Home Free (1993 TV series)
Home Free is an American sitcom starring Matthew Perry, Marian Mercer and Diana Canova that aired on ABC from March 31, 1993 to July 2, 1993. The series was created by Tim O'Donnell and Richard Gurman. Synopsis. Matt Bailey (Perry) is a free-spirited, if somewhat lazy, 22-year-old freelance journalist enjoying the good life at home with his indulgent mom Grace (Mercer). He wasn't so concerned about completing his ascent into full-fledged adulthood, nor was he ever in a hurry to get out on his own, until his older, recently divorced  sister Vanessa (Canova) returned home with her two kids, so they could pick up the pieces and start their lives over. The unexpected arrangements forced Matt to take some crash courses in responsibility, to not only help out around the house, but to provide a good role model for his 13-year-old niece Abby (Anndi McAfee) and nephew Lucas (Scott McAfee), with whom he had a particularly close bond. Matt's struggle to maintain his wild, free-living lifestyle while facing his new realities were the focus of most episodes. His other world was the newspaper where he worked  as a cub reporter, inhabited by co-worker and best friend Walter Peters (Dan Schneider), foxy photographer Laura (Brooke Theiss), to whom Matt was especially attracted; and their gruff editor, Ben Brookstone (Alan Oppenheimer). Production. Theme song. The theme song for "Home Free" was a soft-rock ballad performed by Christopher Cross. Reception. "Home Free" premiered in a cushy time slot of Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, between "The Wonder Years" (which was about to end its run) and "Home Improvement". After only five episodes, due to low ratings, the show was put on a five-week hiatus, which spared it from  airing as a part of the important May sweeps month. The series was cancelled during May upfronts, but returned to the schedule on May 28 in the 9:30/8:30c timeslot of ABC's "TGIF". Original episodes continued to air in the "TGIF" slot through July 2, 1993. The last two episodes of the 13-episode order were unaired.