''Cleghorne!'' is an American
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 ...
television series starring comedian
Ellen Cleghorne
Ellen Leslye Cleghorne is an American actress and comedian, best known as a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1991 to 1995. Cleghorne was the sketch comedy show's second African-American female repertory cast member, succeeding Danitra ...
that aired on
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
from September 10 to December 17, 1995.
Garrett Morris
Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing from 1975 to 1980, and played Jimmy on ''The Jeffersons'' ...
and
Alaina Reed Hall
Alaina Reed Hall (November 10, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American actress and singer who portrayed List of human Sesame Street characters, Olivia Robinson, Gordon's younger sister, on the PBS children's television series ''Sesame Street' ...
costarred as Ellen's character's parents, Sidney and Lena, with Steve Bean, Cerita Monet Bickelmann,
Michael Ralph
Michael Ralph (born c. 1963 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor. He is known for his recurring roles as Spencer Boyer on the sitcom ''A Different World (TV series), A Different World'', Tyrell Livingston ...
and
Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, ''Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the day ...
.
Among the first batch of original programming ordered by the newly launched WB network, the series was put on hiatus after 12 episodes in December 1995. The show was later cancelled with three episodes left unaired.
Synopsis
The series focuses on the life of Ellen Carlson (Cleghorne), a single mom who is raising her nine-year-old daughter Akeyla on
Manhattan's Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
. Comedic situations arise as Ellen tries to balance raising her daughter, running a local production company in
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, and the interference her overbearing parents, Sidney and Lena, who live next door.
Cast
Main
*
Ellen Cleghorne
Ellen Leslye Cleghorne is an American actress and comedian, best known as a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1991 to 1995. Cleghorne was the sketch comedy show's second African-American female repertory cast member, succeeding Danitra ...
as Ellen Carlson, a single mother who runs a struggling television commercial production company
*
Garrett Morris
Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing from 1975 to 1980, and played Jimmy on ''The Jeffersons'' ...
as Sidney Carlson, Ellen's father, a
U.S. Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
letter carrier and part-time building doorman
*
Alaina Reed Hall
Alaina Reed Hall (November 10, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American actress and singer who portrayed List of human Sesame Street characters, Olivia Robinson, Gordon's younger sister, on the PBS children's television series ''Sesame Street' ...
as Lena Carlson, Ellen's mother, a part-time schoolteacher
* Steve Bean as Brad, Ellen's partner
* Cerita Monet Bickelmann as Akeyla Carlson, Ellen's daughter
*
Michael Ralph
Michael Ralph (born c. 1963 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor. He is known for his recurring roles as Spencer Boyer on the sitcom ''A Different World (TV series), A Different World'', Tyrell Livingston ...
as Tyrell Livingston, Ellen's ex-husband
*
Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, ''Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the day ...
as Victoria Carlson, Ellen's dim-witted sister who aspires to become a model
Recurring
*
Cathy Silvers
Cathy Silvers (born May 27, 1961) is an American actress and author. She is the daughter of actress Evelyn Patrick and actor/comedian Phil Silvers. She is best known for her role as boy-crazy teenager Jenny Piccolo in later seasons of the TV si ...
as Coral, a waitress at Piccolo's, the local bar
*
Dorien Wilson
Dorien Leon Wilson (born July 5, 1963) is an American actor known for his role as Professor Stanley Oglevee on the UPN sitcom ''The Parkers'' (the spin-off series of ''Moesha'', which ran from 1999 to 2004), his recurring role as Terrence Winnin ...
as Jeff, a man Ellen dates who is the father of George, a student at Akeyla's private school
Development
Cleghorne was the third black woman to be credited on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' (1991–1995), after
Yvonne Hudson
Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupatio ...
and
Danitra Vance
Danitra Vance (July 13, 1954 – August 21, 1994) was an American comedian and actress, who was a Saturday Night Live cast members, cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) during its Saturday Night Live (sea ...
, and the first woman of color to appear on the series as a full-fledged cast member for longer than a single season.
She left to focus on her starring role in her own sitcom, ''Cleghorne!''.
In 1995, ''Cleghorne!'' was among the first batch of original programming ordered by the newly launched WB network, then run by former
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
executives who had worked on shows like ''
In Living Color
''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in a ...
'', in which Cleghorne had also appeared.
The sitcom was also the first time two ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of color (Cleghorne and original ''SNL'' cast member Morris) had worked together on a show after appearing on ''SNL''.
The series was also the first television acting job for Shepherd,
who would later appear again with Morris on another WB sitcom ''
The Jamie Foxx Show
''The Jamie Foxx Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on The WB from August 28, 1996, to January 14, 2001. The series stars Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.
Although the show was not a m ...
'', and would eventually be known for her roles in the sitcoms ''
Less Than Perfect
''Less than Perfect'' is an American television sitcom created by Terri Minsky and starring Sara Rue and Sherri Shepherd which originally aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 20, 2006. It follows Claude (Rue), who works at a television netw ...
'' and ''
30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
'', and as co-host of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
talk show ''
The View''.
Episodes
Broadcast
''Cleghorne!'' debuted on
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
on September 10, 1995, but was put on hiatus in December 1995 having aired 12 episodes.
The show was later cancelled with three episodes left unaired.
Cleghorne later said, "I don't think I was ready. In terms of being strong and saying, 'I can write, this is what I do,' and feel confident in that. And to be able to say, 'No, this does not work, this works better.'"
Reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
''
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
'', ''Cleghorne!'' has an approval ratings of 40% based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 0.85/10.
''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' called ''Cleghorne!'' "part of a chapter in television history, a rare moment when black audience demographics were taken seriously by networks and advertisers. Aside from the 1970s, this period
n the 1990s
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
featured one of the highest concentrations of black scripted programming ever."
References
External links
*
*
*
{{The WB
1995 American television series debuts
1995 American television series endings
1990s American black sitcoms
1990s American sitcoms
English-language television shows
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television shows set in New York City
The WB original programming