''Boston Common'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

created by

David Kohan David Sanford Kohan (born April 16, 1964) is an American television producer and writer. After writing for ''The Wonder Years'' and ''The Dennis Miller Show'', Kohan co-created and produced ''Will & Grace'', ''Boston Common'', ''Good Morning, M ...

and

Max Mutchnick Jason Nidorf "Max" Mutchnick (born November 11, 1965) is an American television producer. He has received an Emmy Award, a People's Choice Award, and several Golden Globe Award nominations. Early life and education Mutchnick was born in Chicago ...

, and aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from March 21, 1996, to April 27, 1997. The series was one of the 10 highest rated shows in its first season as it ranked 8th in the yearly ratings with a 15.6 household rating, but with a move to Sundays in its second season, the show dropped from 8th to 52nd place.

Plot

Boyd Pritchett is a genial, easy-going twenty-something from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

who delivers his sister Wyleen to college in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Then Boyd falls in love with Joy and decides to stay, much to Wyleen's dismay. Boyd eventually gets a job at the college to help pay his sister's tuition and shares an apartment with Wyleen whose inclination is to be sexually active, but Boyd tries to inspire her with his chaste pursuit of Joy.

Characters

Main

* Anthony Clark as Boyd Pritchett *

Hedy Burress Heather E. "Hedy" Burress (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She had a starring role in the film ''Foxfire'' as Maddy, and later landed roles in television shows ''Boston Common'' and '' E.R.'' In the video game world, she is best kn ...

as Wyleen Pritchett *

Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''. Early life Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy ...

as Joy *

Tasha Smith Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971) is an American actress, director and producer. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series ''Boston Common'' (1996–97), and she later appeared in numerous movies and television series. ...

as Tasha King * Steve Paymer as Leonard Prince *

Vincent Ventresca Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca (born April 29, 1966) is an American actor, perhaps best known for portraying Darien Fawkes on Sci-Fi's ''The Invisible Man'', and Professor Jack Reed on NBC's ''Boston Common''. Ventresca is also known for his guest ...

as Professor Jack Reed *

Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh actor and director, widely known for his stage work. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby''. He also rece ...

as President Harrison Cross (season 2)

Recurring

Sam Anderson Sam Anderson (born April 2, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his character roles such as Sam Gorpley on '' Perfect Strangers'', Holland Manners on ''Angel'', dentist Bernard Nadler on ''Lost'' and in film, as the principal in ''F ...

as President Wesley Butterfield *

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Awa ...

as Cookie de Varen *

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

as Bobby

Guest stars

D.C. Douglas D. C. Douglas is an American actor. He is best known for his voice roles as Albert Wesker in the ''Resident Evil'' series, Legion in the ''Mass Effect'' series and Yoshikage Kira in ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure''. On camera, he has appeared on sh ...

as D.C. *

Robin Duke Robin Duke (born March 13, 1954) is a Canadian actress, comedian, and voice actress. Duke may be best known for her work on the television comedy series '' SCTV'' and, later, ''Saturday Night Live''. She co-founded ''Women Fully Clothed'', a ske ...

as Brenda Nidorf *

Leah Lail Leah Lail is a retired American actress, best known for her role as Kay Simmons the communications and systems expert on the syndicated television series '' V.I.P.''. Early life Lail graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern Cal ...

as Anna * Larry Miller as Warren *

Shelley Long Shelley Lee Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Long portrayed Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom ''Cheers'' and received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Serie ...

as Louise Holmes

Episodes

Season 1 (1996)

Season 2 (1996–97)

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0115115, title=Boston Common 1996 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings 1990s American college television series 1990s American romantic comedy television series 1990s American sitcoms English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Castle Rock Entertainment Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Boston