Payne (TV series)

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Payne is a 1999 American sitcom based on the British comedy Fawlty Towers. It aired as a mid-season replacement on CBS from March 15 to May 4, 1999. The show stars John Larroquette as Royal Payne and JoBeth Williams as his wife Constance, with Julie Benz and Rick Batalla in supporting roles.

The series takes place at the Whispering Pines Inn, a California coast hotel owned by Royal and Constance. Royal is always trying to make the hotel better and even dreams of franchising it to become a legendary hotelier. The pilot, “Pacific Ocean Duck,” combines plots from the Fawlty Towers episodes “Gourmet Night” and “The Hotel Inspectors.” Like Fawlty Towers, the opening features the Whispering Pines sign that often falls or breaks.

Despite the blessing of John Cleese, who agreed to appear as a rival hotelier if the show lasted, Payne was cancelled after eight episodes aired. Nine episodes were filmed, but one did not air in the United States. Some episodes later aired in the United Kingdom.

Payne received mostly negative reviews in the U.S. and Canada. The New York Times and Washington Post criticized it, and Rotten Tomatoes shows a low score of about 22%. A few reviewers, including Variety’s Ray Richmond and Manuel Mendoza of the Dallas Morning News, praised Larroquette’s performance, but many critics felt the remake was not funny or sharp enough. Payne was the third failed American attempt to adapt Fawlty Towers, following Snavely (1978) and Amanda’s (1983).

Production details: one season, nine episodes (30 minutes each), multi-camera, produced by Big Phone Productions and Port Street Films for Studios USA Television. It was shot at the Piru Mansion in California.