Sordid Lives: The Series is an American comedy television series created, written, and directed by Del Shores. It is prequel to his 2000 film, Sordid Lives. It is set in a small town of Texas and centers on the Ingram family, and stars Bonnie Bedelia, Beth Grant, Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John, Caroline Rhea, Leslie Jordan, along with most of the original cast of the film. It premiered on Logo TV in the United States in July 2008 and ended its first and only season in October 2008.

Plot

In April 1998, family matriarch Peggy Ingram takes in the town bar singer Bitsy Mae Harling who has just been released from prison. Peggy's daughter LaVonda lives with Peggy's chain-smoking sister Sissy, while Peggy's good girl Latrelle maintains an image of seeming perfection. Latrelle's son Ty is an actor living in Los Angeles and struggling with several therapists to come to terms with his homosexuality. Peggy's third child, Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram, is locked in a mental institution where he performs as Tammy Wynette. He plots to escape while he attends therapy sessions with Dr. Eve who believes she can de-homosexualize him. LaVonda's best friend Noleta lives in a trailer in Sissy's backyard with her husband G.W., a Vietnam veteran with two wooden legs. G.W. escapes regularly to the local bar in town amidst a small crowd of regulars including brothers Wardell and Odell, Bitsy Mae, and the bar's resident drunk Juanita.

Production

Development

A few years after Sordid Lives (2000) was released, Del Shores published an online novel called The Sordid Saga, serving as a prequel to the film. He wrote 22 chapters (one per week) before stopping after being hired to write for Queer as Folk. When Logo TV launched in 2005, Shores' then-husband Jason Dottley suggested he pitch the novel into a TV series.

Casting

Many of the film's cast returned, however there were some changes. Dottley replaced Kirk Geiger as Ty. Originally, Caroline Rhea signed on for guest appearance as a therapist, but after reading the script she wanted a bigger role. After Delta Burke decided not to return, Rhea took over the role of Noleta. Rue McClanahan signed on as family matriarch Peggy. She said in an interview for the reason she accepted the role, "It was the funniest script I'd read since The Golden Girls. The same way I knew in Golden Girls I wanted to play Blanche, I knew I wanted to play Peggy. They're 180 degrees different, of course, except for one thing: They're both looking for love". She said to have been paid more for one episode of Golden Girls than for the whole 12 episodes of Sordid Lives.

Filming

Principal photography took place on a low-budget in Shreveport, Louisiana, for 36 days between November 2007 and January 2008. Shores stated the cast worked for less than their usual fees. To save time and since all episodes were written, Shores would "block-shot it, like a movie". Leslie Jordan filmed his scenes in six days.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Special guest stars

Episodes

Release

Logo TV aired Sordid Lives: The Series with 12 episodes from July 22, 2008, to October 21, 2008. Well Go USA released the complete series on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on January 11, 2011. A second season was not ordered due to legalities with producers not paying out residuals to the artists. The crew would later be awarded $2.5 million in unpaid residuals and penalties.

Reception

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 65 out of 100, based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Barry Garron from The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review, "Sordid Lives plays out like a white trash daytime drama on steroids. In each episode, outrageous things happen to outrageous characters, often producing outrageous laughs". He described it as "Mama's Family meets Will and Grace". The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert wrote that the series "has a decidedly amateurish tone, with shoddy production values and acting that shows some seams. But the tone works in the show's favor".