# Uncle Buck (franchise)

Uncle Buck is an American comedy franchise that consists of one film and two television series. The series tells the story of the titular "Uncle Buck" Russell, a bachelor and all-around-slob who babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister. Starring John Candy, Kevin Meaney and Mike Epps, the series also co-stars Amy Madigan, Macaulay Culkin, Lacey Chabert and Nia Long.

## Films

| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
| Uncle Buck | August 16, 1989 | John Hughes | John Hughes | John Hughes and Tom Jacobson |

### Uncle Buck (1989)

Uncle Buck marked the first film directed, written and produced by John Hughes under a multi-picture agreement deal with Universal Studios, starring John Candy and Amy Madigan. Hughes later suggested to Chris Columbus that they cast Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone because of his experience while shooting Uncle Buck, which also featured Candy.

## Television

| Series | Season | Episodes | First released | Last released | Director(s) | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
| Uncle Buck | 1 | 22 (6 unaired) | September 10, 1990 | March 9, 1991 | James Widdoes, John Tracy, and Art Dielhenn | Tim O'Donnell | CBS |
| Uncle Buck | 1 | 8 | June 14, 2016 | August 2, 2016 | Phil Traill, Stan Lathan, Fred Goss, Reginald Hudlin, Ken Whittingham, Victor Nelli Jr. and Ryan Case | Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley | ABC |

### Uncle Buck (1990–1991)

A television series was broadcast on CBS in 1990. It starred Kevin Meaney as Buck, a slob who drinks and smokes. When Bob and Cindy die in a car accident, he is named as the guardian of Tia, Miles, and Maizy. Opening to negative critical ratings, after it was moved to Friday, in an attempt by CBS to establish a comedy night there, its ratings quickly plummeted and it was canceled.

### Uncle Buck (2016)

In June 2016 ABC premiered a second television adaptation featuring an African-American cast with Mike Epps in the title role, James Lesure as his brother, and Nia Long as Buck's sister-in-law. It suffered a similar fate as the previous TV adaptation, as it was poorly received by critics and then cancelled after only eight episodes.

## Cast and characters

| Characters | Film | Television series | Television series |
| Characters | Uncle Buck | Uncle Buck | Uncle Buck |
| Characters | 1989 | 1990–1991 | 2016 |
| Buck Russell | John Candy | Kevin Meaney | Mike Epps and Tony Espinosa |
| Tia Russell | Jean Louisa Kelly | Dah-ve Chodan | Iman Benson |
| Miles Russell | Macaulay Culkin | Jacob Gelman | Sayeed Shahidi and Big Sean |
| Maizy Russell | Gaby Hoffmann | Sarah Martineck | Aalyrah Caldwell |
| Bob Russell | Garrett M. Brown | Mentioned | James Lesure, Blake Tanner and Sage Correa (as William "Will" Russell) |
| Cindy Russell | Elaine Bromka | Mentioned | Nia Long and Cache Melvin (as Alexis Smith-Russell) |
| Cy Bug | Jay Underwood | | Tony T. Roberts |
| E. Roger Coswell | Brian Tarantina | | Bechir Sylvain |
| Chanice Kobolowski | Amy Madigan | | |
| Marcie Dahlgren-Frost | Laurie Metcalf | | |
| Asst. Principal Anita Hoargarth | Suzanne Shepherd | | |
| Pooter the Clown | Mike Starr | | |
| Mr. Hatfield | William Windom | | |
| Bernie | | Robert Costanzo | Michael Edward Thomas |
| Pete | | Art Carney | Josh Dean |
| Tony | | Eric Kay | Thomas Miles |
| Maggie Hogoboom | | Audrey Meadows | |
| Nancy | | Lacey Chabert | |
| Lucy | | Rachel Jacobs | |
| Skank | | Dennis Cockrum | |
| Popcorn | | | Jordan Black and Khai McCoy |
| The Seamstress | | | Pernilla |
| The Party-Goer | | | Charlie Hulse |
| Cindy Patrellus | | | Kate Bergeron |