Thirtysomething
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Thirtysomething (1987 – 1991) was a ground-breaking and award-winning American evening television drama, of the type popularly labeled a soap opera when broadcast during the daytime. It premiered on ABC September 29, 1987. The last of its 85 episodes aired on May 28, 1991.
It was created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for United Artists Television, and reflected the angst felt by baby boomers and yuppies of the late 1980s[1]. These issues were also reflected in other works of popular culture which appeared during the same year, Baby Boom, Fatal Attraction and Wall Street. This is also true of the popular 1986 television drama L.A. Law and the 1988 film Working Girl. Thirtysomething became a cultural icon and was discussed in articles such as those listed in the reference section below.
Contents |
Character list and plot
Thirtysomething depicts the lives of a married couple, Michael and Hope Steadman, and their friends (Gary, Melissa, Ellyn, Elliot, and Nancy) all of whom are in their thirties (hence the title) and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Michael and Elliot work in the advertising business. Although the series began with them running their own agency, they eventually went to work for Miles Drentell, the head of DAA (a character who would reappear on the ABC show Once and Again).
- Hope, Michael's wife, is a writer and stay-at-home mother who struggles with her desire to be at home with her daughter, Janey, and her need to work. Michael and Hope are also an interfaith couple, a fact which was referenced throughout the series.
- Nancy, Elliot's wife, is an artist and stay-at-home mother to Ethan and Brittany. She struggled with, and overcame, cancer during the last two seasons.
- Melissa, Michael's cousin and Gary's former girlfriend, is a photographer whose career includes an album by Carly Simon and photos in the magazine Vanity Fair.
- Ellyn, Hope's childhood friend, works for the city government.
- Gary, Michael's college roommate and a free-spirited professor of English literature, marries Susannah, a social worker whom nobody likes. He dies during the last season in a traffic accident, just as Nancy recovers from cancer.
Cast
| Actor | Role | The Steadmans |
|---|---|---|
| Ken Olin | Michael Steadman | |
| Mel Harris | Hope Murdoch Steadman | |
| Brittany Craven | Janey Steadman | |
| Lacey Craven | Janey Steadman | |
| Leo Steadman | ||
| Melanie Mayron | Melissa Steadman | |
| Barbara Barrie | Barbara Steadman | |
| Danton Stone | Brad Steadman |
| Actor | Role | The Westons |
|---|---|---|
| Timothy Busfield | Elliot Weston | |
| Patricia Wettig | Nancy Krieger Weston | |
| Luke Rossi | Ethan Weston | |
| Jordana Shapiro | Brittany Weston |
| Actor | Role | The Shepherds |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Horton | Prof. Gary Shepherd | |
| Patricia Kalember | Susannah Hart Shepherd | |
| Emma Shepherd |
| Actor | Role | Ellyn |
|---|---|---|
| Polly Draper | Ellyn Warren | |
| Terry Kinney | Steve Woodman | |
| Richard Gilliland | Jeffrey Milgrom | |
| Erich Anderson | Billy Sidel |
| Actor | Role | Additional characters |
|---|---|---|
| David Clennon | Miles Drentell | |
| Faith Ford | Janine | |
| Rosalind Cash | Val Shilliday | |
| Peter Frechette | Peter Montefiore | |
| Corey Parker | Lee Owens | |
| David Marshall Grant | Russell Weller | |
| Richard Cummings Jr. | Mark Harriton | |
| Holly Fulger | Hollis Amato | |
| Andra Millian | Angel Wasserman | |
| J.D. Souther | John Dunaway |
Episodes
Emmy Awards
Between the years of 1988-1991, Thirtysomething was nominated for, and won, numerous Emmy Awards [2]:
1988 Winners:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series — Paul Haggis and Marshall Herskovitz (episode: "Business as Usual")
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series — Shirley Knight
It also received the following nominations in 1988:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Polly Draper
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Series — Single Camera Production
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Series
1989 Winners:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series — Joseph Dougherty (episode: "First Day/Last Day")
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Series — Single Camera Production
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Series
It also received the following nominations in 1989:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects (episode: "Michael Writes a Story")
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series
1990 Winners:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (tied with Equal Justice).
It also received the following nominations in 1990:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Series
1991 Winners:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Series
It also received the following nominations in 1991:
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — David Clennon
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Impact on popular culture
Image:TVGuide30something.jpg The style and form of Thirtysomething set new standards for television drama and influenced virtually all of the shows which came after it. It was also responsible for the coinage of the word "twenty something" almost immediately upon its debut in 1987, since younger Americans of that era were seen as exhibiting a fundamentally different collective personality than the "thirty something" characters depicted in the story (four years later, Douglas Coupland's watershed novel Generation X: Tales For An Accelerated Culture was dedicated to "the generation born in the late 1950s and 1960s;" today this group is often referred to as the "Baby Busters").
Controversy
The show also made headlines with a 1989 episode in which two men, Melissa's gay friend Russell (David Marshall Grant) and his partner Peter (Peter Frechette), were shown in bed together, although not in a sexual context. Several major advertisers, fearing potential boycotts, pulled their commercials from the episode.
References
- Hanke, R. (1990). "Hegemonic masculinity in thirtysomething." Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 7, 231-248.
- Heide, Margaret J. Television Culture and Women's Lives: "Thirtysomething" and the Contradictions of Gender (ISBN 0-8122-1534-6).
- Hersch, Patricia. thirtysomethingtherapy: The hit TV show may be filled with "yuppie angst," but therapists are using it to help people. Psychology Today, Oct. 1988.