''Evening Shade'' is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
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 that aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from September 21, 1990, to May 23, 1994. The series stars
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture.
Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
as Wood Newton, an ex-professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player for the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
, who returns to rural
Evening Shade, Arkansas
Evening Shade is a city in southwest Sharp County, Arkansas, United States. The population was down to 428 in 2021 and a strong EF2 tornado struck the north town on March 6, 2022, impacting 2 houses.
History
Evening Shade was named in 1817 fro ...
, to coach a high-school football team with a long losing streak. Reynolds personally requested to use the Steelers as his character's former team, because he was a fan.
The general
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
of the show is the appeal of small-town life. Episodes often ended with a closing narration by
Ossie Davis
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...
, as his character Ponder Blue, summing up the events of the episode, always closing with "... in a place called Evening Shade." The opening segment included clips from around Arkansas, including the famous McClard's Bar-B-Q, which is situated on Albert Pike Blvd. and South Patterson St. in
Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs National Park is an American national park in central Garland County, Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, the county seat. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 18 ...
.
Summary
A former pro
football player
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
for the Pittsburgh Steelers who quit due to injury, Wood Newton has settled down to a quiet life as the coach of the Evening Shade High School football team—which is notorious for losing every game.
He and his wife Ava, whom he married when she was only 18 (a frequently-voiced grievance by her father Evan Evans, owner of the local newspaper) are devoted to each other despite their age difference. Ava is an ambitious, successful practicing lawyer who in the first season is elected District Attorney while pregnant with their fourth (unintended) child, Emily. Among Wood and Ava's closest friends are the somewhat-older town doctor Harlan Eldridge and his trusting wife Merleen, who always believes the best of people.
The show's plots focus on the various difficulties that Wood faces in living a very different life than he ever expected, as well as the obvious family pressures of two jobs and four children. Additional tensions come from Ava's Aunt Frieda, Evan's perennially discontented sister, who especially disapproves when Evan begins dating Fontana Beausoleil, who works as a stripper and discovers in season two that she is the long-lost daughter Merleen gave up for adoption when she was 15. Evan and Fontana get married in a three-part episode in season two and have a child in season three.
The show also gets mileage out of the incongruity of the decidedly unathletic, but well-meaning and eager to learn, assistant coach Herman Stiles, the best the school's budget can afford. During the first season, he catches the eye of the prim-and-proper high-school principal Margaret and they start dating.
On July 12 and 19, 1993, CBS aired two parts of an hour-long pilot, ''Harlan & Merleen'', as a proposed spin-off of the series. The pilot had the Eldridges open their home to young pregnant women who needed help (one was played by Leah Remini). The pilot did not achieve series status.
Characters
Main
*Woodrow "Wood" Newton (
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture.
Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
)
*Ava Evans Newton (
Marilu Henner
Mary Lucy Denise Henner is an American actress. She began her career appearing in the original production of the musical '' Grease'' in 1971, before making her screen debut in the 1977 comedy-drama film '' Between the Lines''. In 1977, Henner wa ...
)
*Evan Evans (
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
)
*Ponder Blue (
Ossie Davis
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...
)
*Dr. Harlan Eldridge (
Charles Durning
Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...
)
*Herman Stiles (
Michael Jeter
Robert Michael Jeter (; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. His television roles included Herman Stiles on the sitcom ''Evening Shade'' from 1990 until 1994 and Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle, on the '' Elmo's World'' ...
)
*Taylor Newton (
Jay R. Ferguson
Jay R. Ferguson (born July 25, 1974) is an American actor, known as Taylor Newton in '' Evening Shade'' (1990–1994), Stan Rizzo in ''Mad Men'' (2010–2015), and Ben Olinsky in '' The Conners'' (2018–present).
Biography
In 1990 Ferguson pla ...
)
*Molly Newton (Melissa Renée Martin) (1990–1991), (Candace Hutson) (1991–1994)
*Will Newton (Jacob Parker)
*Nub Oliver (Charlie Dell)
*Frieda Evans (
Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ann Cole, known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley (born August 30, 1939) is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for '' Take Her, She's Mine''. Ashle ...
)
*Merleen Eldridge (
Ann Wedgeworth
Elizabeth Ann Wedgeworth (January 21, 1934 – November 16, 2017) was an American character actress, known for her roles as Lana Shields in ''Three's Company'', Hilda Hensley in '' Sweet Dreams'', and Merleen Elldridge in ''Evening Shade''. She w ...
)
*Fontana Beausoleil (Linda Gehringer)
*Margaret Fouch (
Ann Hearn
Ann Hearn (born Ann Neel Simons; June 27, 1953) is an American actress. The daughter of Elizabeth Ann Neel and William “Bill” Simons, she was born in Griffin, Georgia
Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. ...
)
Recurring
*Dorothy (Jane Abbott)
*Virgil (
Burton Gilliam
Burton Gilliam (born August 9, 1938) is an American actor. He is best known for memorable roles in several popular 1970s movies, such as '' Blazing Saddles'' and '' Paper Moon'', as well as comedic cameos
in '' Back to the Future, Part III'' and ...
)
*Andrew Phillpot (
David A. R. White
David Andrew Roy White (born May 12, 1970) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer and businessman. He is a co-founder of Pinnacle Peak Pictures, a distribution and production company specializing in Christian faith- a ...
), Taylor Newton's best friend
*Neal "Thor" Heck (Pepper Sweeney) (1991–93)
*Aimee Thompson (
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...
) (1991–1992), (
Ari Meyers
Ari Meyers (born April 6, 1969) is an American former actress. She played the role of Emma Jane McArdle in the television series '' Kate & Allie'' (1984).
Early years
Meyers (birth name: Ariadne Meyer) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Jewi ...
) (1992–1993), Taylor's girlfriend
*Irma Wallingsford (
Alice Ghostley
Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) on '' Bewitched' ...
) (1992–1994)
*Daisy (
Leah Remini) (1993), Taylor's girlfriend after his break-up with Aimee, a New York transplant
*Wanda (Wanda Jones) (1993–94), waitress at Blue's Barbeque Villa
*Emily Newton (
Alexa Vega
Alexa Ellesse PenaVega (née Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' film series and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the ...
) (1993–94), Ava and Wood's youngest, who appears as a 5-year-old in the final season
Episode list
Production
The show's production company, Mozark Productions, was a joint venture by creator
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
Linda Joyce Bloodworth-Thomason (born April 15, 1947) is an American writer, director, and television producer. She is best known for creating, writing, and producing several television series, most successfully with the series ''Designing Women'' ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and her husband,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
native,
Harry Thomason
Harry Zell Thomason (born November 30, 1940) is an American film and television producer and director, best known for the television series ''Designing Women''. Thomason and his wife, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, are close friends of President Bil ...
, which concurrently produced another successful show set in the South, ''
Designing Women
''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...
''.
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
's ''Designing Women'' character was killed off to free the actor to star in the newer program. The series was produced in association with
CBS Productions
CBS Productions, Inc. was a production arm of the CBS television network (an initialism of Columbia Broadcasting System, along with its parent company CBS Television Studios, Inc.; the radio network was founded in 1927), now a part of Paramount Gl ...
, Burt Reynolds Productions, and
MTM Enterprises
MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the productio ...
. CBS retained full ownership of the series while MTM syndicated the series in the United States.
Release
Home media
On July 15, 2008,
CBS DVD
CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is a home entertainment company owned by Paramoun ...
/
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
released the first season on DVD, albeit with redone music and editing.
On April 12, 2019,
Visual Entertainment
Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...
released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.
Reception
The series enjoyed strong ratings during its entire run, hitting its peak in season two with a number 15 Nielsen ranking. At the time, this was a notably higher position than ''
The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...
'', which had recently fallen from a five-year streak as TV's number-one program. ''Evening Shade'' was still a top-30 performer, after CBS cancelled the series in May 1994. Skyrocketing production costs, mainly attributed to the large salaries of the show's top-caliber, all-star cast, were the primary reason given for the cancellation (which was confirmed by Marilu Henner in her September 1994 appearance on ''
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP.
Rose also co-an ...
''). However, some have speculated that the show's ending was a decision made by Reynolds, rather than CBS, as his recent marriage troubles with
Loni Anderson
Loni Kaye Anderson (born August 5, 1945) is an American actress who played receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1978–1982), which earned her three Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy Award nominations.
Early ...
(from whom he was divorced in 1993) were thought to have affected his work.
After its cancellation, reruns of ''Evening Shade'' were picked up by
The Family Channel; however, due to the network's conservative censorship standards, only 40 of the series' 101 episodes produced were aired by FAM, which were also edited considerably from their original broadcast versions.
Nielsen ratings
References
External links
*
{{Pittsburgh Steelers
1990s American sitcoms
1990 American television series debuts
1994 American television series endings
American football television series
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
Pittsburgh Steelers in popular culture
Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series
Television series about families
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series by MTM Enterprises
Television series created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
Television shows set in Arkansas