Men in Trees is an American romantic dramedy television series created by Jenny Bicks which revolves around relationship coach Marin Frist's misadventures upon relocation to the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska.
The series aired in the USA on ABC from 12 September, 2006 to 11 June, 2008. There are 36 hour-long episodes in two seasons.
Men in Trees originally aired in South Africa on DStv's M-Net Series channel from 15 March, 2007 to 23 July, 2008. It later aired on DStv's Hallmark (which later became Universal) channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on Universal Channel on Thursday 29 July 2010, at 21h00. New episodes air weekly, in a double bill. There are 13 episodes in the second season.
Season 1
Finding a good man in today's world isn't as difficult as some women think. You just have to watch out for the signs. You wouldn't drive with a blindfold on, but for some reason, women continue to date with one on.
Relationship coach Marin Frist knows what to look for, what to avoid and what will make her happy. As the many fans of her two best-selling books could tell you, we're all in charge of our own happiness.
Marin's personal happiness included the upcoming wedding to her perfect man. But like many people full of advice, she failed to apply it to herself.
On her way to a speaking engagement in remote Elmo, Alaska, she learns that her fiancé has cheated on her. The wedding plans are instantly over.
Slapped in the face with personal failure, Marin is now stuck in a small town full of the one thing she really doesn't need: available men. She comes to the conclusion that her next step should be to stay in Elmo for a while and start a new book, which will be about a topic on which she needs enlightenment - men!
As she meets the men in Elmo, where the ratio of males to females is ten to one, Marin realises that she'll have plenty of research material. Like her, they feel stuck somewhere between the past and the future, and they too have experienced ups and downs in their quests for love and fulfilment.
The men that give Marin the material to tell the male side of relationships include Buzz, the pilot of the only airplane that flies in and out of Elmo, and Ben, the bartender whose secret past would shock his customers.
Affable Patrick, an avid Marin Frist fan, runs the town's only inn and radio station. And Alaskan native Jack is a man of few words who is interested in protecting the environment and who, as events unfold, tries to protect Marin from herself.
There are not many women for Marin to befriend in Elmo, which is why her editor, Jane, tries to lend long-distance support but finds herself making an occasional trip to Elmo.
At a book party in New York, Marin had given dating advice to a young woman named Annie; little did Marin know that the girl would seek her out in Alaska once she heard of Marin's breakup woes.
Former rock musician Theresa is having an on-again, off-again relationship with Ben the bartender. And then there's the town's working girl, Sara, who is also a single mom.
Marin learns that she has been living with her eyes closed for too long. Now that they're finally open, she sees the amazingly beautiful world around her and for the first time she'll have the chance to stop and breathe.
Now if she could just get the raccoon out of her hotel room, this place might be perfect.
Season 2
In addition to getting better acquainted with the mix of eclectic characters viewers came to know on Men in Trees in the first season - in Season 2 there will be a wedding that doesn't happen, another that does, two divorces, one baby, a pack of angry wolves, an arctic cyclone, two "little people" and a puppy.
Amidst of all of this emotion, drama and comedy, relationship coach and New York native Marin Frist really settles in to the man-centric town of Elmo, Alaska.
She starts pursuing what she thinks will make her truly happy - a relationship and completing her book - only to find things are far more complicated than she thought.
Marin is still reeling from Jack's engagement to Lynn, a relationship that gets far more complicated when Lynn realises that Jack still has feelings for Marin.
Marin throws herself into her writing, but is soon receiving attention from not one, but four different men. Eventually she chooses one and dives in head first, only to find that the long-awaited completion of her book, "Notes from Elmo", a project she's deeply proud of, threatens to end her relationship.
Jack struggles with his feelings for Marin, although he's engaged to Lynn. The strong and silent Jack always seems to be around when Marin needs protecting from Alaskan wildlife and, occasionally, herself.
When a job offer threatens to take the fish and game biologist away from Elmo, his relationships, and a new friendship with another woman, make life even more difficult.
Marin and the sexy loner Cash, a nomadic handyman who has helped Marin fix up her run-down cabin, have become roommates - an arrangement that irks Jack and complicates Marin's life.
Meanwhile, the adorably affable Patrick and Annie, both still Marin's biggest fans, continue to plan their wedding. But a series of ill-fated events threaten to ruin their union.
The streak of bad luck comes as no surprise to Patrick's stepmother, Mai, who predicted Patrick and Annie's union would be doomed after discovering the pair had incompatible astrological charts.
Things finally reach a boiling point during a thunderstorm, and Annie and Patrick's lives are changed forever.
Marin's tough-girl New York editor, Jane, flies in for Patrick and Annie's nuptials and is reunited with her former flame, Sam. Despite Jane's resolve to be done with "Plow Guy," she can't help but react a little impulsively after seeing him - and his wedding date.
Celia, Elmo's ever watchful Police Chief, finds that her relationship with her once-doting son, Patrick, is tested. Her boyfriend, Dick, will be there to lend the emotional support that Celia so clearly needs but hates.
The wealthy Seattle-raised Ben, who runs the town's only bar, The Chieftain, throws his attention and money into a struggling hockey team he purchases. But as he gets more obsessed with winning, he pays less attention to his once-estranged wife and former rock musician Theresa. Tensions begin to mount in their home.
Buzz, who recently discovered that Patrick is his biological son, owns his own airline (one prop plane) that flies in and out of Elmo. Ben's hockey team purchase brings to light the fact that Buzz has a latent gambling problem.
Buzz finds his problem re-awakened, forcing his wheeling and dealing mail-order bride, Mai, to issue the ultimatum - it's gambling or me.
Sara, who has given up her job as the town's "working girl" to study to be an EMT, continues to pursue a relationship with Pastor Eric. However, things get problematic when churchgoers question the nature of their relationship.
Marin has found that the inhabitants of Elmo are quite a lively bunch, and it's because of them that she has been able to open her eyes and see the amazingly beautiful world around her. For the first time, she has had the chance to stop and breathe.
They all share the wish of wanting something more for themselves and the people they care about. But as the townsfolk in Elmo go about doing that, an age-old adage comes to mind: "Be careful what you wish for..."
Seasons
Note: in the USA the first season had 17 episodes and there were 19 in the second. In syndication this became a 23-episode first season and a 13-episode second season.
Season 1 (23 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 15 Mar 2007 | Finale: 16 Aug 2007 | Thursdays, 19h30
Channel: Hallmark | Premiere: 4 Feb 2010 | Finale: 15 Apr 2010 | Thursdays, 21h00
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 30 Jan 2008 | Finale: 23 Jul 2008 | Wednesdays, 20h00
Channel: Universal | Premiere: 29 Jul 2010 | Finale: 2 Sep 2010 | Thursdays, 21h00