On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at 1997's The Gregory Hines Show!
THE GREGORY HINES SHOW
September 15, 1997 - February 27, 1998
15 episodes
CBS
Starring: Gregory Hines, Wendell Pierce, Robin Riker, Brandon Hammond, Mark Tymchyshyn, Judith Shelton and Bill Cobbs
Created by: Mitchel Katlin & Nat Bernstein
Plot: Ben Stevenson (Hines) is a publishing agent and recent widower raising a 12 year old son Matty (Hammond). He leans on his brother, Carl (Pierce), father James (Cobbs) and co-worker Alex (Tymchyshyn). Rounding out the main cast is Alex's ex-wife Nicole (Riker) and assistant Angela (Shelton).
The Gregory Hines Show's pilot was a tale of two settings. The scenes at his home with his son, brother and father were really strong. There was a nice family camaraderie between the characters and especially between Hines and his on-screen son. There was an easy chemistry between those two characters that made you realize why people at the time thought this could turn into the next The Cosby Show. The office scenes and especially those with Mark Tymchyshyn did not work nearly as well. Tymchyshyn was really smarmy and his scenes felt like they belonged in a different sitcom, maybe one of the NBC workplace comedies of the 90s. But they didn't belong here, a show that should have had a lot more in common with a show like Everybody Loves Raymond than a show like Suddenly Susan.
It's interesting that all the buzz beforehand and immediately after its premiere (such as a TV Guide cover) focused on Hines playing a dad. There was a strong scene between him and his son early in the episode and again at the end. In between, it became much more focused on his dating life. Why not establish a better relationship between father and son and introduce a dating plot a little bit into the run? I get what they were trying to do but it was at the expense of building some of the most important characters and relationships up. It seems like the show had its priorities all over the place. Hines had a lot of charm and seemed to be enjoying himself but he was just saddled with a show that was wildly unfocused so it just didn't work overall.
In the Fall of 1997, CBS went for the jugular by going after ABC's TGIF lineup. Their Friday Night "Block Party" lineup was designed to end ABC's dominance for most of the 1990s. And in doing so, they brought in two TGI cast-offs, Family Matters and Step by Step to bookend the new night. But their crown jewel of the evening wasn't supposed to be one of the aging ABC sitcoms. It was supposed to be The Gregory Hines Show, which received a lot of pre-premiere buzz as the next incarnation of The Cosby Show. It premiered on CBS's higher rated Monday night lineup before settling into the Friday 9pm slot after fellow newbie Meego. Buzz continued to permeate in the early weeks with Hines donning the cover of TV Guide.
Reviews were solid as well. Hines was best known at the time for his tap dancing prowess on the Broadway stage but critics seemed to be on board with his transition to TV. Variety said the pilot's writing "bursts with witty character-driven dialogue and allows Hines' untapped comic side to emerge almost effortlessly." However, this was one of those shows that just didn't sustain the momentum once it premiered. CBS's Friday night lineup was a dud with nothing really working and Hines didn't seem to distinguish itself as a breakout show on a bad night like Everybody Loves Raymond the year before. Maybe it would have worked on Mondays, we'll never know. The series was gone by the end of February and Hines sadly passed away just a few years later, in 2003, of liver cancer.
Tomorrow: Very Very Matchmaking!
Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Total Security!
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