Sherman Oaks
Showtime, 1995 - 96

In the summer of 1995, Executive Producers Vin Di Bona and Chris Bearde turned the standard sitcom formula upside down with Sherman Oaks, a mockumentary series about an unstable family in earthquake-plagued Sherman Oaks, California. Produced by Vin Di Bona Productions for Showtime, the show was promoted as "America's Favorite Dysfunctional Family."

The innovative half-hour comedy sprang from the mind of Chris Bearde, a producer whose credits reach back to "The Gong Show" and "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour."

In the show, E.W. Ziffren, a young aspiring, documentary filmmaker, played by Tyler Bearde, recorded the daily lives of the Baker family. Sanford Baker was a wealthy plastic surgeon, and Beverly was his yoga-obsessed, crystal-wearing wife. Together, they had three grown children - with enough problems for twice as many. Their voluptuous daughter, Tiffany, was a little too free with her physical affections; son Tyler (despite his suburban roots) affected the sullen attitude of a product of the 'hood; while the other son, Kenny, took an opposite stance, as a cheerful right-wing Republican supporter of the NRA.

Ziffren's footage comprised the series, filmed as a spoof of documentaries.

Though "Sherman Oaks" only ran for two summers, it attracted a cult audience that still remembers the show fondly, resulting in numerous fan sites that still pop up on the Internet.