The Family Man (American TV series)

Last updated
The Family Man
TheFamilyManIntro.png
The Family Man opening title
Genre Sitcom
Created byWilliam Bickley
Michael Warren
Developed byThomas L. Miller
Robert L. Boyett
Written byWilliam Bickley
Michael Warren
Martha Williamson
Brian Bird
John Steven Owen
Chuck Tately
Kevin White
Pamela Wick
Susan Cridland Wick
Directed by Richard Correll
Mark Linn-Baker
Judy Pioli
Starring Gregory Harrison
John Buchanan
Scott Weinger
Matthew Brooks
Ashleigh Blair Sterling
Al Molinaro
Gail Edwards
Josh Byrne
Edward Winter
Peter Parros
Adam Biesk
Nancy Everhard
Theme music composer Jesse Frederick
Bennett Salvay
ComposersJesse Frederick
Bennett Salvay
Steven Chesne
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes22
Production
Executive producers Thomas L. Miller
Robert L. Boyett
William Bickley
Michael Warren
Ross Brown
Producers Martha Williamson
James O'Keefe
Chuck Tately
Kevin White
Joe Fisch
Myron Lee Nash
Camera setup Film; Multi-camera
Running time30 mins. (approx)
Production companiesCatalina Television
Miller-Boyett Productions
Lorimar Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseSeptember 11, 1990 (1990-09-11) 
July 17, 1991 (1991-07-17)

The Family Man is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1990, to July 17, 1991. The series, starring Gregory Harrison, was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren, who also served as executive producers with Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett. Martha Williamson served as supervising producer, with Ross Brown as co-executive producer. In addition to being produced by Lorimar Television and Miller-Boyett Productions, the show was also under the Catalina Television marque (Harrison's production company).

Contents

Lasting for 22 episodes, The Family Man originally aired on Saturday nights at 8 p.m. alongside the established Miller-Boyett series The Hogan Family , which had moved to CBS from NBC.

Premise

The Family Man was Harrison's first television starring vehicle since his most-popular role of Dr. "Gonzo" Gates on Trapper John, M.D. in 1986, just before that series ended. Harrison assumed this series directly from Lorimar Television after playing the featured role of businessman Michael Sharpe in the ninth (final) season of the CBS drama Falcon Crest , another Lorimar show.

Harrison played Los Angeles fire captain Jack Taylor, a recent widower trying to hold his family together with inept help from his father-in-law Joe Alberghetti (Al Molinaro, also returning to series TV after many years off, and in his third Miller/Boyett sitcom). Joe's stay with the family after his daughter Teri's death was supposed to be temporary, but by the end of the pilot, after Jack and his kids showed how much they needed him in their lives, he decided to permanently move out from New York City. Jack's four children were 16-year-old Jeff (John Buchanan), headstrong and athletic; 14-year-old Steve (Scott Weinger), the resident troublemaker who was working to improve himself and his self-image; 11-year-old Brian (Matthew Brooks), who had the hardest time dealing with his mother's death; and wise-beyond-her-years 6-year-old Allison (Ashleigh Blair Sterling), who could do no wrong.

Stories focused on Jack's unique relationships with each of his children, the problems and adjustments of a suddenly-motherless household, and the misadventures and scrapes of the growing brood. Jack's high-demand job as fire captain also had prominence; his charges and best buddies at the firehouse included Gus Harbrook (Edward Winter), Eddie Cooper (Peter Parros), and the younger Ted Reinhard (Adam Biesk), who could always be counted on to shake things up. They also joined him for poker night in almost every episode. Adding some adult female perspective was the Taylors' next-door neighbor Hilary Kozak (Gail Edwards), a divorcee whose young son Patrick (Josh Byrne) was Allison's best friend. Hilary was originally a potential love interest for Jack, but it never quite happened.

Upon the show's return in June 1991, after a seven-month hiatus, firefighters Gus and Ted were dropped from the cast, leaving only Eddie regularly in evidence at Jack's poker nights as well as at the firehouse. The rest of the cast remained intact, but coming into the picture was pretty local news reporter Jill Nichols (Nancy Everhard), who first met the stolid fire captain on assignment during an interview. Sparks flew instantly and they began dating.

Broadcast history

Amidst a third-place ratings slump in spring 1990, CBS was planning a major shakeup for that fall's schedule; in dire need of youth demographics (which are attractive to advertisers, resulting in the Get Ready for CBS campaign), the network sought to occupy 5 out of 7 nights a week with an 8-9PM comedy block aimed at children and families. While already underway in greenlighting other such projects ( Uncle Buck , Lenny ), CBS turned to Lorimar Television, and by extension, Miller-Boyett Productions and their associates, to contribute to the rejuvenation of youth-oriented shows on the schedule. William Bickley and Michael Warren, long-time associates of Miller and Boyett who had launched Family Matters on ABC the previous year, sought out to create a new series for the CBS deal which featured with a widower raising his kids with the help of his father-in-law, as a modern-day variation of My Three Sons . Bickley and Warren gave the father three sons, but to be original to the concept, a young daughter was added to the brood, and the father was given the high-voltage career of a fire chief (which still matched the exciting career of aviation engineer for Steve Douglas of My Three Sons). The original working title was Five Alarm Family.

Miller-Boyett was having great success at ABC with their established and new programs alike ( Perfect Strangers , Full House , Family Matters), resulting in blockbuster ratings on the network's TGIF lineup. The producers also had The Hogan Family running at NBC, which was nearing the end of its fifth season. Although still drawing in decent ratings, NBC decided to make room for shows with even younger demographics, and sold the series off. In April 1990, Lorimar cut a deal which moved The Hogan Family to CBS that fall, providing a companion series for CBS' new Miller-Boyett project. CBS naturally paired the two sister series on the same night (Saturday, when it was assumed families with young children would be home to watch), and given the success of back-to-back Miller-Boyett shows on ABC, optimism was high. When the new project was announced on CBS' schedule in May, it was still referred to as Five Alarm Family. Shortly after, to be further indicative of Harrison's role, Bickley and Warren changed the title to The Family Man.

The series ran 10 episodes for the first half of the season, but after the December 1, 1990 telecast, CBS put both The Family Man and its older-sister show The Hogan Family on hiatus due to low ratings. While it was determined in the intervening period that The Hogan Family had no future on its new home at CBS, the network felt willing to give The Family Man another chance. Originally, CBS was planning to return the series on a weeknight in March 1991, pairing it with the upcoming Steven Spielberg cartoon Family Dog , and collectively promoting the scheduling as "The Family Hour". Family Dog fell behind in production, however (it remained shelved before finally having a short run on CBS in the summer of 1993), causing the network to delay The Family Man as well until they could find a "protected time slot" (i.e., one preceded by a hit lead-in) for the show. [1]

The decision was then made to bring it back in the summer, airing on both Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30, with two new episodes airing per week. Monday episodes were to feature story lines that brought the adults of the cast to the forefront (including the new affair of Jack and Jill), while Wednesday episodes focused on the kids. With tailor-made episodes fitting both the older Monday demographics (with a Major Dad lead-in) and younger Wednesday demos (lead-in by half-hour repeats of Rescue 911 ), CBS was sure that The Family Man would find its audience after all. The network even went ahead and ordered 13 additional episodes to premiere mid-way through the 1991-92 season if the summer ratings climbed. The show resurfaced on the CBS schedule Monday, June 10, 1991, with twelve more episodes ahead for the summer. The ratings didn't improve with all the changes, and in mid-July, after the last completed episode aired, The Family Man was canceled. Seeing that the series was possibly heading for an eleventh hour renewal based upon its summer performance, CBS included footage of Harrison as his Family Man character Jack Taylor in promos for the 1991-92 network campaign, The Look of America. By the time they aired, both Harrison series (including True Detectives) had been canceled, but his footage remained in the fall promos.

The Family Man finished #113 out of 141 prime time shows for the 1990–91 season Nielsen rankings.

Theme music and presentation

The series' theme music was composed by Miller-Boyett mainstay artists Jesse Frederick and Bennett Salvay. Unlike their works on most other shows from Miller-Boyett, The Family Man's theme was instrumental. It did, however, maintain the uplifting, inspirational sound that was prevalent on its sister programs; this was complete with scenes of the cast frolicking, having fun and working around the sunny Los Angeles setting of the show, and the signature sweeping aerial pullbacks.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Pilot" Richard Correll William Bickley & Michael WarrenSeptember 11, 1990 (1990-09-11)
2"Family Day"Rich CorrellJulia NewtonSeptember 15, 1990 (1990-09-15)
3"Making Babies"UnknownUnknownSeptember 22, 1990 (1990-09-22)
4"Roommates"UnknownUnknownSeptember 29, 1990 (1990-09-29)
5"Tea for Two"UnknownUnknownOctober 13, 1990 (1990-10-13)
6"Drive My Car"UnknownUnknownOctober 27, 1990 (1990-10-27)
7"Torn Between Two Brothers"Judy PioliPamela Wick & Susan Cridland WickNovember 3, 1990 (1990-11-03)
8"Fire Break"Judy PioliGeoff GordonNovember 10, 1990 (1990-11-10)
9"The New Guy"Judy PioliMatt EmberNovember 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)
10"The Coach"James O'KeefeBrian Bird & John WierickDecember 1, 1990 (1990-12-01)
11"Double Date"James O'KeefePamela Wick & Susan Cridland WickJune 10, 1991 (1991-06-10)
12"My Little Runaway"Rich CorrellMartha WilliamsonJune 12, 1991 (1991-06-12)
13"Jack and Jill: Part 1"James O'KeefeMartha WilliamsonJune 17, 1991 (1991-06-17)
14"Trading Places"James O'KeefeChuck Tately & Kevin WhiteJune 19, 1991 (1991-06-19)
15"Jack and Jill: Part 2"James O'KeefeJulia NewtonJune 24, 1991 (1991-06-24)
16"You Bet Your Life"UnknownUnknownJune 26, 1991 (1991-06-26)
17"Scenes from a Marriage"James O'KeefeSusan Sebastian & Diana AyersJuly 1, 1991 (1991-07-01)
18"A Tiny Advantage" Scott Baio Matt EmberJuly 3, 1991 (1991-07-03)
19"Throw Momma from the House"Mark Linn-BakerJulia NewtonJuly 8, 1991 (1991-07-08)
20"Father Figure"Tom RickardChuck Tately & Kevin WhiteJuly 10, 1991 (1991-07-10)
21"The Boss's Daughter"UnknownUnknownJuly 17, 1991 (1991-07-17)
22"Take My Dad, Please"TBDTBDUNAIRED

Awards and nominations

YearAwardResultCategoryRecipient
1991 Young Artist Awards NominatedExceptional Performance by a Young Actress Under NineAshleigh Sterling
Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television SeriesScott Weinger
1992Best Young Actor Starring in a Television SeriesScott Weinger

Related Research Articles

<i>Full House</i> American television sitcom (1987–1995)

Full House is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three daughters, eldest Donna Jo Margaret, middle child Stephanie and youngest Michelle in his San Francisco home. It aired from September 22, 1987 to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.

Josh Taylor is an American actor. He is known for playing Chris Kositchek and Roman Brady on the American dramatic serial Days of Our Lives, Jack McKay on the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Michael Hogan, the father on the situation comedy The Hogan Family.

Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson, and Lee Rich. The company's name was a portmanteau of Adelson's then wife, Lori and Palomar Airport.

<i>Family Matters</i> American television sitcom (1989–1998)

Family Matters is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers, the series revolves around the Winslow family, an African-American middle class family living in Chicago, Illinois. Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel, who was originally scripted to appear as a one-time character. However, he quickly became the show's breakout character, joining the main cast.

<i>Joanie Loves Chachi</i> American sitcom television series, Happy Days spinoff

Joanie Loves Chachi is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of Happy Days that aired on ABC from March 23, 1982, to May 24, 1983. It stars Erin Moran and Scott Baio as the characters Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola, respectively. The series was cancelled after 17 episodes, in its second season, due to a drop in ratings.

<i>Step by Step</i> (TV series) American television sitcom (1991–1998)

Step by Step is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons and 160 episodes. It ran on ABC as part of its TGIF Friday night lineup from September 20, 1991, to August 15, 1997, then moved to CBS, where it aired from September 19, 1997, to June 26, 1998. The series follows Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers who star as single parents Frank and Carol, respectively, each with three children, who wed and form a blended family.

<i>Bosom Buddies</i> 1980–1982 American situation comedy television series

Bosom Buddies is an American television sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It aired on Thursday nights for two seasons on ABC from November 27, 1980, to March 27, 1982, and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC. The show features the misadventures of two single men, working in creative advertising, struggling in their industry while disguising themselves as women in order to live in the one apartment they could afford. Gender stereotypes and male/female interpersonal relationships were frequent themes.

<i>TGIF</i> (TV programming block) American television programming block

TGIF was an American prime time television programming block that has aired on ABC at various points since the late 1980s. The name comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday"; however, the stars of the lineup touted the initialism meaning "Thank Goodness It's Funny." In its various incarnations, the block mainly featured situation comedies aimed at a family audience, and served as a lead-in to the long-running newsmagazine 20/20.

<i>Perfect Strangers</i> (TV series) American comedy television series

Perfect Strangers is an American sitcom that ran for eight seasons, from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993, on the ABC television network. Created by Dale McRaven, the series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous.

Kirk is an American family sitcom that aired on The WB from August 23, 1995, to November 10, 1996. The series was created by Ross Brown, and produced by Bickley-Warren Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Kirk was the follow-up starring vehicle for Kirk Cameron after his seven-year role as Mike Seaver on the popular ABC sitcom Growing Pains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Harrison</span> American actor (born 1950)

Gregory Neale Harrison is an American actor. He is known primarily for his roles as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, the young surgeon assistant of Dr. Trapper John McIntyre on the CBS series Trapper John, M.D. (1979–86), and as ruthless business tycoon Michael Sharpe in the CBS series Falcon Crest (1989–1990). Since 2015, he has played Joe O'Toole, father of Oliver, in the Hallmark Channel expansion films of Signed, Sealed and Delivered. Beginning in 2020, he assumed the role of Gregory Chase on General Hospital.

<i>Getting By</i> American sitcom

Getting By is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from March 5, 1993, until May 21, 1993, and on NBC from September 21, 1993, until June 18, 1994. The series was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren, who also served as executive producers with Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett. The final Miller-Boyett series to begin its run under parent studio Lorimar Television, Getting By was folded into Warner Bros. Television for its second season, following Warner Bros.' absorption of Lorimar.

<i>Meego</i> (TV series) Television series

Meego is an American science fiction sitcom television series that ran for six episodes from September 19 to October 24, 1997, on the CBS television network as part of its Friday night Block Party program block; after its cancellation, seven additional episodes that were produced but left unaired in the United States were aired in some international markets.

Jesse Frederick James Conaway is an American film and television composer and singer. He wrote and performed the themes to TGIF television shows such as Perfect Strangers, Full House, Family Matters, and Step by Step for ABC.

Miller-Boyett Productions is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, The Hogan Family, Bosom Buddies, Full House, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters and Step by Step.

<i>Going Places</i> (American TV series) American sitcom

Going Places is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 21, 1990, to March 8, 1991. The series stars Alan Ruck, Jerry Levine, Heather Locklear, and Hallie Todd as four young Hollywood writers renting a house together. It aired as part of the TGIF block. The series was created and executive produced by Robert Griffard and Howard Adler, and developed and executive produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett for Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television.

City is an American sitcom television series aired on CBS from January 29 to June 8, 1990. It was a new starring vehicle for Valerie Harper, which went into development not long after she and husband Tony Cacciotti won their lawsuit against Lorimar-Telepictures over her dismissal from her NBC sitcom Valerie. City was created by Paul Haggis, and like the previous series was produced by Cacciotti.

<i>The Hogan Family</i> American television series

The Hogan Family is an American sitcom television series that began airing on NBC on March 1, 1986, and finished its run on CBS on July 20, 1991, for a total of six seasons. It was produced in association with Lorimar Productions (1986), Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1988), and Lorimar Television (1988–1991).

Me, Myself & I is an American television sitcom created by Dan Kopelman that aired on CBS. The series stars Bobby Moynihan, Jack Dylan Grazer, John Larroquette, Brian Unger, Jaleel White, Kelen Coleman, Mandell Maughan, Christopher Paul Richards, Reylynn Caster, and Skylar Gray.

The third season of Family Matters, an American family sitcom created by William Bickley and Michael Warren, premiered on ABC in the U.S. on September 20, 1991, and concluded on May 8, 1992. The season produced by Bickley-Warren Productions, Miller-Boyett Productions, and Lorimar Television, with David W. Duclon as the executive producer. It consists of 25 episodes, most of which were directed by Richard Correll and John Tracy.

References