''Goodnight, Beantown'' 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 ...
that aired on
CBS for two brief seasons in 1983 and 1984.
Synopsis
The series stars
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist.
Bixby's career spanned more than three decades, includi ...
as Matt Cassidy and
Mariette Hartley as Jennifer Barnes, two news anchors at WYN-TV, a fictional television station in
Boston, Massachusetts. Matt is the station's evening
news anchor
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
and a longtime fixture at the station. However, when Matt's ratings begin to slide, the station management pairs the reluctant anchor with female co-anchor Jennifer.
The series follows their rocky relationship as they are not only coworkers but neighbors in the same building. Although slightly antagonistic at work, they are attracted to each other.
The series title comes from Matt's signoff at the end of the nightly newscasts, as "Beantown" is a common nickname for Boston (despite locals' disdain for the appellation).
Co-stars included
Tracey Gold
Tracey Gold (born May 16, 1969) is an American actress and former child star known for playing Carol Seaver on the 1980s sitcom ''Growing Pains''.
Acting career
Tracey Gold became an actress at the age of four, first appearing in a Pepsi print ...
as the divorced Jennifer's daughter Susan and
George Coe
George Coe (born George Julian Cohen; May 10, 1929 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. He was a cast member for the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' and voiced the character of Woodhouse in ''Archer''.
Early life
Coe was born in ...
as station manager Dick Novak. Over the two seasons,
Charles Levin,
G. W. Bailey
George William Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his "crusty" comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in ''M*A*S*H'' (TV series 1979–19 ...
, Jim Staahl,
Stephanie Faracy and
Todd Susman played their co-workers at WYN.
Bixby and Hartley had previously worked together on an episode of ''
The Incredible Hulk'', and at the time of making ''Goodnight, Beantown'', Hartley was appearing in a series of
television commercial
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
s for
Polaroid
Polaroid may refer to:
* Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras
* Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation
* Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs
* Polar ...
cameras with
James Garner.
The series first aired Sundays at 8:00 p.m. in the spring of 1983 for a limited run of five episodes. When it returned in the fall, it aired Sundays at 9:30 p.m. for 13 more episodes before being canceled because of its middling ratings.
Cast
*
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist.
Bixby's career spanned more than three decades, includi ...
as Matt Cassidy
*
Mariette Hartley as Jennifer Barnes
*
George Coe
George Coe (born George Julian Cohen; May 10, 1929 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. He was a cast member for the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' and voiced the character of Woodhouse in ''Archer''.
Early life
Coe was born in ...
as Dick Novak
*
Tracey Gold
Tracey Gold (born May 16, 1969) is an American actress and former child star known for playing Carol Seaver on the 1980s sitcom ''Growing Pains''.
Acting career
Tracey Gold became an actress at the age of four, first appearing in a Pepsi print ...
as Susan Barnes
*
G. W. Bailey
George William Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his "crusty" comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in ''M*A*S*H'' (TV series 1979–19 ...
as Albert Addelson
*
Stephanie Faracy as Valerie Wood
*
Charles Levin as Sam Holliday
*
Jim Staahl
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring
* ''Jim ...
as Frank Fletcher
*
Todd Susman as Augie Kleindab
US television ratings
Episode guide
Season 1 (1983)
Season 2 (1983–84)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0085024, title=Goodnight, Beantown
Fan site
1983 American television series debuts
1984 American television series endings
1980s American sitcoms
CBS original programming
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television news sitcoms
English-language television shows
Television series about television
Television shows set in Boston