ONE SEASON WONDERS: Julie

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at Julie!

JULIE

May 30, 1992 - July 4, 1992

6 episodes
ABC

Starring: Julie Andrews, James Farentino, Eugene Roche, Hayley Tyrie, Rider Strong

Developed by: Madeline Sunshine and Steven Sunshine

Plot: Julie Carlisle (Andrews) is a singer and television personality who marries a veterinarian, Sam (Farentino) and decides to relocate to Sioux City, Iowa with him and his children (Tyrie & Strong) much to the chagrin of her producer, Wooley (Roche). 

Brief Pilot Review:

The premise of this sitcom was telegraphed by Julie Andrews in the first couple minutes of the episode and then we headed immediately to Sioux City, Iowa. I don't have a problem that they skipped over the courtship and got right to the premise because sometimes sitcoms can be the other way around where they are all about the premise in the pilot and not anything like a regular episode. At least I got a sense of what this show was like. Unfortunately, it was not a positive sense. One problem is that Julie Andrews is basically playing herself without being herself. The show seemed to want to take advantage of everything we know about Julie Andrews without giving the character any real distinguishing or unique characteristics. 

A second problem was absolutely no chemistry between Andrews and James Farentino and there was not even really an attempt to show some chemistry until more than halfway through the pilot. We are supposed to believe that this extremely successful star came all the way to Iowa because she was in love and yet there's no indication at all that there's any spark or relationship that would bring her there. None of the other relationships mattered until they established the reason for the premise. The pilot wanted to emphasize Julie's relationship with the kids, which was fine (Rider Strong was *ahem* stronger than Hayley Tyrie - who seemed way younger than her character claimed she was), but that relationship should not have been the focus. Julie Andrews was the strongest actress in the episode but she seemed out of her element too so nothing really worked here. The end of the episode with the rushed together wedding was not only a tired trope but also very poorly executed and only further convinced me this TV marriage would never work.

What Went Wrong:

Although ABC may have been initially excited by the prospect of Julie Andrews coming to network TV, they must have known this show was a stinker because they buried it on Saturday nights in the summer. If they had any hope at all for it, it would have been a big promotional effort by ABC. Critics were not kind to Julie as many criticized the formulaic premise and noted that Andrews, while a very talented performer, was not adept at doing a sitcom. Entertainment Weekly said "it's a cliched show that reduces its star to a standard-issue sitcom stepmom."

One of the executive producers of Julie was Andrews' husband, Blake Edwards and he also directed all of the episodes. He was a well-known director in his own right having done films like The Pink Panther but he couldn't do anything to make this show work. There were some rumors that he made things difficult behind the scenes and rejected suggestions for improvements. It was just the wrong vehicle all the way around. Julie was scheduled for six episodes but only aired five before it was yanked from the lineup. It was quickly forgotten and Andrews was not involved with a regular TV series again until she provided the voice of Lady Whistledown for Bridgerton.

Tomorrow: A look at Season 3 (Part 1) of Perfect Strangers!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Class of '96!