THE KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY

'''The Knights of Prosperity''' is a TV comedy series that premiered on ABC in the United States on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 and lasted less than one season. It was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, who also created the NBC comedy-drama ''Ed''. The show follows a group of misfits—the titular Knights—who attempt to rob various celebrities, the first being Mick Jagger. Later in the series, the attempt to rob his luxury apartment failed, and the team moved onto new targets Kelly Ripa and later Ray Romano.
The series initially aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. before being moved to 8:30. The series was pulled after airing nine episodes and then officially canceled by ABC.^[1] After 5 months off the air, ABC broadcast two episodes and then pulled the sitcom once again.^[2] On August 17, 2007, the network made all 13 episodes available for viewing on ABC.com.^[3]

Contents

Name changes and scheduling

Marketing

Cast and characters

Guest stars

Episodes

References

External links

Name changes and scheduling

The series went through several name changes: the original title was ''Let's Rob Jeff Goldblum'', later changed to ''Let's Rob Mick Jagger'' once Goldblum committed to the NBC drama ''Raines''. ABC announced the series for its fall schedule as ''Let's Rob...'' in May, and the final name change to ''Knights'' was reported in July 2006.^[4] During the TCA Tour, executive producer Rob Burnett indicated that the title might change again before the show debuts,^[5] but the show debuted under the "Knights" name.
Originally scheduled to debut on October 17, 2006 at 9:00 p.m., it was pulled from the schedule on October 3 in favor of at least two additional 90-minute episodes of its intended lead-in, ''Dancing with the Stars''. ABC later announced that the program would be shelved^[6] and rescheduled for a January 2007 airdate due to the network now making another sitcom, ''Big Day'', a priority for the Tuesday night schedule.^[7] On November 9, 2006, ABC began running promos for the show in advance of its January airdate. On December 5, 2006, ABC announced that the program would premiere on January 3, 2007 at 9:00 p.m. Although the show was scheduled to air the following week at 9:00, a primetime address by the President of the United States caused the second episode of the show to air at 9:30 p.m. The show returned to its normal 9:00 time slot the following week. The show was rescheduled to 8:30 beginning on January 31, 2007, and remained there until being removed from the schedule. ABC later canceled the show. After the cancellation, the network announced that it was considering a second season featuring Ray Romano. ^[8]
However, the show was ultimately canceled, along with fellow low-rated newcomer ''The Nine'' and replaced with ''According to Jim'', '' and ''NASCAR in Primetime'' on Wednesdays.^[9]
On August 17, 2007 ABC put up the remaining shows on its website.

Marketing

On December 26, to generate buzz for the show, ABC distributed wallets bearing the monogram "KOP" in a number of markets. The wallets contained a receipt from "Enterprise Luxury Goods Ltd." for millions of dollars in purchases, a claim check for a platinum wristwatch, and an invitation to join a promotional group via text message.^[10]

Cast and characters

★ Donal Logue as Eugene Gurkin

★ Sofia Vergara as Esperanza Villalobos

★ Lenny Venito as Francis "Squatch" Squacieri

★ Maz Jobrani as Gourishankar "Gary" Subramaniam

★ Kevin Michael Richardson as Rockefeller Butts

★ Josh Grisetti as Louis Plunk

Guest stars

★ Reiko Aylesworth as Simone Cashwell

★ Ben Bailey as Ralph Carnucci

★ Dustin Diamond as himself

★ Mick Jagger as himself

★ Sally Jessy Raphaël as herself

★ Kelly Ripa as herself

★ Ray Romano as himself

★ Rocco DiSpirito as himself

Episodes

Episode #	Title	Air Date	Rating	Share	18-49	Viewers
1	Operation: Pilot	January 3 2007	TV-PG L	7	3.0	7.4 million
2	Operation: Seduce Simone	January 10 2007	TV-PG DL	5	2.0	5.2 million
3	Operation: Fighting Shape	January 17 2007	TV-14	4	1.5	4.1 million
4	Operation: Deliver the Case	January 24 2007	TV-PG DLV	4	1.4	3.8 million
5	Operation: Ralph	January 31 2007	TV-PG DLSV	5	1.9	5.1 million
6	Operation: Caught on Tape	February 7 2007	TV-PG S	5	2.1	5.6 million
7	Operation: Save Esperanz	February 14 2007	TV-14 DLV	5	2.1	5.3 million
8	Operation: Panic Room	February 21 2007	TV-14 DLV	4	1.6	4.1 million
9	Operation: Oswald Montecristo	February 28 2007	TV-14 DLV	4	1.7	4.2 million
10	Operation: Rent Money	August 8 2007	TV-PG	3	1.8	2.3 million
11	Operation: Steal the Safe	August 8 2007	TV-PG	3	1.5	2.1 million
12	Operation: Open the Safe	August 22, 2007	TV-PG	N/A	N/A	N/A
13	Operation: RomanoCorp	August 23, 2007	TV-PG	N/A	N/A	N/A

★ August 8's episodes are from entertainmentnow.com

References

1. 2007 Cancelled Shows: ABC Cuts Some Beloved Series, ''TVSeriesFinale.com'', May 15, 2007
2. Knights of Prosperity, The Nine: ABC Drops Them Once Again, ''TVSeriesFinale.com'', August 13, 2007
3. Knights of Prosperity, The Nine: ABC Releases Final Episodes, ''TV Series Finale'', August 17, 2007
4. Sullivan, Brian Ford. "ABC Adds 'Medical Mysteries,' 'Let's Rob' Becomes 'Knights'", FutonCritic.com, 4 July 2006
5. Ausiello, Michael. ''Ausiello Report'' "Press Tour Diary: ABC Day 2", 20 July 2006
6. Ryan, Joal. "Mick Jagger Heist on Hold", ''E! Online'', 4 October 2006
7. "'Big Day' To Premiere Tuesday, November 28 On The ABC Television Network", FutonCritic.com, 5 October 2006
8. "Upfront Buzz: 'Underbelly' May Be Back; ABC also looking at reviving 'Knights'", ''Zap2It.com'', May 11, 2007
9. Quick Exits for 'Knights,' 'Nine'; ABC pulls burnoffs after brief August runs, ''Zap2It.com'', August 14, 2007
10. Johannes, Amy
"ABC Drops Wallets, Cash for Knights.", Promomagazine.com, December 22, 2006

External links

★

★

★ Extensive interview with the creators on public radio program The Sound of Young America

★ Music from The Knights of Prosperity