route, but still stood by him regardless. It is revealed in the first season finale that Steve is still "alive", and is now an angel.
• Gladys (Christine Willes) - A demon who used to work at a DMV office, which actually houses a portal to Hell. She collected the filled vessels from Sam and sent them back to Hell. In "The Leak," when it was revealed that Gladys was the one repeatedly freeing homewrecking soul Mike Volta from his vessel, the Devil "transferred" her to the "main office." She was later released at Sam's request, although it is unknown if she resumed her job at the DMV.
• Ted (Donavon Stinson) - The Work Bench's pompous, imperious manager (and recovering gambling addict) who gives his employees (especially Sam, Andi, Ben, and Sock) a hard time. His character has appeared in all of the episodes up to "Rebellion", except "Love, Bullets and Blacktop", "Ashes to Ashes" and "Hungry for Fame".
• Cady Hansen (Jessica Stroup) - Sam's ex-girlfriend, and possible daughter of the Devil. Cady is Mimi's (Satan's ex-girlfriend's) daughter, but her true father is unknown. Although Sam is initially attracted to her, he suspects that she may be the Devil's daughter (a suspicion seemingly put to rest by Sock and Ben in "Cash Out"). Despite his general calm to the situation, Sam's suspicions resurface later on, due to her reportedly strange behavior around Andi, and the manifestation of strange phenomena around her, such as breaking glass spurred by a kiss. At the end of "Unseen", Cady, upset by the fact that Sam still has been distant and in her eyes deceitful, goes to New Mexico to stay with her mother and sort things out.

[edit] Minor characters

• Kyle Oliver (Kyle Switzer) - Sam's younger brother, much pressure has been put on him by his parents to be successful in life, which he considers unfair compared to them letting Sam slide. He is the one member of the family unaware of Sam's debt to the Devil and does not realize how lucky he was to be born second. He has only appeared in the pilot episode and "Charged" to date.
• Russ (Curtis Armstrong) - An unpleasant employee of the Work Bench, still caught up in the culture of the 70s - when he was the boys' age - and obsessed with drugs and old cars & entertainment.
• Mimi Hansen (Melinda Clarke) - The Devil's ex-girlfriend. She was involved with "Jerry" on and off for 20 years, until Sam convinced her to break it off. She left Seattle and moved to New Mexico. Shortly thereafter, Sam began dating her daughter, Cady.
• Ryan Milner (Jamie Kennedy) - an awful musician who almost sells his soul to the devil for fame and fortune. Sam tries to warn him that he will be damned by making deal with the devil, Ryan does not care. He lost his wife, home, and friends to follow his dream. "I'll worry about my soul when I'm dead," he says to Sam. A plan to scare him straight using a cannibalistic Soul backfires when Ryan's hand is bitten off, but this does end his career and preventing him from signing away his soul.
• Mrs. Wysocki (Marilyn Norry) - Sock's mom. She went unseen until "Hungry for Fame," when she returned from Las Vegas and announced she had married an Asian cowboy named Morris. Angry that his mother had married without his blessing, Sock ran away from home; when he finally returned, his mother kicked him out of the house, prompting him, Sam, and Ben to move in together.
• Greg (Colby Johannson) - Andi's college boyfriend. He initially comes across as caring and sympathetic toward her needs, but it becomes clear that he knows very little about her and is more concerned about himself and his feelings. He and Sam end up fighting in "The Cop" and Andi breaks up with him. Brokenhearted, Greg sold his soul to the Devil, and returned (in "Greg, Shmeg") with a newfound influence over Andi. Unfortunately, as a result of his deal with the Devil, his id began physically manifesting itself as a chainsaw-wielding maniac that materializes from his body every time he got angry. He eventually realized that no matter what deal he made, Andi would never love him, as the Devil cannot influence true love. Sam uses his "Get Out of Hell Free" card to undo Greg's deal.
• Sara (Lucy Davis) - Ben's ex-wife and a British national formerly employed at the Work Bench. In "Coming to Grips," after Ben gives up on finding his perfect girl, he agrees to a green card wedding with Sara in exchange for $1600. Ben eventually meets his perfect girl, Cassidy, later on while chasing a soul, but Sara expects him to live up to their deal and refuses to let him go out with Cassidy. When Ben threatens to report her to immigration, she counters by threatening to report him for extorting money from her. Ben considers just giving her the money back, until he discovers that Sock spent it on tickets to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. In addition to being married to Ben, Sara is also involved with a married Cirque du Soleil performer named Esteban. When Sara reveals she's pregnant with Esteban's child, Ben has the bargaining chip he needs and Sara eventually lets him date Cassidy. After an immigration officer discovers their ruse, Sara convinces Ben to give her $2000 to help bribe the officer; in actuality, she takes the money and goes on the lam.
• Cassidy (Kandyse McClure) - Ben's girlfriend. She is a nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital who practices jiujitsu and enjoys Sue Grafton novels. She and Ben met in the maternity ward of St. Vincent's in "Coming to Grips" when Ben was pursuing prolific soul Jack King. After a string of dates in the hospital cafeteria, Cassidy began to ask questions, specifically about Ben's wedding ring. It was at that point that Ben came clean about his green card marriage to Sara. The three of them came to an understanding, although Cassidy would still get a little excited about being Ben's "mistress." When Immigration busted Ben and Sara, Cassidy was the one who took Ben to jail, excited at the prospect that he would be single again when he got out.
• Dennis (Jeff Kober) - A demon friend of Gladys who works out of a public storage facility (which, as Gladys informs our trio of heroes, is also a portal to Hell). Like Gladys, he uses his hair to conceal his horns. He makes his living obtaining that which is hard-to-find, so when Sam is being pursued by what he believes is a soul (but is later revealed to be Greg's Id) with no help or vessel from the Devil, Gladys takes the boys to Dennis to see about getting a vessel. Dennis initially refuses, claiming he wants to stay off the Devil's radar, but he eventually complies after Gladys explains that Sam's parents "sold his soul out from under him." The vessel that Dennis provides, a Nerf gun, is more powerful than other vessels, as it will send anything to Hell, escaped soul or otherwise. This vessel was used on Greg's Id, but missed its target and failed.
• Spike the Hellhound - a little dog with a big temper. The first denizen of Hell that Sam encountered, Spike initially seemed like little more than an annoyance...until Sock intentionally and maliciously hit him with Sam's car door, prompting Spike to gather a group of dogs much larger and angrier than he to attack our heroes. Sam eventually endears himself to Spike and his friends by sharing some victory ham with them. In "Leon," Spike returned to help Sam capture Barney "The Butcher of Ballard" Kirkwood (Spike was a member of his torture team in Hell). Like the demons, Spike assumes a friendlier form when dealing with humans; his true form has yet to be seen in full, but, judging by its shadow, it's very large and very nasty.

[edit] Demons

Demons, in the Reaper universe, are portrayed as seemingly neutral and non-aggressive (so far) entities who are either in the direct service of the Devil or plotting to overthrow his rule. It was stated that all demons were once angels who "fell" out of their place after joining up with the Lucifer's attempt to overthrow the Almighty and got banished along with him from the heavens. Demons residing within the mortal realm exhibit the ability to assume near-human forms that enable them to live along with real humans, with the only thing distinguishing them from actual mortals (besides their immortality) are the two small horns protruding from their foreheads; they are also capable of morphing into their true demonic forms, as displayed by Tony, which seem to grant an incredible boost of physical power in the process, and flight to those with wings. They are immune to mortal weapons in either form. Types of Demons include standard demons and succubi.

[edit] Reapers

The term used referring to people who "work" to apprehend souls. Sam is one of them working to send souls back to "Hell". The word was first used in the episode "Acid Queen", where Sam was referred to as "a Reaper", which implies that there may be others like him with a similar obligation (or predicament). Currently, it is not exactly known how many Reapers there are, or if all of them are even human. Sam does not like this status but begins to live with this fate, though shows no surprise towards its utterance. It is made clear through the demon Steve that Sam is perhaps the only person on Earth that the Devil talks with face-to-face, which raises suspicion amongst Sam and his friends.

[edit] Escaped Souls

These are literally fugitives from Hell whom the Devil has entrusted Sam to recapture. All of them were once mortals who committed various crimes or sold their souls that ultimately led to their damnation. When they come back to Earth, they are intent on finishing the jobs that they started. After escaping Hell and returning to the earthly realm, not only do they regain a corporeal body with which to interact with the living world once again, but they also exhibit supernatural powers that often reflect the nature of the crimes or punishments. For example, an arsonist imprisoned in hell for 50 years being tortured by being burnt everyday came back with pyrokinetic powers and could take on the appearance of a humanoid creature made of molten rock. Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of William McKinley, gained the ability to turn his hands into guns. Not all souls come back to Earth with a corporeal body, as seen in "Ashes to Ashes," where the soul came back as a spirit since his body was destroyed.

[edit] Vessels

Because the souls that Sam is sent to apprehend have already died once (along with the fact that they are capable of utilizing various paranormal abilities), an attempt to capture or even kill them by a mere mortal could prove almost impossible. To this end, Vessels play a crucial role in capturing these said entities. They are usually sent for Sam to open in a wooden box which varies in shape per episode, sometimes inappropriate for the vessel they hold (i.e. a large box contained a zippo lighter Vessel). All vessels are unique because each of them are intended to capture the escaped soul they were created and intended to confine and could sometimes include a living thing (i.e. a live Dove). Vessels often have the appearance of seemingly ordinary day-to-day accessories and can easily be mistaken for such. Interestingly, most escaped souls shown in the series seem to be aware whenever a vessel is brough to their presence, especially if that particular vessel is the one intended for their capture, thus alerting them of potentially being sent back to Hell by the one wielding the Vessel.

[edit] Production history

[edit] Weekly ratings

As of May 12, 2008, Reaper has averaged 2.70 million American viewers for each new episode for its first season. Viewing figures from other countries are inconclusive so far.

No.	Episode	Air Date	Timeslot	Rating[5]	Share[5]	18–49 (Rating/Share)[5]	Viewers (m)[5]	Rank (#)
1	"Pilot"	2007-09-25September 25, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	2.1	3	1.5/3	3.28	85 [1]
2	"Charged"	2007-10-02October 2, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.8	3	1.3/3	2.86	93 [2]
3	"All Mine"	2007-10-09October 9, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.8	3	1.3/3	2.65	90 [3]
4	"Magic"	2007-10-16October 16, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	2.2	3	1.5/3	3.27	86 [4]
5	"What About Blob"	2007-10-23October 23, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.8	3	1.2/3	2.61	88 [5]
6	"Leon"	2007-10-30October 30, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.7	3	1.1/3	2.60	89 [6]
7	"Love, Bullets and Blacktop"	2007-11-06November 6, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.6	2	1.0/2	2.42	94 [7]
8	"The Cop"	2007-11-13November 13, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.6	2	1.2/2	2.46	93 [8]
9	"Ashes to Ashes"	2007-11-27November 27, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.5	2	1.1/2	2.26	91 [9]
10	"Cash Out"	2007-12-04December 4, 2007	Tuesday 9/8c	1.7	3	1.3/3	2.64	89 [10]
11	"Hungry for Fame"	2008-03-13March 13, 2008	Thursday 9/8c	1.7	3	1.2/3	2.81	88
12	"Unseen"	2008-03-20March 20, 2008	Thursday 9/8c	1.9	3	1.2/3	2.94	79
13	"Acid Queen"	2008-03-27March 27, 2008	Thursday 9/8c	1.8	3	1.2/2	2.76	81
14	"Rebellion"	2008-04-22April 22, 2008	Tuesday 9/8c	1.6	2	1.1/3	2.60	93
15	"Coming to Grips"	2008-04-29April 29, 2008	Tuesday 9/8c	1.7	3	1.1/3	2.51	86
16	"Greg Schmeg"	2008-05-06May 6, 2008	Tuesday 9/8c	1.6	2	1.0/3	2.47	TBA
17	"The Leak"	2008-05-13May 13, 2008	Tuesday 9/8c	1.5	2	0.9/2	1.99	TBA
18	"Cancun"	2008-05-20May 20, 2008	Tuesday 9/8c	1.7	3	1.2/3	2.69	TBA

[edit] Conception

The pilot script which was written by creators and executive producers Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters received a script commitment by The CW in September 2006. Mark Gordon and Deborah Spera also joined the project as executive producers under the former's production banner at Touchstone Television, The Mark Gordon Company.^[6] The network greenlighted a pilot order for the script in January 2007 and writer and director Kevin Smith agreed to direct the first hour of the series in February 2007.^[7][8] The CW gave the series an early pick-up and a thirteen-episode order on May 15, 2007.^[9]

[edit] Reception

The series, as shown on the review-tolling site Metacritic, has been dubbed as having "universal acclaim" with a rating of 81 out of 100, out of 27 reviews.

While initially not making a full season order, the CW eventually ordered an additional three episodes, citing a high percentage of audience retention between Reaper and Beauty and the Geek.^[10]. Additional episodes were ordered to fill in the first season after the writer's strike was resolved, and a second season of thirteen episodes was later ordered, as well.

[edit] Casting

Casting began in February 2007, when Bret Harrison won the lead role of Sam Oliver. At the time, his commitment to the series came second to his show at FOX, The Loop, which had yet to air its second season on the network. The show was later cancelled, leaving Harrison free to fully concentrate on Reaper.^[11] Canadian actor Tyler Labine (formerly of the short lived sci-fi series Invasion) was cast in the same month in the role of Bert "Sock" Wysocki, Sam's best friend and sidekick.^[12] Nikki Reed, actress and co-writer of the award-winning film Thirteen, was originally cast as Sam's love interest, Andi, in March 2007 but she was replaced by Missy Peregrym, who was fresh off a high-profile recurring role on Heroes in June 2007.^[13] Supporting actors for the roles of Ben (Sam and Sock's co-worker and friend) and Josie (Sock's ex-girlfriend) were found in the same month when Rick Gonzalez and Valarie Rae Miller were cast.^[14][15] Ray Wise rounded out the casting for regular roles in the series when he landed the role of Satan, Sam's employer, in mid-March.^[16] Also of note would be that Anthony Stewart Head of Buffy fame auditioned for the role of Satan.^[17]

[edit] Broadcast history

The first showing of the pilot occurred on July 27, 2007 at Comic-Con International in San Diego. It received mostly positive responses from critics and audience members alike. ^[18] The series premiered on The CW on September 25, 2007 and ran on Tuesdays, but moved in late February 2008 to Thursdays after Smallville. After the restart after the writers' strike, the series has returned to being broadcast on Tuesday nights on the CW as original releases.

[edit] International distribution

Country	TV Network(s)	Weekly Schedule (local time)
Australia	Seven Network	TBD
Bulgaria	AXN	TBA
Mexico	Universal Channel
Canada	ASN and Citytv
Germany	Fox Channel	Tuesdays 9:00pm
Hong Kong	TVB Pearl	Thursdays 9:30pm
Hungary	AXN	Saturdays, 8:10pm[19]
Ireland	RTE2 and E4	Thursdays, 11:45pm and Wednesdays, 9:00pm
Italy	FOX Italia	Thursdays, 21:00
Malaysia	8TV	TBD
Middle East	Showtime Arabia	Mondays, 3:00pm
The Netherlands	Comedy Central	Saturdays, 8:00pm
Philippines	Studio 23	Tuesdays, 8:30pm
Poland	AXN	Sundays, 8:00pm
Portugal	AXN	Wednesdays, 9:30pm
Spain	La Sexta and AXN	Wednesdays, 10:00pm
Romania	AXN
Turkey	Dizimax	3:00pm
United Kingdom	E4 Channel 4 / HD	Wednesdays, 9:00pm Tuesdays, 11:05pm
Sweden	Kanal 5	Thursdays, 9:00pm
United States	The CW	Tuesdays, 9:00pm (8:00pm Central Time)

The series will also air on ASN and Citytv in Canada, Studio 23 in Philippines, Seven Network in Australia and E4 in the United Kingdom.^[20][21][22] The show will also air on La Sexta in Spain.^[23] The series' pilot has also been premiered in July 2007 during the Roma Fiction Fest in Rome, Italy.

[edit] See also

• Dead Like Me
• Brimstone
• The Collector (TV series)
• Supernatural (TV Series)
• Dead Last

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Reaper Website
• Wikia has a wiki on this subject: Reaper
• Reaper at the Internet Movie Database
• Reaper at TV.com