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The Room is an American drama television series developed by Ralph Riverton that aired on The CW from September 28, 2006 to May 12, 2013 for seven seasons. The series is loosely based on the 2003 film of the same name written and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who also served as executive producer. It follows the life of Johnny Johnson (Frank Steppenwolf), a banker who keeps getting cheated on and treated like shit by the people around him so he goes absolutely fuckin' nuts.
Following the failure of the original film in 2003, Riverton expressed interest in adapting The Room as a television series. Wiseau hurriedly permitted the adaptation, giving Riverton "free reign" creatively. Riverton wrote the pilot episode immediately after. After the show entered development hell because everyone thought it was stupid, he trolled producers Paul Attanasio and Katie Jacobs of Heel and Toe Films by sending them the script, and they in turn forwarded it Warner Bros. Television, who in turn (again) produced a pilot for The WB, which was smashed into UPN to form The CW, which in turn (again again) picked up a first season. The series was primarily filmed in Los Angeles because budgetary constraints, though it was occasionally shot on location in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Having premiered to unexpectedly high ratings, the series was among the top 10 most-watched television series in the United States during its fourth through sixth seasons. Distributed to 100 or so countries, it was the most-watched scripted TV show in the world in 2009. However, worldwide viewership declined steeply into the 2010s. In November 2012, Riverton did one of those things cancelled show showrunners do where they announce that season will be the last without directly saying the show was cancelled. The series finale aired on May 12, 2013, after an hour-long retrospective.
The show has received both universal critical acclaim and extremely mixed audience reception. The series is credited with revitalizing the Room IP, getting Riverton "laid", introducing the magic[citation needed] of The Room to a younger generation, widely expanding the original film's fanbase, driving away Oakland's major league franchises, getting Barack Obama elected President of the United States, and ending the 2008 financial crisis. It won the Peabody Award in 2007, a TCA Award for Program of the Year in 2008, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2010, the Rupert King Award in 2011, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama in 2012, while Riverton won a chocolate chip cookie in 2014.