''Gimme a Break!'' 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 Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that 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 ...

for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later crossed over to television. She was best known for her role as Ne ...

as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief (

Dolph Sweet Adolphus Jean Sweet (July 18, 1920 – May 8, 1985) was an American actor, credited with nearly 60 television and film roles and more than 50 roles in stage productions, including performances on Broadway. He often played policemen throughout ...

) and his three daughters.

Cast

Main characters

as Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper *

as Carl Kanisky (seasons 1-4) * Kari Michaelsen as Kathleen "Katie" Kanisky (seasons 1-5) *Lauri Hendler as Julie Kanisky Maxwell (seasons 1-5) *

Lara Jill Miller Lara Jill Miller (born April 20, 1967) is an American actress. She plays Samantha "Sam" Kanisky on the 1980s sitcom ''Gimme a Break!'' and as Kathy on ''The Amanda Show''. She voices the title characters in ''Clifford's Puppy Days'', ''The Life ...

as Samantha "Sam" Kanisky (seasons 1-5, recurring season 6) *

John Hoyt John Hoyt (born John McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series. He is perhaps best known for his film and TV ...

as Stanley Kanisky (seasons 2-6, previously recurring) * Joey Lawrence as Joey Donovan (seasons 3-6) * Howard Morton as Ralph Waldo Simpson (seasons 3-5, previously recurring) *

Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety ...

as Dr. Adelaide "Addy" Wilson (seasons 4-6, previously recurring) *

Jonathan Silverman Jonathan Elihu Silverman (born August 5, 1966) is an American actor, known for his roles in the comedy films ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'', ''Weekend at Bernie's'', and its sequel ''Weekend at Bernie's II''. Early life and education Silverman was ...

as Jonathan Maxwell (season 5, previously recurring) *

Rosetta LeNoire Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...

as Maybelle Harper (season 6, previously recurring) *

Matthew Lawrence Matthew William Lawrence (born February 11, 1980) is an American actor and singer, known for his roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''Boy Meets World''. Lawrence also starred in the series '' Brotherly Love'' with his real-life brothers Joey and An ...

as Matthew Donovan (season 6) *

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' ...

as Maggie O'Brien (season 6) *

Paul Sand Paul Sand (born March 5, 1932) is an American actor and comedian. Background Sand was born Pablo Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, in 1932, the son of Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer, and Sonia Borodiansky (aka Sonia Stone) ...

as Marty (season 6)

Recurring characters

Lynne Thigpen Cherlynne Theresa Thigpen (December 22, 1948 – March 12, 2003) was an American actress of stage and screen. She was known for her role as "The Chief" of ACME Crimenet in the game show '' Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?'' and various spi ...

as Loretta Harper *Alvernette Jimenez as Angie McDaniel *

Jane Dulo Jane Dulo (October 13, 1917 – May 22, 1994) was an American actress and comedian. Dulo was born Berniece Dewlow, the elder daughter of Lawrence and Nettie Dewlow, she began her career at the age of ten performing in vaudeville. Her father was ...

as Mildred Kanisky (née Wuchetzky) *

Pete Schrum Paul Richard "Pete" Schrum (born Shrum; December 16, 1934 – February 17, 2003) was an American actor. Schrum was born Canton, Ohio, and started acting while attending Catholic school. He is most memorable for playing Uncle Ed in the televisio ...

as Ed Kanisky *Patrick Collins as Tim Donovan *Jack Fletcher as Erwin J. Swackhammer *

Harrison Page Harrison Page (born August 27, 1941) is an American television and film actor who has appeared in many popular series, including ''Sledge Hammer!'', ''Cold Case'', ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', ''ER (TV series), ER'', ''Ally McBeal'', ''Ultraman: The ...

as Hamilton Storm

Broadcast history

Episodes

Production

The show was produced by

Alan Landsburg Productions Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP) was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had produced '' In Search of...'' and ''That's Incredible!'', two early examples of reality television decades before ...

(renamed as

Reeves Entertainment Group Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP) was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had produced '' In Search of...'' and ''That's Incredible!'', two early examples of reality television decades befor ...

in 1985). The US syndication rights are held by

NBCUniversal Television Distribution NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUnive ...

, the successor company to original syndicator MCA TV.

FremantleMedia Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in ...

owns the international rights, as they own

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

, which acquired

in 1990. The creators of the show were Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen. The series was taped at

Metromedia Square Metromedia Square (later known as Fox Television Center from 1986 to 1996) was a radio and television studio facility located at 5746 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on the southeastern corner of Sunset and Van Ness Avenue ...

in Hollywood before a studio audience. Over its run, the series used two different theme songs. The first was composed by Bob Christianson with lyrics by Bob Garrett and Marley Sims; two versions of this song were used, one for the first season and a new recording for the second. A new theme, with music by Jay Graydon and lyrics by Richard Page, was introduced in the third season and used for the remainder of the show's run. The new theme has similarities to the first but with a more positive attitude. Carter performed both themes. Carter distanced herself from the show following its run. “I don't want to go to my grave being known as the girl from 'Gimme a Break,’” she told The New York Times in 1988. “That wasn't me; it was just a job.”

Reception

The show received mixed reviews from critics when it premiered. Writing for the ''Washington Post'', Tom Shales wrote an especially scathing review of the pilot episode. “I wish I could sue NBC for the grievous consternation, intestinal distress and aggravated low moaning I have suffered as a result of ‘Gimme a Break,’” Shales wrote, going on to criticize the show’s sex jokes and what he found to be the racial stereotypes embodied by Carter’s character. “If I thought television could get substantially worse than this, I am not sure I would have the courage or desire ever to turn the set on again,” Shales concluded. By contrast, the ''New York Times'' found the show promising, praising the performances of Carter and Sweet and the way the show balanced wisecracks with bits of seriousness. “The abrupt changes in tone are handled adroitly,” John J. O’Connor wrote. “Given some supportive scripts, Miss Carter and Mr. Sweet could insure a good run for this series.”

Syndication

The show has been in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

since 1985. Reruns have also aired nationally on

WWOR EMI Service WWOR EMI Service was a New York City-based American cable television channel that operated as a superstation feed of Secaucus, New Jersey-licensed WWOR-TV (channel 9). The service was uplinked to satellite from Syracuse, New York by Eastern Micr ...

and

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Distribution rights are jointly owned by

The Program Exchange The Program Exchange was a syndicator of television programs. It was founded as DFS Program Exchange in 1978, which became elongated to the DFS-Dorland Program Exchange from 1986 to 1987. From 1986 to 2008, it was a division of Saatchi & Saatchi ...

and

, successor in interest to previous syndicator MCA Television. Reruns of the series are a mainstay of many of

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

and

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

stations, especially in low-traffic time periods, due to the low-cost barter setup of The Program Exchange.

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operati ...

aired the show from January 2, 2018 until December 31, 2021.

Cozi TV Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1960s to the 2000s. The network origina ...

started airing the show as of January 3, 2022.

Streaming

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

acquired all seasons of the show as of February 1, 2022.

Home media

Canada

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 ...

(under license from FremantleMedia) released the first two seasons of ''Gimme a Break!'' on DVD in Canada between 2006–07. In 2009, VEI announced that they plan on releasing the entire series in a complete series box set in 2010. VEI released ''Gimme a Break! The Complete Series'' on DVD in Canada on July 20, 2010.

Awards and nominations

received two Emmy nominations as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. and two Golden Globe nominations as Best Actress in a Television Series-Comedy or Musical.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gimme A Break! 1980s American black sitcoms 1980s American sitcoms 1981 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series about families Television series by Alan Landsburg Productions Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Los Angeles