Payne is a 1999 American sitcom adapted from the 1970s British television comedy "Fawlty Towers". This adaptation, which was a mid-season replacement on CBS, originally aired from March 15 to April 28, 1999. It costars John Larroquette, who was also an executive producer for the series, and JoBeth Williams. Featured too as regular supporting characters are Julie Benz and Rick Batalla. Despite receiving the blessing of John Cleese, who reportedly agreed to be an "irregular cast member" and perform in a recurring role as a rival hotelier if "Payne" were renewed, the series was cancelled following the broadcast of its eighth episode. A total of nine episodes were filmed, but one was not aired as part of the series' original presentation on CBS.