# Hearts Afire

Hearts Afire is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, starring John Ritter and Markie Post, that aired on CBS from September 14, 1992, to February 1, 1995. The series' title is taken from a line in the Earth, Wind & Fire song "That's the Way of the World" (which originally served as the series' theme song).

## Series premise

Described by CBS as a "politically topical series" and created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason, the show starred John Ritter and Markie Post playing John Hartman and Georgie Anne Lahti, respectively. Supporting actors included Billy Bob Thornton and Ed Asner. The show was set in Washington, D.C., and centered on a conservative senator's aide (Ritter) and a liberal political reporter (Post) whose professional disagreements masked a growing attraction for one another. Other costars on the show included George Gaynes, Beth Broderick, and Wendie Jo Sperber. The series was itself a satire on current affairs in Washington, D.C.
John and Georgie Anne married near the end of the first season. In the second season, the show abruptly changed its setting to the Southern town where John grew up; he returned to take over the town's failing newspaper, accompanied by Georgie Anne and his two children from a previous marriage. Some of the supporting characters made the move as well, while others were superseded.

## Cast

* John Hartman (portrayed by John Ritter)
* Georgie Anne Lahti (portrayed by Markie Post)
* Billy Bob Davis (portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton)

### Cameos

* Roger Clinton, half-brother of Bill Clinton, appeared in a cameo as a restaurant singer at the end of the series' third episode, aired in September 1992.
* Hugh E. Rodham, father of the incoming First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made a cameo appearance in December 1992. The producers of the series were friends of the Clintons.
* Political pundit Rush Limbaugh guest-starred as himself on an April 1994 episode. That episode had the series' highest rating, finishing as the 8th-highest ranked show of the week during its original airing.
* Harry Anderson, Post's co-star on Night Court and Ritter's co-star from the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's It, made a cameo appearance in a March 1994 episode, portraying columnist Dave Barry as part of a crossover with Anderson's contemporary series, Dave's World.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 23 | 23 | September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14) | March 22, 1993 (1993-03-22) |
| 2 | 17 | 17 | October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27) | April 25, 1994 (1994-04-25) |
| 3 | 14 | 14 | September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24) | February 1, 1995 (1995-02-01) |

### Season 1 (1992–93)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Bees Can Sting You, Watch Out: Parts 1 & 2" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14) | 21.1 |
| 2 | 2 | "Bees Can Sting You, Watch Out: Parts 1 & 2" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14) | 21.1 |
| Characters are introduced as John and Georgie are tasked with dealing with the senator on day to day business; John's kids Elliot (Clark Duke) and Ben (Justin Burnette) become a bee wrangler and a bathroom valet respectively; Billy Bob (Billy Bob Thornton) is kicked out of the house by Mavis (Wendie Jo Sperber); and Georgie's guardian Miss Lula (Beah Richards) moves with her into John's home. They then hold a party to celebrate Dee Dee's (Beth Broderick) birthday, only for everything to go wrong. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Big Date" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 21, 1992 (1992-09-21) | 26.9 |
| John and Georgie go on a group date and end up meeting George Hamilton. |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Three Men and a Bed" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 28, 1992 (1992-09-28) | 24.5 |
| John is sick, so to make him feel better, Billy Bob and the senator visit to try and make him feel better; John ultimately gets quarantined. |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "John's Stallion" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 5, 1992 (1992-10-05) | 23.6 |
| Georgie's father, George (Ed Asner), visits after getting out of jail, and she wants him to stay over at John's house. The two then start doing things that start to annoy John, as he wonders about how Georgie's dad got out so early. The senator complains about a new implant that he has, and wants to get it removed. |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "First Time" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 12, 1992 (1992-10-12) | 22.0 |
| John's boys are going camping with Billy Bob and Georgie's father, leaving the two at home. Elliot's pet snake is accidentally let loose, so they spend the rest of their night at a hotel in some couples' honeymoon suite. They meet and have to settle their arguments with the newlyweds. |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Significant Others" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 26, 1992 (1992-10-26) | 21.8 |
| The senator and his wife get into an argument, but neither refuses to leave; Georgie takes down another kid's mother after she beat up John; and John meets his ex-wife (Julie Cobb)'s lover (Conchata Ferrell). |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Everybody Loves My Baby" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 9, 1992 (1992-11-09) | 21.0 |
| The men have to throw a charity show while being dressed as the Marvelettes. |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Conversations with My Shrink" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 16, 1992 (1992-11-16) | 20.0 |
| Georgie goes out to find a new job, but can't since she believes that they discriminated against her because she's a woman; John is not sure why Georgie is telling Dr. Ruth about her problems; and Georgie goes on a date with her former boyfriend. |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Fundamental Things Apply" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 23, 1992 (1992-11-23) | 20.0 |
| The senator's wife wants to be the senator; Georgie and Mavis take Dee Dee to dinner to find out the fact that she gets aroused by patriotism; the group find out that she is going to stop seeing the senator. John visits the senator's wife Mary Fran (Mary Ann Mobley), when she confesses that she loves him. |||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Smithersgate" | Harry Thomason | Ty King | November 30, 1992 (1992-11-30) | 20.5 |
| Elliot starts reciting stories about John that aren't true, especially one about a shark; Billy Bob convinces John that Georgie is sharing secrets with a reporter, so he makes up a false story about the senator killing someone. |||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Everyday's a Holiday" | Harry Thomason | Allen Crowe | December 14, 1992 (1992-12-14) | 19.7 |
| Diandra and Dr. Ruth take John's kids on a tour, leaving John in a depressive mood. He hatches a plan to take the kids and his coworkers to New York City to make Diandra jealous. The RV they're in gets stuck, and the group surprise John with Christmas cheer. John finds someone to tow the RV to New York, and as everyone else is sleeping, the two romance about what Georgie wanted for Christmas, which was to have a family. The episode ends with childhood snapshots of the adult characters being shown, and the RV being towed. |||||||
| 13 | 13 | "While the Thomasons Slept" | Harry Thomason | Don Rhymer & David Nichols | December 21, 1992 (1992-12-21) | 17.1 |
| John and his kids take a trip to the White House; the governor has to prepare for a senate meeting on obscene lyrics in music; Billy Bob embarrasses himself in front of Hugh Rodham; John's kids steal the president's phonebook because they wanted souvenirs, so they convince the governor to return it. |||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Trivial Pursuit" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 4, 1993 (1993-01-04) | 21.7 |
| 15 | 15 | "Never Play Touch Football with the Kennedys" | Harry Thomason | Martin Rips & Joseph Staretski | January 11, 1993 (1993-01-11) | 20.6 |
| 16 | 16 | "Miss Starr Dates Georgie Anne's Pop" | James Hampton | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 18, 1993 (1993-01-18) | 22.0 |
| 17 | 17 | "While the Thomasons Slept in the Lincoln Bedroom" | Harry Thomason | Lisa Loomer & Ty King | February 1, 1993 (1993-02-01) | 21.2 |
| 18 | 18 | "Her Year with Fidel" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | February 8, 1993 (1993-02-08) | 19.8 |
| 19 | 19 | "Cold Feet: Parts 1 & 2" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason & Ty King & Lisa Loomer | February 22, 1993 (1993-02-22) | 18.6 |
| 20 | 20 | "Cold Feet: Parts 1 & 2" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason & Ty King & Lisa Loomer | February 22, 1993 (1993-02-22) | 18.6 |
| 21 | 21 | "Take My Senate Seat, Please" | Charles Frank | Ty King & Lisa Loomer | March 1, 1993 (1993-03-01) | 20.4 |
| 22 | 22 | "Flamingo Summer" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | March 15, 1993 (1993-03-15) | 21.8 |
| 23 | 23 | "Class Reunion" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | March 22, 1993 (1993-03-22) | 22.4 |

### Season 2 (1993–94)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 24 | 1 | "Lovely Always: Parts 1 & 2" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27) | 11.2 |
| 25 | 2 | "Lovely Always: Parts 1 & 2" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27) | 11.2 |
| 26 | 3 | "Moonlighting" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03) | 12.9 |
| 27 | 4 | "The Great Depression" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 10, 1993 (1993-11-10) | 8.2 |
| 28 | 5 | "First Edition" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 17, 1993 (1993-11-17) | 10.7 |
| 29 | 6 | "String of Pearls" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24) | 10.3 |
| 30 | 7 | "The Stud Club" | Harry Thomason | Story by : Don Rhymer Teleplay by : David Nicholas & Rebecca Parr Cioffi | December 8, 1993 (1993-12-08) | 11.0 |
| 31 | 8 | "Blue Christmas" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | December 15, 1993 (1993-12-15) | 10.3 |
| 32 | 9 | "True Confessions" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason & David Nichols | December 29, 1993 (1993-12-29) | 13.5 |
| 33 | 10 | "Accelerated Dating" | Harry Thomason | Don Rhymer & Lisa Loomer | January 12, 1994 (1994-01-12) | 13.7 |
| 34 | 11 | "Sweet Revenge" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | January 19, 1994 (1994-01-19) | 15.9 |
| 35 | 12 | "The Sons of Sissy-Whatsis" | Steve Gerbson | David Nichols | February 2, 1994 (1994-02-02) | 12.7 |
| 36 | 13 | "Fatal Traction" | Harry Thomason | Story by : Lisa Loomer Teleplay by : Don Rhymer & Rebecca Parr Cioffi | February 9, 1994 (1994-02-09) | 14.6 |
| 37 | 14 | "Sleepless in a Small Town" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | March 28, 1994 (1994-03-28) | 20.9 |
| Lonnie is convinced by Georgie and Madeline to record conversations held at a secret men's only club, only to get caught. Features a brief uncredited appearance by Post's former co-star Harry Anderson from Night Court. |||||||
| 38 | 15 | "Do the Limbaugh" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | April 11, 1994 (1994-04-11) | 22.3 |
| 39 | 16 | "Love in the Afternoon" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | April 18, 1994 (1994-04-18) | 15.6 |
| 40 | 17 | "The Big Yes" | Harry Thomason | David Nichols | April 25, 1994 (1994-04-25) | 15.8 |

### Season 3 (1994–95)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 41 | 1 | "Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby" | Harry Thomason | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24) | 13.1 |
| 42 | 2 | "The Virgin Lonnie" | Harry Thomason | Leslie Ray & David Steven Simon | October 1, 1994 (1994-10-01) | 13.4 |
| 43 | 3 | "It's My Party" | Harry Thomason | Story by : Leslie Ray & David Steven Simon Teleplay by : Howard Nemetz & Bryan Winter | October 8, 1994 (1994-10-08) | 12.3 |
| 44 | 4 | "The Sock-Her Boys" | James Hampton | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 15, 1994 (1994-10-15) | 13.0 |
| 45 | 5 | "Birth of a Donation" | Harry Thomason | Rebecca Parr Cioffi | October 22, 1994 (1994-10-22) | 12.5 |
| 46 | 6 | "Fat Like Me" | James Hampton | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | October 29, 1994 (1994-10-29) | 11.9 |
| 47 | 7 | "Born to Dance" | James Hampton | Paul Clay | November 26, 1994 (1994-11-26) | 12.1 |
| 48 | 8 | "Pros and Condoms" | Dennis Redfield | Dara Monahan & Harry Thomason | December 3, 1994 (1994-12-03) | 10.6 |
| 49 | 9 | "The Perfect Christmas" | Dennis Redfield | Michael A. Ross & Thom Bray | December 10, 1994 (1994-12-10) | 13.7 |
| 50 | 10 | "Help Wanted" | James Hampton | Craig Hoffman | January 11, 1995 (1995-01-11) | 10.8 |
| 51 | 11 | "Mrs. Hartman, Mrs. Hartman" | James Hampton | Pamela Norris & Paul Clay | January 18, 1995 (1995-01-18) | 10.6 |
| 52 | 12 | "Group Therapy" | Steve Gerbson | Dara Monahan | January 25, 1995 (1995-01-25) | 9.8 |
| 53 | 13 | "John and Georgie's Not So Excellent Adventure" | Harry Thomason | Rebecca Parr Cioffi | February 1, 1995 (1995-02-01) | 10.2 |
| 54 | 14 | "The Outsider" | Harry Thomason | Leslie Ray & David Steven Simon | Unaired | N/A |

## Home media

Image Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in 2005 and 2006.
On November 7, 2012, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series and released Hearts Afire - The Complete Series on DVD on January 8, 2013. The 7-disc set features all 54 episodes of the series, as well as bonus features.
| DVD set | DVD set | Episodes | Release date |
| | The Complete First Season | 23 | August 2, 2005 |
| | The Complete Second Season | 17 | November 1, 2005 |
| | The Complete Third Season | 14 | February 7, 2006 |
| The Complete Series | The Complete Series | 54 | January 8, 2013 |