BIOGRAPHY
The future champion spent his childhood in Samara.
Alexey’s father, Vladimir Nikolaevich, always worked hard and studied at the same time, and managed to obtain three higher educations. At first he was a party worker, later he went into business. Alexei and his brother Ilya were raised mainly by their mother, Larisa Grigorievna. The family lived together. The figure skater says: “I don’t remember that my parents raised my brother and I in excessive severity: they didn’t punish us - they mostly talked to us and explained. Even when scolding me for something, my mother was always very worried, and we tried not to upset her. Dad taught me by his own example - how to be strong, how to achieve your goal, what it means to be a man. There has always been an aura of incredible love in our home.”
At the age of five, Alexey Tikhonov started skating. His first coach was Vera Birbraer. At first, the boy had many other hobbies: football, hockey, tennis, and amateur arts. But by the age of 13 he became the best skater in the city, then moved to pair skating. It became clear that sport could become his profession.
In the ninth grade, Alexey moved to Sverdlovsk and began training at the Olympic reserve school with Ardo and Yulia Rennik.
Alexey Tikhonov. Close-up
I am a figure skating fan, but I don’t distinguish between “toe loop” and “axel”. Which position is “waltzing” and which is not. But I love figure skating, I support all our athletes. And I wish everyone victory. And not so long ago I was a fan of only one couple - Maria Petrova-Alexey Tikhonov. And I want to talk about Alexey. Although it is difficult. It's impossible for me to imagine them apart. This is a couple in life, a couple on ice. Therefore, Masha will be constantly mentioned in my story.
Alexey was born on November 1, 1971 in Samara. His father, Vladimir Nikolaevich Tikhonov, comes from a working-class family, graduated from three universities and for some time held a leadership position in the party, and later became a private entrepreneur. Vladimir Nikolaevich Tikhonov is one of the first Samara bodybuilders. Alexey Tikhonov’s mother Larisa Grigorievna worked in the legal field. Alexei's younger brother Ilya followed in her footsteps, becoming a lawyer. Alexey's parents brought him to the skating rink when he was 5 years old.
Here's how Alexey talks about it: “In the mid-70s, figure skating was very popular in the Soviet Union. The selection was serious: they checked the stretching, they lifted my legs, it hurt, I endured it. My grandmothers helped me a lot and took me to classes. The realization that this was mine, and I needed to continue doing it, came around the age of 14. The Soviet Union figure skating team came to Samara (then still the city of Kuibyshev), and I, as one of the best skaters in the city, came to demonstrate. entrusted to open the second branch of the show. It was a turning point in my life, I still remember it. I talked with Sasha Fadeev, Katya Gordeeva and Seryozha Grinkov, Artur Dmitriev and Natasha Mishkutenok. It was very interesting to watch their communication, how they behave with people. This meeting became such an incentive for me to train seriously that the results immediately went up.”
At the age of 14, Alexey switched to pair skating. He trained in his hometown until the ninth grade, then moved to Sverdlovsk and began training in pairs skating at the Olympic Reserve School under the guidance of the coaching duo Ardo and Yulia Rennik. For three years Tikhonov skated in tandem with Irina Sayfutdinova, with whom he took third place at the Junior World Championships in 1989. But the relationship with his partner did not work out, and after the championship Alexey moved to Moscow, where he began training at CSKA with Vladimir Zakharov at the Stanislav Zhuk school. Here he also served, defending the sporting honor of the army. In the capital, Tikhonov skated for a year with Ekaterina Murugova. However, Murugova soon got married and quit the sport. Alexey looked for a replacement for a long time, but there were no “free” skaters. In 1992, Tikhonov received an offer from Japan. Until 1994, he skated with Yukiko Kawasaki, with whom he became a two-time Japanese champion. And then Tikhonov, together with Kawasaki, competed at the World Championships, where they took 15th place. It was there that he first met figure skater Maria Petrova.
Alexey: “I first saw Masha in 1994 at the World Championships in Japan. She then performed with Anton Sikharulidze and somehow reminded me of Katya Gordeeva. I looked at the guys and thought: what a cool couple! They are still very young, but they skate so well! And the partner is simply perfect! We met, but Masha wasn’t very talkative then.”
In the summer of 1994, having arrived in Russia on vacation and having received an offer from Tatyana Tarasova to join her All Stars ice theater, Alexey decided to end up with amateur sports. In the theater, Tikhonov performed in various performances together with Inna Volyanskaya for three years. He played the role of the Prince in the play “Cinderella”, then the Beast in the production of “Beauty and the Beast”.
However, Alexey dreamed of returning to big-time sports. In February 1996, he tried to hook up with Maria Petrova, who was left without a partner after the breakup of her couple with Anton Sikharulidze. And a month later... he disappeared without a trace.
Masha: “Am I offended by his disappearance? No, I was just scared. This doesn’t happen often, there was a man and there is no man.”
And Alexey returned to the theater, where he remained until its collapse in 1998. He did not dare to exchange a stable job in the show and an established life in Moscow for training with unclear prospects.
Two years later Tikhonov returned. And now he had to show all his eloquence in order to convince Petrova to ride with him. And within six months they became European champions.
And in 2000 they became European and World Champions.
It’s a shame that Masha and Alexey never became Olympic champions. They participated in two Olympics. At the 2002 Games they were 6th, and in 2006 - 5th.
In 2007, the couple Masha Petrova and Alexey Tikhonov became laureates of the world’s first figure skating award “Crystal Ice” in the “People’s Love” category. The award was presented - a modern city car Ford Fiesta. “It was a complete surprise for us because the organizers kept everything secret. “And the most wonderful thing,” Alexey said laughing, after presenting the award, “is that now I can relinquish my duties as Masha Petrova’s driver.”
In 2007, after Alexey received a serious injury, the couple announced their retirement from big-time sports. But that was not the only reason. As Alexey said: “At the European Championships, I caught myself thinking that it had become uninteresting. And this is not connected with skating, but with a subjective rating system. If the judges want to, they will put you higher, if they don’t want to, they won’t.”
In the same year, the skater made his film debut, playing in the TV series “The Matchmaker.” Then there will be the series “Hot Ice”. In 2009, Tikhonov starred in one of the episodes of the series “Puteytsy”, where he played almost himself - a famous athlete, and he also made his debut in the enterprise play “Nonnormal”.
Since 2007, Alexey has participated in the project “Ice Age” and “Bolero”
With Alisa Grebenshchikova.
With Ekaterina Strizhenova.
With Alena Babenko.
With Vera Arbuzova.
With Anita Tsoi.
And this is Lyubov Tolkalina’s story about participating in the show. And about Alexei Tikhonov.
“I remember we met with Averbukh on August 2 - on Ilya’s day, it was his name day. I congratulated him - but, as it turned out, he didn’t even know. We talked, quickly switched to conversation, he taught me how to lace my skates, and then he took me by the hands and led me out onto the ice. At the end of our training, Lesha Tikhonov appeared. And then I thought I was going to go crazy! It was such a head-on collision with a dream, from which I was simply thrown into the air several kilometers and torn into many little Lyubochkas. Incredible feeling! We started studying. At first, when the enthusiasm simply went off scale, it seemed: just think, nothing is working out! Just think - a knee, think - a head! At first I went out on the ice in full gear - except for a helmet and a chair. I had knee pads, elbow pads, and special pads, like those of a goalkeeper. But the main thing is that Lekha Tikhonov was like the multi-armed Indian demon Ravana - wherever I tilted, he immediately picked me up, his hand was everywhere. He is an amazing partner. I watched how others worked and realized how lucky I was. And then he suddenly said: “Masha and I are going to St. Petersburg, are you free in August?” (Their daughter had just been born, and they lived near St. Petersburg.) And our “bridgehead” moved to the Northern capital. Friends found me an apartment on the Kryukov Canal, and for almost a month Lekha and I trained at the skating rink in the Tauride Garden, which was often accessible only in the evenings. Imagine - night, ice, no one around, and only Lekha and I. For me it was a very delicate situation: you are alone with the world champion on the skating rink - that is, in terribly romantic circumstances - and completely in his arms. After all, he is responsible for you with his head - so that you don’t break, don’t fall, don’t break something. You are completely dependent on him, you are a woman, he is a man, and for you he is an absolutely indisputable authority in everything. He literally manually tries to introduce a piece of his skill into your body. He teaches me how to find balance while standing on two thin plates on a deadly slippery surface... Every time Lekha and I found ourselves “eye to eye,” he grabbed my hands tightly and said: “Don’t be afraid of anything, nothing at all!” Just look into my eyes and listen to me.” This is what can happen to a woman in such a situation??? It was a real castle - that look of his. Thus, Lekha forever taught me to look a person in the eyes when you come into contact with him. The next shock is his death grip. When he picked me up, his whole nature conveyed to me: “Now I will help you!” This is the second thing I learned from Lekha - the most desirable way for me to interact with other people. And step by step, with some kind of superhuman patience, Lech instilled this confidence in me. Never, under any circumstances, did he lose his temper, he was always in a good mood... But the situations were different, especially when we were already preparing for the broadcast and entered a race state. Realizing that there were only three days left, and we had not yet staged the number, I began to fall into hysterics. But Lech never. He came, looked at me, and I understood: “Yeah, I’m in the house, I’ll be fine next to this person!” At the same time, she knew that it was incredibly difficult for me. And if we fell, then together, I never fell alone - he tried to hold me to the last. And he laughed all the time: “You are so long. Do you understand that you keep going on and on? It seems that I have already grabbed you - and you still last like a boa constrictor. You are somehow endless." I answered: “That’s right. Yes. I am underwear." I had several solemn nicknames for Lekha - he was both “Head of the Porcelain Tower” and “Alyosha the Wizard”. I don’t think I could have done anything even close to what he and I did with another partner. He sat me on his outstretched arm, like on a chair, and I - such a tower - sat on one palm, like a child. Probably even dad, when I was a baby, never held me like that. With my height of 178 cm and weight of almost 60 kilograms, I still don’t understand how you can lift me over your head. After an injury, I had to leave the project.
I’ve probably never cried so bitterly on live television. Of course, all this was later cut out... We skated the last number - “Romance of Lovers”, after the performance Lesha and I had the traditional short interview about our feelings and impressions. Everyone already knew that we would say goodbye, I had to talk about my injury. Instead, we stood leaning into each other. I remember only one thing - they were filming us, but I just couldn’t tear my face away from Lekha’s chest, because I was sobbing bitterly. Tatyana Tarasova, looking at all this, was so taken aback that she asked: “Lyuba, maybe you’ll change your mind after all? You have no idea how much stronger you will become if you give up your decision now.” But I knew that I had no options. Because of the amount of painkiller I received, I stopped eating altogether and my digestion was disrupted. But she continued to train, and was in a semi-fainting state. Tatyana Anatolyevna, of course, did not know all these details. And no one knew. So I had to say goodbye. And Lekha was given another partner, and he finished the project. My participation in it went virtually unnoticed. But for me it was an outstanding event in my life. And I am eternally grateful to fate and Ilya Averbukh that I got there. That’s why I’m still haunted by the thought of taking Lyokha into some performance, so that I’ll never be separated from him. There are people next to whom you are the best conversationalist, the most beautiful, the most talented, the best.”
In February 2010, the famous duet, perhaps the sunniest Russian figure skaters, became a trio. Masha and Alexey had a daughter, Polina.
Now Alexey and Masha are participating in various ice shows. When Alexey was asked about the future, he replied: “Yes, sometimes difficult thoughts come to us: “What to do next, what to do?” It is known that the profession of a coach requires full dedication. In addition, you need to decide where to train: in St. Petersburg? Or come to consult some couples in Moscow? It would be nice if several foreign couples joined in..."
And at the end of my story there is a video.
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FIGURE SKATING
Sport
For three years, Alexey Tikhonov skated together with Irina Sayfutdinova. At the 1989 Junior World Championships, the couple took third place. But soon the duo broke up, and Alexey went to Moscow and trained for some time with Ekaterina Murogova.
In 1992, Alexey moved to Japan and teamed up with Yukiko Kawasaki. The athletes twice became champions of Japan and won the Asian Cup.
Then Tatyana Tarasova invited Alexey to her All Stars ice theater. He worked successfully, but the thought of returning to big-time sports did not leave him. In 1998, Alexey Tikhonov began skating with Maria Petrova, and a year later they became European and then world champions.
The couple's main sporting achievements:
- World Champions (2000)
- European Champions (1999 and 2000)
- Champions of Russia (2006)
The skaters competed for the Russian national team for more than 8 years and participated in the Olympic Games twice. They completed their career in amateur sports in 2007.
TV projects
Since 2006, the skater has participated in popular shows: “Stars on Ice”, “Ice Age” and others. Together with his fellow athletes, he put many stars of the domestic show business on skates. Alexey skated in pairs with Anna Bolshova, Alisa Grebenshchikova, Ekaterina Strizhenova, Alena Babenko, Lyubov Tolkalina, Kristina Asmus, Anita Tsoi, Daria Moroz, Aglaya Tarasova.
It is noteworthy that Alexey reached the finals with almost everyone, and several times even stood on the podium. Tikhonov is rightfully considered one of the most reliable and artistic partners in pairs skating.
In 2011, Alexey, in a duet with the soloist of the Mikhailovsky Theater Vera Arbuzova, participated in the dance television project “Bolero”.
Show
After leaving big sports, Maria Petrova and Alexey Tikhonov are constant participants in various ice performances. “City Lights”, “Kid and Carlson”, “Carmen”, “Romeo and Juliet” - this is not a complete list of performances with their participation.
During this time, the skaters embodied many images. But Alexey has his favorite – Freken Bock! Stately Alexey Tikhonov in a dress and with a red bun on his head is, at least, unexpected.
“I definitely got lucky with this look! - says Alexey. “She’s such a thorough lady, piercing.” For all her severity, the housekeeper is quite kind. It seems to me that she simply doesn’t have enough love in her life! I’m really enjoying this role, which, the main thing is not to spoil it!”
The ice is cracked
Athletes from China Xu Shen and Hongbo Zhao became champions, their colleagues on the national team - King Pang and Jian Tong - took second place. The current European champions Alena Savchenko and Robert Szolkowy, representing Germany, climbed to the third step of the podium.
The 2000 world champions and two-time winners of the continental championships, Maria Petrova and Alexey Tikhonov, who took 11th place in the short program, did not take to the ice of the Tokyo arena, refusing further competition.
According to official information, the Russian couple was not allowed to continue participating in the tournament by the health condition of Alexei Tikhonov, who had problems with the muscles of his right leg. According to the unofficial version, they simply did not want to experience the feeling of awkwardness from their rental once again.
Most likely, the decision itself to go to Tokyo was a mistake. After all, Maria and Alexey did not have time to properly prepare for the world championship and lost the opportunity to take part in various ice shows now taking place throughout the country. Many Russian fans and the skaters themselves probably remember the frankly disastrous performances at the last European Championship and the Grand Prix final. So, from a human perspective, the veterans of our team, who held first place in the team for a long time, most likely did the right thing.
But after the experienced Russian athletes, their long-time rivals, the Polish married duo Dorota and Mariusz Syudeki, withdrew from the competition. During the warm-up, the partner twisted his ankle, and the partner left the ice in tears. The Poles found the strength to go to the center of the arena and say goodbye to the public. To say goodbye as amateur athletes, because they firmly decided to go to professional ice.
Unlike their colleagues, the two-time world champions from the Celestial Empire are not planning to end their careers yet. At this championship, Xu Shen and Hongbo Zhao won their third title of world championship winners and, apparently, they are not going to stop there. True, it is worth considering the fact that the Chinese couple performed in Tokyo in the absence of Olympic champions Tatyana Totmyanina and Maxim Marinin, who are thinking about returning to amateur sports.
In the meantime, the best Russian couple Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov became only tenth, Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov were placed behind them.
In the morning part of the championship program, a short program for men took place, as a result of which the current European champion and silver medalist of the last world championship, Frenchman Brian Joubert, took the lead. His program "Agent 007" was executed cleanly and deserved the highest marks. In second place is Canadian Jeffrey Battle, and the current world champion, Swiss Stephane Lambiel, is still only sixth. Russian figure skaters Sergei Voronov and Andrey Lutai took 22nd and 24th places, respectively.
THEATER
In 2009, Alexey Tikhonov made his stage debut in the play “Nonnormal” based on the play by N. Ptushkina. He played a successful young man who has an affair with a strange and not very attractive lady over forty, played by Ekaterina Strizhenova. “I still don’t understand how she decided to take me as a partner for this duet piece,” admitted Alexey. Despite doubts, he did an excellent job: in 2010, for this role, Tikhonov was awarded a special prize from the organizing committee at the Amur Autumn festival.
The next theatrical work was the romantic comedy “Angel from Bavaria”. Alexey’s partners this time were Anna Bolshova, Egor Barinov, Ekaterina Volkova, Yulia Takshina, Sergey Druzhko, Maxim Pinsker and others.
MOVIE
In 2007, the skater was invited to star as himself in the TV series “Matchmaker.” A year later, he played one of the main roles in the TV series “Hot Ice”. This is how the film career of Alexei Tikhonov began. Today he has more than a dozen diverse roles to his credit.
“I must admit that this experience is very interesting for me. For example, in the series “Foundry” and “Team” I had the opportunity to play not exactly positive heroes, but such hidden villains - people were not used to seeing me like this, and it was very interesting to try on this role,” shared Alexey.
Tikhonov admits that the advice of his partners helps him make up for the lack of acting education - he is very lucky with them.
"Boomerang"
In the fall of 2020, the premiere of the series “Boomerang” took place on the Rossiya TV channel. The plot centers on the fate of the professor’s daughter Dasha Lebedeva. She lives in a small academic town, finishes school, dreams of entering a choreographic school. Dasha is in love with Andrey, a simple guy from a dysfunctional family. But her mother Regina does not approve of Dasha’s passion for ballet, nor her love for the “future criminal” Andrei.
The heroine's life collapses: she is raped in a club, Andrei is sent to prison on false charges. A girl marries someone else, but betrayal awaits her. Dasha leaves the hated town and runs to Moscow.
Eight years later, Dasha is a successful woman, a happy mother and wife. However, circumstances are such that she, along with her new husband Mikhail and daughter, have to return to her hometown and face the past. The role of Mikhail was played by Alexey Tikhonov.
The film also starred Anna Peskova, Pyotr Kislov, Olga Prokofieva and others.
“The company we chose was very good! I had great pleasure filming this movie. I really want you to enjoy our work too,” Alexey wrote to his subscribers on his social network page.
Just one try
"AiF. At the dacha": - After the figure skater Tikhonov left the sport, he can now often be seen in TV series and on the theater stage...
A.T.: I adore cinema since childhood, I love theater, but cinema still took most of my love. I went to all the morning shows - there were fewer people and cheaper tickets. And when I was offered to participate in the series “Hot Ice,” I agreed almost without hesitation. This was my first experience in cinema, so there are still a lot of memories and emotions... I was interested in trying myself, seeing the world of cinema from the inside: how it is, what it is, how to behave, will it work out... Then I had a role in “Travelers” -2" and in the series "Ministry of Emergency Situations: Minutes, Hours, Seconds." But plays are more difficult to perform than film roles. Just like in sports, you don't get a second chance. Did you capture the attention of the audience, how did you lead the viewer along with you, did he ultimately stay in the theater, did he run away during intermission - you only have one try for all this...
PERSONAL LIFE
Alexey Tikhonov and Maria Petrova are together not only on the ice, but also in life. They met back in 1994 in Japan and immediately fell in love with each other. Then they started skating together, but their relationship did not go beyond work for a long time. “I was against it,” admits Alexey. “I thought it would interfere with the sport.” He even resisted. And Masha waited. Over time, I realized that love does not interfere, but, on the contrary, helps.”
Since 2002, the skaters have lived together, and in 2010 their daughter Polina was born. The girl has been studying choreography, English and drawing from an early age. And of course, her parents took her to figure skating. “At this stage, it is important for us to instill in her a love for our incredibly beautiful sport and teach a person to work,” says Alexey.
In their free time, the whole family loves to travel. The best vacation for them is the warm sea, books and horseback riding.
Alexey Tikhonov, children
Despite the fact that figure skater Alexei Tikhonov has already retired from competitive sports, we continue to hear about him and read notes in printed publications no less often than before, since his range of interests is quite wide. However, for some time now the hero of our article has discovered a new world for himself and realized that only Alexei Tikhonov’s children and family can be more important than both professional and public affairs. True, although the athlete is not against at least one more child, so far there is only one in his family - his beloved daughter Polina.
In the photo - Alexey Tikhonov, Maria Petrova and their daughter Polina
Everyone probably knows that the skater is connected not only by ice, but also by a romantic relationship with his partner Maria Petrova. True, the couple has not yet decided to formalize their relationship. However, this did not stop them a little over five years ago from becoming the parents of a charming daughter, who, by Alexei Tikhonov’s own admission, literally reigns over all household members. Her birth further strengthened the union of the two skaters. Both Alexey Tikhonov and his wife can talk for a long time and with enthusiasm about the antics and hobbies of their baby. From each interview it immediately becomes clear how important a place she occupies in the hearts of both. As well as the fact that despite being busy, parents also find free time for entertainment and activities with Polina.
From recent interviews with Alexei Tikhonov, it is clear that the figure skater’s daughter is interested in drawing and choreography. Spectators of ice shows have probably seen the baby with her parents on the ice more than once, although the athletes themselves claim that their daughter is not skating very well yet. Nevertheless, Alexei Tikhonov’s immediate plans for the future include a figure skating school for Polina. According to the skater, her daughter already has the most important inclination for a future championship - stubbornness in achieving her goal, which manifests itself in the girl from a young age. At the same time, he in no way wants to limit his daughter’s choice of hobbies. According to Alexei Tikhonov, if Polina chooses something else, he will not interfere. And, by the way, the baby already has her first successes. Just last year, as part of the dance club where she studies, she received third place at an international dance competition.
For now, figure skating classes are needed more for the baby’s health and general development, and therefore parents are not looking for famous teachers, and the main criterion for a school is proximity to home. By the way, after the birth of his daughter, Alexei Tikhonov decided to live outside the city, since the environment there is more favorable for the child. Skaters do not consider themselves strict and demanding parents. Rather, it’s quite the opposite, since they allow Polina to frolic and play pranks, and also happily fulfill any of her daughter’s whims.
INTERVIEW
About emotions on ice:
“The show is something amazing, highly emotional. When, being on a large piece of ice in the middle of the arena, you feel the attention of the audience, their attitude towards you, you feel how they are watching your skating, your image, your story. And you are trying to return all this to a huge number of people, all the care and love. Usually this is mutual, then a feeling of happiness comes. To this day, every time I step on the ice, I feel excited. Not jitters, something else. And every year I think that I have to finish, but I still come back.”
About viewer support:
“At the Olympic Games in Turin, we remained only fifth in the overall standings, although after the short program we were in third place. Then it was a tragedy for us: we did not win an Olympic medal. They understood that their career in sports was ending and there would be no more chances for the Olympic podium. For the first time in my life, I saw Maria cry bitterly for several days in a row. And people did not feel sorry for us, but supported us. And after sports, what we didn’t get at the Olympics, the audience’s love gave us. Now we feel that we are loved no less than the Olympic champions.”
About fairy tales and faith in miracles:
“I think there is nothing wrong with such fairy tales. For example, as a child I really loved fairy tales, and Russian heroes have always been an example for me. The desire to be like them has helped me a lot in life. At the same time, I always understood that not everything is so simple, and you need to work hard to achieve something. Of course, we live in the real world, and the task of parents is to prepare their child for it, but, nevertheless, the belief that a miracle is possible is wonderful!”
About dreams:
“I would also like to play on the theater stage, act in films, after a while I would like to finish my career in the ice theater with dignity, and perhaps try myself on television as a presenter. We don’t refuse anything new at all! This is the school of life that never ends. I really want my daughter to grow up to be a happy person. And, of course, I really want another baby to appear in our house - a daughter or a son. And this is probably the main dream.”
Based on materials from the sites petrova-tikhonov.ru, 7days.ru, ru.wikipedia.org, trud.ru, ok-magazine.ru, mk.ru, metronews.ru, magazines “Relax”, “Perfection”, PetrovaTikhonov page on Facebook .com.
FILMOGRAPHY: actor
- At Dawn (2018)
- Boomerang (2017), TV series
- Insomnia (2017 – ...) /Insomnia/, series
- Second Sight (2016), TV series
- White Lies (2016), mini-series
- Sea Devils. Smerch 3 (2015), TV series
- Business Proposal (2015), short film
- Me and Grandpa (2014)
- Memory of the Heart (2014), mini-series
- Team (2015 – ...), TV series
- Vanya and Totoshka (2013)
- Wayfarers 2 (2010), TV series
- Hot Ice (2008), TV series
- Matchmaker (2007), TV series
