''A Year in the Life'' is an American

dramatic Dramatic may refer to: * Drama, a literary form involving parts for actors * Dramatic, a voice type classification in European classical music, describing a specific vocal weight and range at the lower end of a given voice part * Dramatic soprano, ...

series that ran on NBC from September 16, 1987 to April 13, 1988, during the 1987–1988 television season, created by

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and John Falsey. The series began as a three-part miniseries which was first broadcast in December 1986. As suggested by the title, the miniseries followed the various members of the Gardner family of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

during the course of one year. The major event of that year was the sudden and unexpected death of wife and mother Ruth Gardner ( Eva Marie Saint). Following the success of the miniseries, NBC decided to launch a one-hour drama series the following fall.

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

played Joe Gardner, owner of a successful plastics business and father of four adult children. The children were twice-divorced daughter Anne ( Wendy Phillips), who had returned home with her two teenaged children; daughter Lindley (

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) and husband Jim ( Adam Arkin), parents of a newborn baby daughter;

black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

son Jack (

Morgan Stevens Morgan Stevens (October 16, 1951 – January 26, 2022) was an American actor, primarily seen on television. Biography Stevens played Paul Northridge in one episode of ''The Waltons'' and in three reunion movies. In ''A Wedding on Walton's Mou ...

); and conservative youngest son Sam ( David Oliver), married to free-spirited Kay (

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

). Diana Muldaur was a later addition to the cast as Dr. Alice Foley, Joe Gardner's new romantic interest.

Amanda Peterson Phyllis Amanda Peterson (July 8, 1971 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress, most known for her role as Cindy Mancini in the 1987 comedy film ''Can't Buy Me Love (film), Can't Buy Me Love''. Early life Peterson was born in Greeley, Color ...

played Joe Gardner's granddaughter Sunny Sisk and

Trey Ames Trey may refer to: Places * Trey, Switzerland, a commune in Vaud, Switzerland * Trey Peaks, Coats Land, Antarctica Other uses * Trey (playing card), the Three in card games * Trey (given name) * Trey, slang for a three-point shot in basketball ...

played Gardner's grandson, David Sisk. The miniseries was the third-highest rated miniseries of the 1986–87 US television season with a 16.9/27 rating/share. The series ran for one complete season, but brought in low ratings and was not renewed for a second season, ranking 63rd with an average 11.9 rating.

Cast

as Joe Gardner * Eva Marie Saint as Ruth Gardner (although the family matriarch, she only appears in the first episode of the miniseries) * Wendy Phillips as Anne Gardner Maxwell *

as Lindley Gardner Eisenberg * Adam Arkin as Jim Eisenberg *

as Jack Gardner * David Oliver as Sam Gardner *

as Kay Ericson Gardner * Diana Muldaur as Dr. Alice Foley *

as Sunny Sisk *

as David Sisk

Episodes

Miniseries (1986)

Series

References

External links

* * 1987 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American television miniseries 1980s American drama television series NBC original programming Television shows set in Seattle Television series by Universal Television Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners English-language television shows Television series created by Joshua Brand Television series created by John Falsey {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub