Before Marvel, Chris Pratt Starred In A Successful Drama Series From A DC TV Legend
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Chris Pratt is one of Hollywood's current big A-list actors. Between 2014 and 2015, he became the face of both the "Jurassic World" and the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchises, making him a giant movie star following his breakout role on the small screen in "Parks and Recreation." But Pratt had been working for years before any of those roles came about. In fact, he had a very healthy four-season run on The WB (later known as The CW) in a show created by a current TV mega-producer.
The show in question is "Everwood," which ran for four seasons between 2002 and 2006, airing 89 episodes. Pratt was in every single one of them. Berlanti created the show long before he became the mastermind behind The CW's Arrowverse. While the Arrowverse came to an end in 2023, he developed "Arrow," "The Flash," "Legends of Tomorrow," "Supergirl," and "Superman & Lois." But long before that, he made this quaint small-town drama.
The show centers on brain surgeon Dr. Andrew Brown (Treat Williams), who leaves his practice in New York City after his wife's passing, instead heading to the small town of Everwood, Colorado. He chose that location because of his late wife's attachment to it. Alongside his children, Delia (Vivien Cardone) and Ephram (Gregory Smith), they adjust to small-town life with the show exploring all of their relationships with the people of Everwood.
"Everwood" was canceled after four seasons, largely due to The WB merging with UPN, which gave birth to The CW. That reign lasted 17 years until Nexstar purchased the network in 2023. The old CW is basically gone now, which is a shame, but this show was something of a marker of the transition from The WB to The CW.
Everwood was an early career success story for Chris Pratt
As for Chris Pratt, he played Bright Abbott, the brother of Amy Abbott (Emily VanCamp), who are the children of Harold Abbott (Tom Amandes), who was the town's established physician before Andrew Brown showed up.
Pratt kicked off his career with the worst movie he'd ever seen, namely "Cursed Part 3" in 2000. He had minor roles here and there, but "Everwood" was a major breakout for him. Any actor who gets to appear in 89 episodes of a successful TV show would count themselves lucky. At the same time, Pratt was far from a big name by the time those four seasons were in the books.
He'd go on to appear in "The O.C.," as well as movies like "Wanted" and "Bride Wars." It wasn't until his role as the lovable goofball Andy Dwyer in "Parks and Recreation" came about in 2009 that his career truly started to take off. Now? He's as big as stars get. He's back voicing Mario again this year in "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," which is adding Yoshi to the team, among many other projects.
As for Greg Berlanti, he was an executive producer on "Dawson's Creek," but "Everwood" was his baby. That helped build key relationships that would eventually lead to "Arrow." He's since amassed a dizzying number of credits as a producer of hit television. He's also directed movies like "Love, Simon" and "Fly Me to the Moon." He and Pratt have had markedly different careers, but they crossed paths at a crucial point back in the early 2000s in this small, quiet Colorado town.