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 (Justine Bateman), a relationship that gets far more complicated when Lynn realizes 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 (Scott Elrod), 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 (Ty Olsson). 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 (Currie Graham), 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 (Nicholas Lea). However, things get problematical 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…”
“MEN IN TREES” stars Anne Heche as Marin Frist, Abraham Benrubi as Ben Thomasson, Emily Bergl as Annie O’Donnell, Seana Kofoed as Jane, Suleka Mathew as Sara, Derek Richardson as Patrick Bachelor, Cynthia Stevenson as Celia Bachelor, Sarah Strange as Theresa, Lauren Tom as Mai Washington, James Tupper as Jack Slattery and John Amos as Buzz Washington.
The creator and executive producer of “MEN IN TREES” is Jenny Bicks (“Sex and the City”). The series is filmed in Vancouver, Canada, and is from Perkins Street Productions and NS Pictures, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television.
