The Jake Effect

The Jake Effect was a sitcom created by Jonathan Groff for NBC in 2002; however, the show never aired on NBC, but was later picked up by Bravo for their “Brilliant but Cancelled” block. Finally airing in 2006, The Jake Effect stars Jason Bateman as the title character who decides to leave his high-paying job as a lawyer in order to teach at a Chicago high school. This decision comes as a shock to his friends and family who wonder what would possess him to do such a thing, and Jake himself begins to wonder what he was thinking as he runs into all sorts of problems on his first day as a teacher. Jake Galvin lives with his roommate Nick (Greg Grunberg), another lawyer who helps Jake navigate through his new life as a teacher. Things start to look up for Jake when he meets Liza Wheeler (Nikki Cox), an attractive teacher who works with Jake at the high school. The series also stars Leslie Grossman as Kimmy Ponder, Kyle Gass as Mr. Seissner, and Patricia Belcher as Vice Principal Curtis. MORE