''Aaron's Way'' is an American family

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

television series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from March 9 to May 25, 1988. It stars

Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen (; September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football Le ...

as Aaron Miller, the husband and father of an

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

family that moves to California. It follows the attempts of relatives to adapt to Californian culture while retaining their personal values. Also appearing on it were

Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up t ...

and

Belinda Montgomery Belinda Montgomery is a Canadian-American actress. She initially attracted notice for her starring role in the 1970s science-fiction series '' Man from Atlantis'' as Dr. Elizabeth Merrill and for her recurring role as Caroline Crockett/Ballard ...

Synopsis

Aaron Miller's eldest son, Noah, has left the Amish community for ''the world'', but Aaron kept in touch with him using a post office box. Aaron then learns that Noah died in a surfing accident, and goes to California for his funeral. While there, he learns that Noah had been living with a woman named Susanna Lo Verde, who owns a vineyard and is pregnant by Noah. Aaron returns to Pennsylvania to consider what to do. His wife is surprised that he kept in touch with Noah, and then a relative of Susanna arrives by motorcycle. He relates her difficulties, and Aaron expresses his opinion to his wife that they needed to go help her. To Susanna's surprise, the family arrives, and begins helping out while trying to cope with the unfamiliar society and technology. The three Miller children are enrolled in the public school system. Subsequent episodes of this short-lived series deal with the continuing clash (and sometimes complementary meeting) between the Millers and their worldly hosts and neighbors. Aaron's dedication to the values of integrity and justice bend a few dishonest people their way.

Criticism

The show was described by one scholar as "a pretentious variation on the ''

Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'';" while former Amish viewers are reported to have called it “disgusting.”
Davis, Adam Brooke. "The Amish in Missouri"

Cast

as Aaron Miller *

as Sarah Miller *

as Roseanne Miller *Erin Chase as Martha Miller *

Scott Curtis Scott Curtis (born May 5, 1976) is an American actor and musician. Life and career Curtis was born in Van Nuys, California, United States. As a former child actor, he is known for his role as Brandon Capwell (1984-1985) on the daytime televi ...

as Frank Miller *

Kathleen York Kathleen York is an American actress, screenwriter, and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter recording artist. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for " In the Deep" from the 2004 film ''Crash.'' Life and career Actress Ac ...

as Susannah Lo Verde *

Jessica Walter Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...

as Connie Lo Verde *

Christopher Gartin Christopher Russell Gartin (born January 12, 1977, in New York City, New York) is an American actor and producer, known for '' Black Swan'' (2010), '' Tremors 2: Aftershocks'' (1996) and '' Transcendence'' (2014). He was previously married to Jo ...

as Mickey Lo Verde *

Pierrino Mascarino Pierrino Mascarino (September 22, 1939 – June 2, 2017) was an Italian actor perhaps best known for his lead performance in the film ''Uncle Nino''. Mascarino was also known for such films and television series as ''Tears of the Sun'', ''Nip/Tu ...

as Mr. Benvenuto

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{epguides, id=AaronsWay 1980s American drama television series 1988 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings Television shows set in California Amish in popular culture NBC original programming Television series by Lorimar-Telepictures