The Gregory Hines Show
The Gregory Hines Show is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS. The series premiered on Monday, September 15, 1997 before airing on September 19, 1997 as a part of the network's Block Party Friday night lineup. It ended its run on February 27, 1998 with 15 episodes aired out of the 22 that were produced.
| The Gregory Hines Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Nat Bernstein Mitchel Katlin |
| Written by | Elaine Aronson Michael Carrington Lance Crouther Ron Darian Sy Dukane Michael Feldman Elin Hampton Ali LeRoi Denise Moss Alex Reid Kriss Turner |
| Directed by | Bob Delegall Andrew D. Weyman |
| Starring | Gregory Hines Brandon Hammond Wendell Pierce Mark Tymchyshyn Robin Riker Bill Cobbs Judith Shelton |
| Theme music composer | Rick Cutler |
| Composer | Gregory Hines |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 (7 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Elaine Aronson Nat Bernstein Sy Dukane Mitchel Katlin Denise Moss Fran Saperstein |
| Producers | Michael Carrington Ron Darian Al Lowenstein Kriss Turner Andrew D. Weyman |
| Running time | 26 minutes |
| Production companies | Katlin/Bernstein Productions Darric Productions CBS Productions Columbia TriStar Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 15, 1997 – February 27, 1998 |
Background
The Gregory Hines Show was the only show on the Block Party lineup that was not produced by Warner Bros. Television or Miller-Boyett Productions. Compared to the Miller-Boyett series, The Gregory Hines Show was markedly more mature in its themes; Leslie Moonves, incoming head of CBS at the time, described the inclusion of the show in the block as an effort to target the whole family, and executives at Miller-Boyett were fully pleased to have the show in the block, as TGIF, the block for which they had previously produced shows for the ABC-TV network, was quickly shifting into a teen-oriented block that did not fit their style.[1]
Premise
The series starred Gregory Hines as Ben Stevenson, a publishing agent and widower raising 12-year-old son Matty (Brandon Hammond). A year and a half after his wife's death, Ben decides to resume his social life and begin dating again. He soon realizes that he has a lot to re-learn about women, just as his son is learning about them for the first time. Ben and Matty had previously had no trouble talking about anything, but now even the simplest conversation has become complicated, especially when the topic is the women in their lives. Now and then Ben receives advice from his brother Carl (Wendell Pierce), his father James (Bill Cobbs), as well as his co-worker Alex (Mark Tymchyshyn), Alex's ex-wife, Nicole (Robin Riker) and his assistant Angela (Judith Shelton).
Cast
- Gregory Hines as Ben Stevenson
- Brandon Hammond as Matthew "Matty" Stevenson
- Wendell Pierce as Carl Stevenson
- Mark Tymchyshyn as Alex Butler
- Robin Riker as Nicole Moran
- Bill Cobbs as James Stevenson
- Judith Shelton as Angela Rice
Recurring
- Steve Harvey as Gerald
- Alan Cumming as Rick
- Adam Pally as Alex
- Will Smith as Franklin
- Bernie Mac as George
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" "Square One" | Andrew D. Weyman | Mitchel Katlin & Nat Bernstein | September 15, 1997 |
| 2 | "Basketball Jones" | Andrew D. Weyman | Michael Feldman | September 19, 1997 |
| 3 | "Flirting with Disaster" | Andrew D. Weyman | Elaine Aronson | September 26, 1997 |
| 4 | "Epilogue to a Kiss" | TBA | TBA | October 3, 1997 |
| 5 | "Boys' Night In" | TBA | TBA | October 10, 1997 |
| 6 | "Catcher on the Train" | TBA | TBA | October 17, 1997 |
| 7 | "Sofa, So Good" | TBA | TBA | October 24, 1997 |
| 8 | "Eight and a Half Months" | TBA | TBA | October 31, 1997 |
| 9 | "The Man Called Uncle" | TBA | TBA | November 24, 1997 |
| 10 | "Three's Not Company" | TBA | TBA | December 15, 1997 |
| 11 | "To Volunteer is Human" | TBA | TBA | January 9, 1998 |
| 12 | "Love Thy Neighbor" | TBA | TBA | January 16, 1998 |
| 13 | "James Stevenson Stands Alone" | TBA | TBA | January 23, 1998 |
| 14 | "Carpe Diem" | TBA | TBA | January 30, 1998 |
| 15 | "Per Chance to Dance" | TBA | TBA | February 27, 1998 |
| 16 | "Wahunthra" | Fred Savage | TBA | unaired |
| 17 | "Get Smarter" | TBA | Phill Lewis | unaired |
| 18 | "Anita the Hun" | TBA | TBA | unaired |
| 19 | "Sister-in-Law, Sister-in-Law" | TBA | TBA | unaired |
| 20 | "Mug the One You're With" | TBA | TBA | unaired |
| 21 | "Ben-Her" | TBA | TBA | unaired |
| 22 | "I'll See You All in Health" | TBA | TBA | unaired |
References
- Hal Boedeker (July 18, 1997). "He's A Goober But CBS Has A Lot Riding On Urkel TV". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 18, 2012.