Newhart | |
---|---|
Created by | Barry Kemp |
Developed by | Sheldon Bull |
Starring | Bob Newhart Mary Frann Jennifer Holmes Julia Duffy Tom Poston Steven Kampmann Peter Scolari William Sanderson Tony Papenfuss John Voldstad |
Theme music composer | Henry Mancini |
Composer | Nelson Riddle |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 8 |
No. of episodes | 184 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Barry Kemp Mark Egan Mark Solomon Dan Wilcox Douglas Wyman David Mirkin |
Producer | Sheldon Bull |
Running time | 24 minutes |
Production company | MTM Enterprises |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | October 25, 1982 – May 21, 1990 |
Newhart is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, respectively; who own and operate the Stratford Inn in rural Vermont. The small town is home to many eccentric characters. TV Guide , TV Land, and A&E named the Newhart series finale as one of the most memorable in television history. The theme music for Newhart was composed by Henry Mancini.
Bob Newhart plays Dick Loudon, an author of do-it-yourself and travel books. He and his wife Joanna move from New York City to a small town in rural Vermont [a] to operate the 200-year-old Stratford Inn.
Dick and Joanna initially run the inn with the help of sweet-natured but simple handyman George Utley and Leslie Vanderkellen, a bright, cheerful Dartmouth College student and heiress who takes a job as a maid to find out what it is like to be "normal". Next door to the inn is the Minuteman Café, owned by Kirk Devane, a pathological liar. Leslie leaves before season two to continue her studies abroad, to be replaced by her cousin Stephanie, who, unlike Leslie, is vain, lazy, and spoiled.
Near the end of season two, Dick becomes the host of a local television show, Vermont Today, where he interviews an assortment of bizarre and colorful guests. His vapid, neurotic producer, Michael Harris, falls in love with Stephanie, their relationship providing a satire of 1980s excess. [2] The final episode of the series reveals that the entire series was a dream of Dr. Robert Hartley, Newhart's character in The Bob Newhart Show .
Newhart was a solid ratings winner, finishing its first six seasons in the Nielsen top 25. Despite not finishing in the top 30 for its last two seasons, Bob Newhart stated in an interview with the Archive of American Television that CBS was satisfied enough with the show's ratings to renew it for a ninth season in 1990. However, Newhart, who was anxious to move on to other projects, declined the offer, promising CBS that he would develop a new series for the network, which he was under contract to do. This resulted in the 1992 series Bob , which lasted two seasons.
Season | Episodes | Original air dates | TV season | Nielsen ratings | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season premiere | Season finale | Rank | Rating | Households [b] / Viewers [c] (in millions) | ||||
1 | 22 | October 25, 1982 | April 10, 1983 | 1982–1983 | #12 | 20.0 | 16.66 | |
2 | 22 | October 17, 1983 | April 16, 1984 | 1983–1984 | #23 | 18.0 | 15.08 | |
3 | 22 | October 15, 1984 | May 28, 1985 | 1984–1985 | #16 | 18.4 | — | |
4 | 24 | September 30, 1985 | May 12, 1986 | 1985–1986 | 19.6 | 16.84 | ||
5 | 24 | September 29, 1986 | April 13, 1987 | 1986–1987 | #12 | 19.5 | 17.04 | |
6 | 24 | September 14, 1987 | April 9, 1988 | 1987–1988 | #25 | 16.5 | — | |
7 | 22 | October 24, 1988 | May 22, 1989 | 1988–1989 | #50 | 12.8 | ||
8 | 24 | September 18, 1989 | May 21, 1990 | 1989–1990 | #48 | 13.1 | 19.34 |
The show was nominated for 25 Emmy Awards but never won.
Newhart earned six nominations for Golden Globe Awards.
Newhart was nominated for one Casting Society of America award and four nominations for TV Land Awards. Newhart won a total of four Viewers for Quality Television Awards.
20th Century Fox released season one of Newhart on DVD in Region 1 on February 26, 2008.
In November 2013, Shout! Factory announced it had acquired the rights to the series. It has since released the remainder of the series in individual season sets. [4] [5] [6]
DVD Name | Ep. No. | Release Date |
---|---|---|
The Complete First Season | 22 | February 26, 2008 |
The Complete Second Season | 22 | February 11, 2014 |
The Complete Third Season | 22 | April 22, 2014 |
The Complete Fourth Season | 24 | August 19, 2014 |
The Complete Fifth Season | 24 | May 10, 2016 |
The Complete Sixth Season | 24 | September 13, 2016 |
The Complete Seventh Season | 22 | December 13, 2016 |
The Complete Eighth Season | 24 | March 14, 2017 |
George Robert Newhart was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in television. He received numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2002.
The Bob Newhart Show is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist whose interactions with his wife, friends, patients, and colleagues lead to humorous situations and dialogue. The show was filmed before a live audience.
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, American Comedy and TV Guide awards. Phoebe has since been named one of the greatest television characters of all time and is considered to be Kudrow's breakout role, spawning her successful film career.
The reset button technique is a plot device for interrupting continuity in works of fiction. The reset button device is used to return all characters and situations to the statusquo prior to some major change. It can be employed in the middle of a program to negate some portion of what came before. It is often used in science fiction television series, animated series, soap operas, and comic books. The reset button technique accommodates dramatic changes to characters and the fictional universe that might otherwise invalidate the show's premise with respect to future episodes or other plot details. For example, writers may use the device to improve the audience's experience of the lead character's death, which is usually impossible without effectively ending the work or significantly altering its course.
Thomas Gordon Poston was an American actor, appearing in television roles from the 1950s through the early to mid-2000s, reportedly appearing in more sitcoms than any other actor. In the 1980s, he played George Utley on the CBS sitcom Newhart, receiving three Emmy Award nominations for the role. In addition he had a number of film roles and appeared frequently on Broadway and television game shows.
Megan Mullally is an American actress. She is best known for playing Karen Walker in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning twice, in 2000 and 2006. She also received nominations for numerous other accolades for her portrayal, including seven consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, winning three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2003, as well as receiving four Golden Globe Award nominations.
Howard Hesseman was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class. He appeared regularly on television and in film from the 1970s to 2010s, with his other noteworthy roles including Sam Royer in the last two seasons of One Day at a Time and a supporting role as Captain Pete Lassard in the film Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment.
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress. Pleshette was known for her roles in theatre, film, and television. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. For her role as Emily Hartley on the CBS sitcom The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978) she received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Peter Thomas Scolari was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Henry Desmond in the ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies (1980–1982) and Michael Harris on the CBS sitcom Newhart (1984–1990) the later of which earned him three consecutive nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from 1987 to 1989.
Mary Frann was an American stage, film, and television actress.
Julia Margaret Duffy is an American actress.
Gerald LeRoy Lacy is an American actor best known for playing the roles of Tony Peterson, Reverend Trask, Reverend Gregory Trask, Mr. Trask, and Lamar Trask on the TV serial Dark Shadows. He has also appeared on The Secret Storm, As the World Turns, Love of Life, and The Young and the Restless.
Allison Mills, also known as Alley Bean, is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She starred as Norma Arnold, in the coming-of-age ABC comedy series, The Wonder Years (1988–1993). In 2006 she began playing the role of Pamela Douglas, the sister of the late Forrester matriarch Stephanie Forrester, on the CBS soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. From 2022 to 2024, Mills also portrayed antagonistic Heather Webber on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
The Waybury Inn is an inn at 457 East Main Street in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. The inn was built in 1810, and is one of the oldest operating traveler's accommodations in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is well known for its use in exterior shots of the Newhart television series.
Jennifer Holmes is an American television actress.
Steven Kampmann is an American actor, writer, and director. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He may be best-known for his role as Kirk Devane on the first two seasons of Newhart.
Will Mackenzie is an American television director and actor.
"The Last Newhart" is the 184th and final episode of the CBS sitcom Newhart, which was the 24th episode of the eighth season. It first aired in the United States on 21 May, 1990.
Mary Virginia Skinner, known professionally as Jenna McMahon, was an American writer, producer, actress and comedian. She was best known for her Emmy Award-winning work as a writer on the variety/sketch comedy program The Carol Burnett Show and for co-creating the television sitcoms It's a Living, The Facts of Life, and Mama's Family along with her writing partner Dick Clair.
The Cover Girl and the Cop, released on video as Beauty & Denise, is a 1989 American comedy television film directed by Neal Israel, written by Michael Norell, and starring Julia Duffy, Dinah Manoff, and David Carradine. It aired on NBC on January 16, 1989.