Thirtysomething
Thirtysomething is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from 1987 to 1991. It is about a group of baby boomers in their thirties who live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and how they handle the lifestyle that dominated American culture during the 1980s given their involvement in the early 1970s counterculture as young adults. It premiered in the United States on September 29, 1987, and ran for four seasons until it was cancelled in May 1991 because the ratings had dropped and Zwick  and Herskovitz moved on to other projects. The series won 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, out of 41 nominations, and two Golden Globe Awards. On January 8, 2020, ABC confirmed that a television pilot, which would serve as a sequel to the series, had been ordered. The pilot was never filmed, but was set to be directed by Zwick, written by Zwick and Herskovitz, and have four members of the original cast (Olin, Harris, Busfield and Wettig) reprising their roles. In June, ABC passed on the series. General plot and characters. Although seen as an ensemble drama, the series revolves around  husband and wife Michael Steadman (Ken Olin) and Hope Murdoch (Mel Harris) and their baby Janie. Michael's cousin is photographer Melissa Steadman (Melanie Mayron), who used to date his college friend Gary Shepherd (Peter Horton). Gary eventually marries Susannah (Patricia Kalember). Michael's business partner is Elliot Weston (Timothy Busfield), who has a troubled marriage with his wife Nancy (Patricia Wettig), a painter. Hope's childhood friend is local politician Ellyn Warren (Polly Draper). Nielsen ratings/broadcast history. Home media. Shout! Factory (under license from MGM) has released all four seasons of "Thirtysomething" on DVD in Region 1. Mill  Creek Entertainment has rereleased the first season on DVD in two volumes. On January 18, 2011, it released "Season One, Volume One", which contains the first 10 episodes of the season. "Season One, Volume Two", which contains the remaining 11 episodes, was released on January 10, 2012. In Region 2, Revelation Films released the first two seasons on DVD in the UK. Season 3 was briefly released in 2014, but was almost immediately withdrawn from sale for unspecified "contractual reasons" and has, to date, not been rereleased, nor has Season 4. In Region 4, Shock Entertainment has released all 4  seasons on DVD in Australia. Influences and cultural impact. "Thirtysomething" was influenced by the films "Return of the Secaucus 7" (1980) and "The Big Chill" (1983). The show reflected the angst felt by baby boomers and yuppies in the United States during the 1980s, such as the changing expectations related to masculinity and femininity introduced during the era of second-wave feminism. It also introduced "a new kind of hour-long drama, a series that focused on the domestic and professional lives of a group of young urban professionals, a socio-economic category of increasing interest to the television industry  [...] its stylistic and story-line innovations led critics to respect it for being 'as close to the level of an art form as weekly television ever gets,' as the "New York Times" put it." During its four-year run, "Thirtysomething" "attracted a cult audience of viewers who strongly identified with one or more of its eight central characters, a circle of friends living in Philadelphia." Even after its cancellation in 1991, it continued to influence television programming, "in everything from the look and sound of certain TV advertisements, to other series with feminine sensibilities and preoccupations with the transition from  childhood to maturity ("Sisters"), to situation comedies about groups of friends who talk all the time ("Seinfeld")." The show also influenced the British television series "Cold Feet", which featured similar storylines and character types. The creator of "Cold Feet" wanted his show to be in the mould of successful American TV series like "Thirtysomething" and "Frasier". Susan Faludi, in her bestseller (1991), argues that "Thirtysomething" often reinforced, rather than dismantled, gender stereotypes. She suggests that it exhibited a disdainful attitude toward single, working, and feminist women (Melissa, Ellyn, and Susannah) while at the same time "exalting homemakers" (Hope and Nancy ). In this manner, the series was seen as "seemingly progressive but substantially conservative in its construction of reality." Section::::"Oxford English Dictionary". Almost immediately after the introduction of the show, the term "Thirtysomething" became a catchphrase used to designate baby boomers in their thirties. This cultural shift was reinforced by the "Oxford English Dictionary", which added "Thirtysomething" in 1993 (under the word "thirty") and defined the term as follows: Honors and awards. While it aired, "Thirtysomething" was nominated for 41 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 13. It also won two Golden Globe awards. Later, by 1997, "The Go Between" and "Samurai Ad  Man" were listed as number 22 on "TV Guide"s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. "Thirtysomething" then placed the number 19 spot on "TV Guide"′s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002, and in 2013, "TV Guide" placed it as No. 10 in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time. Sequel. A sequel to the series was pitched in September 2019. The pilot was a co-production between MGM Television and Bedford Falls Productions, which was behind the original series, and ABC Studios, and producers were casting its four original main roles at the time  of the announcement. In February 2020, Chris Wood was cast as Leo Steadman, the show's male lead. Over the next few weeks, Odette Annable was cast as Janey Steadman and Patrick Fugit and Auden Thornton as Ethan Weston and Brittany Weston. Melanie Mayron and Polly Draper agreed to appear as Melissa Steadman and Ellyn Warren. On June 29, ABC decided not to move forward with the sequel.