Profiler (TV series)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2016) |
| Profiler | |
|---|---|
 Profiler title | |
| Created by | Cynthia Saunders |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Angelo Badalamenti |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 83 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Running time | approx. 42min, hour with commercials (per episode) |
| Production companies |
|
| Distributor | Carsey-Werner Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 21, 1996 – July 1, 2000 |
Profiler is an American crime drama that aired on NBC as part of its Thrillogy block and CNBC Europe from 1996 to 2000. The series follows the exploits of a criminal profiler working with the fictional FBI Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ally Walker starred as profiler Dr. Samantha Waters during the first three seasons (1996–99), and was later replaced by Jamie Luner as prosecutor-turned-profiler Dr. Rachel Burke during the show's final season.[1][2] Robert Davi, Roma Maffia, Peter Frechette, Erica Gimpel and Julian McMahon co-starred throughout the show's run. Caitlin Wachs played Dr. Waters' daughter for the first two seasons, a role taken over by Evan Rachel Wood in 1998.
Profiler shares a similar lead character and premise with the Fox Network series Millennium, created by Chris Carter. Both shows premiered at the beginning of the 1996–97 television season.
Plot[]
Dr. Samantha "Sam" Waters (Ally Walker) is a forensic psychologist working for the FBI's (fictitious) Violent Crimes Task Force - "VCTF" - based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a criminal profiler with her own unique gift to "see" through the eyes of others. This gift gives Sam an added special insight into the workings of the criminal mind. While she performs all of her duties diligently and competently, her drive comes from experiencing both a professional and personal tragedy years earlier in which her husband was murdered by a serial killer known only as Jack of All Trades. (His true identity was not revealed until the middle of the third season.)
Due to the dangers of the still at-large violent criminal, "Jack of All Trades," Sam must live under police guard 24/7 in a former firefighter station with her seven-year-old daughter Chloe Waters (Caitlin Wachs and later Evan Rachel Wood), and her best friend Angel Brown (Erica Gimpel), an artist.
The VCTF is an elite team of pros who must solve the toughest cases. It is led by Sam's mentor, Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), Detective John Grant (Julian McMahon), computer hacker George Fraley (Peter Frechette), and forensic pathologist Grace Álvarez (Roma Maffia).
Other characters included Nathan Brubaker, played by Michael Whaley, a former defense attorney turned detective. He appeared throughout season one. Shiek Mahmoud-Bey played Marcus Payton in season two who was an FBI agent skeptical of Sam's methods. A Martinez appeared occasionally in the first and second seasons playing Nick "Coop" Cooper, an ATF bomb disposal expert, who was Sam Waters love interest. Agent Cooper was later murdered by Jack. (Martínez had previously worked with Walker on the NBC daytime serial Santa Barbara.) Heather McComb appeared frequently in the first and second seasons as Frances Malone, the wayward and rebellious teenage daughter of Bailey Malone. Traci Lords appeared throughout the second season as a violent ex-convict named Sharon Lesher, who became the serial killer "Jill of All Trades" after she was recruited by Jack.
In season three, the VCTF thought they finally closed in on "Jack" - Donald Lucas (played by Mark Rolston). With "Jack" seemingly in custody, Sam and her daughter Chloe (now played by Evan Rachel Wood) were able to move out of the fortress-like firehouse where they had lived for the past two years. They settled into an upscale house in the Atlanta suburbs. Shortly after, Sam had a brief romance with Paul Sterling (John Mese), the district attorney prosecuting Donald Lucas. She was also dealing with her estranged father, Walter Anderson (Lawrence Pressman), who had a mysterious connection to the imprisoned Donald Lucas. Another minor subplot of the season showed Bailey getting back together with his ex-wife Janet (Patricia Healy) (but by the start of season four, they separated once again). As it turned out, the arrest of Donald Lucas was a complex ploy and set-up by the real "Jack of All Trades" - Albert Newquay - played by Dennis Christopher. Newquay, or "Jack", a violent career criminal. (To mislead and tease the viewers, Albert Newquay, the real "Jack's", name, was first mentioned in season two when he took refuge at his wealthy mother's house in Maryland to recover from being shot by Sam. Newquay then appeared on-camera for the first time in season three by posing in disguise as Ed Post, the buffoonish sheriff of a small California town.)
In season four, after finally stopping "Jack", Sam retired from the VCTF, being replaced by a new forensic psychologist, Dr. Rachel Burke (Jamie Luner). Rachel was a former FBI instructor at Quantico who also had Sam Waters' skill of profiling. But unlike Sam, Rachel had a very brusque take-charge manner that alienated some of the team members. Rachel had her own life problems; being single and also dealing with Danny (Raphael Sbarge), her self-destructive younger brother who died from a drug overdose near the end of the season. Other subplots included Grace becoming pregnant with her second child, but her husband leaving her and having to face being a single mother, and George developing an drug addiction to painkiller pills after being injured in a minor car accident. Late in the season, the show established a new overarching (story arc) villain, a shadowy urban legend named Damian Kennasas. Gregory Itzin also had a recurring role as Joel Marks, an unstable FBI agent who stalked Rachel. As the series came to an end on an unresolved cliffhanger (with Rachel getting arrested after the unseen Damian framed her for Marks' murder by using the motive of wanting revenge against him for Danny's death), it appeared that the elite VCTF team might be shut down by the U.S. Congress for the high funds it took to operate.
Episodes[]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 22 | September 21, 1996 | May 10, 1997 | ||
| 2 | 20 | November 1, 1997 | May 9, 1998 | ||
| 3 | 21 | October 17, 1998 | June 5, 1999 | ||
| 4 | 20 | September 25, 1999 | July 1, 2000 | ||
Cast[]
Main[]
- Ally Walker as Dr. Samantha "Sam" Waters (Profiler #1) (seasons 1–3; Special Guest in season 4)
- Jamie Luner as FBI Agent Rachel Burke (Profiler #2) (season 4)
- Robert Davi as FBI Agent Bailey Malone
- Julian McMahon as FBI Agent John Grant
- Roma Maffia as Dr. Grace Alvarez
- Peter Frechette as George Fraley
- Erica Gimpel as Angel Brown (seasons 1–3)
- Caitlin Wachs as Chloe Waters (seasons 1–2)
- Michael Whaley as Detective Nathan Brubaker (season 1)
- Heather McComb as Frances Malone (seasons 1–2)
- Shiek Mahmud-Bey as Detective Marcus Payton (season 2)
- Traci Lords as Sharon Lesher (season 2)
Recurring[]
- A Martinez as Nick Cooper[3] (seasons 1–2)
- Evan Rachel Wood as Chloe Waters (seasons 3–4)[Note 1]
- Mark Rolston as Donald Lucas (season 3)
- John Mese as Paul Sterling (season 3)
- Lawrence Pressman as Walter Anderson (season 3)
- Gregory Itzin as Joel Marks (season 4)
- Notes
- ^ Replaced Caitlin Wachs as Chloe after season 2.
Unconfirmed[]
- Dennis Christopher as "Jack of All Trades" / Albert Newquay (Uncredited or credited as "Jack" during seasons 1–2)
The Pretender universe[]
Profiler shared the same universe with The Pretender, with three crossover episodes, three with Michael T. Weiss guest-starring on Profiler, Ally Walker made a guest appearance on The Pretender in season 3, episode 19, and Jamie Luner making a guest appearance on The Pretender in season 4, episode 10.
Broadcast[]
Profiler was first syndicated to Court TV in 2000.[4] Profiler aired weeknights at 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. Eastern on NBC Universal's 24-hour crime and mystery-themed cable channel Sleuth in 2007.
From 2018 to 2020, reruns aired at 1:00 a.m. daily on the network channel Start TV.
Home media[]
A&E Home Video has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in the United States of America. The four-season release box set has been discontinued and is now out of print.
- Episode #1.4 'I'll Be Watching You' from Season 1 was not included in the set due to music right issues over the title song.[5]
| Title | Format | Ep # | Discs/Tapes | Region 1 (USA) | Special Features | USA Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profiler (Season 1) | DVD | 21 | 6 | 1 July 2003 29 July 2003 |
Profiles of Evil: Inside the Criminal Mind episode of A&E's American Justice series
Commentary by Ally Walker and Robert Davi on the pilot episode "Insight" Photo gallery Cast Biographies |
A&E Home Video |
| Profiler (Season 2) | DVD | 20 | 6 | 28 October 2003 25 November 2003 |
Commentary with Investigative Criminal Profiler Pat Brown on episode "Victims of Victims"
Cast Biographies |
A&E Home Video |
| Profiler (Season 3) | DVD | 22 | 6 | 30 March 2004 27 April 2004 |
Commentary with Roma Maffia on the episode "Heads You Lose" Ally Walker's final season Cast Biographies |
A&E Home Video |
| Profiler (Season 4) | DVD | 20 | 5 | 28 September 2004 26 October 2004 |
Interview with series consultant Howard Teten, Former FBI Unit Chief and Criminal Profiler
Commentary with executive producer Clifton Campbell on the final episode "On Your Marks" Cast Biographies |
A&E Home Video |
Australian DVD Release[]
| Title | Format | Ep # | Discs/Tapes | Region 4 (Australia) | Special Features | Australia Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profiler (Season 1 & 2) | DVD | 42 | 12 | 22 May 2019 | Bonus Episode – “I’ll Be Watching You” | Via Vision Entertainment |
| Profiler (Season 3 & 4) | DVD | 41 | 12 | 10 July 2019 | None | Via Vision Entertainment |
| Profiler (The Complete Series) | DVD | 83 | 23 | 16 November 2019 | None | Via Vision Entertainment |
Ratings[]
| Season | U.S. ratings | Network | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996–97 | 7.4 million | NBC | #82 |
| 2 | 1997–98 | 9.9 million | NBC | #86 |
| 3 | 1998–99 | 8.9 million | NBC | #89 |
| 4 | 1999-00 | 8.1 million | NBC | #86 |
References[]
- ^ Josef Adalian (July 12, 1999). "NBC's 'Profiler' looks to Luner". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ Shauna Snow (July 13, 1999). "Morning Report". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
Luner's character, former prosecutor-turned-FBI-profiler Rachel Burke, will be introduced in a two-part season premiere...
- ^ Ray Richmond (December 4, 1996). "Martinez Joins 'Profiler'". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ John Dempsey (July 14, 2000). "Court TV gavels in 'Profiler,' 'Forensic'". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ Susan King (July 26, 2003). "Back for reruns, but why?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
The set features all but one episode from the premiere season -- the fourth episode is missing because of the very expensive music rights for the Police classic "Every Breath You Take," which is prominently featured in the episode.
External links[]
- Profiler at IMDb
- Profiler at EpisodeWorld.com
- 1990s American crime drama television series
- 1996 American television series debuts
- 2000s American crime drama television series
- 2000 American television series endings
- English-language television shows
- NBC original programming
- Television series by Universal Television
- Television shows set in Atlanta
- Television series about fictional serial killers