''Home Free'' 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 ...

starring

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...

Marian Mercer Marian Ethel Mercer (November 26, 1935 – April 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer. Career Born in Akron, Ohio, Mercer was the daughter of Samuel and Nellie Mercer. She graduated from the University of Michigan, then spent several ...

and

Diana Canova Diana Canova (born June 1, 1953) is an American actress, director, and professor. She is best known for her role as Corinne Tate on ''Soap'' (1977-1980). Early life Canova was born Diane Canova Rivero in West Palm Beach, Florida, to actress an ...

that aired on

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 ...

from March 31, 1993 to July 2, 1993. The series was created by Tim O'Donnell and Richard Gurman.

Synopsis

Matt Bailey (Perry) is a free-spirited, if somewhat lazy, 22-year-old freelance journalist enjoying the good life at home with his indulgent mom Grace (Mercer). He wasn't so concerned about completing his ascent into full-fledged adulthood, nor was he ever in a hurry to get out on his own, until his older, recently divorced sister Vanessa (Canova) returned home with her two kids, so they could pick up the pieces and start their lives over. The unexpected arrangements forced Matt to take some crash courses in responsibility, to not only help out around the house, but to provide a good role model for his 13-year-old niece Abby (

Anndi McAfee Anndi Lynn McAfee (; born September 28, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Phoebe Heyerdahl in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Hey Arnold!'' and associated media, as well as the second voice of Cera in ''The ...

) and nephew Lucas ( Scott McAfee), with whom he had a particularly close bond. Matt's struggle to maintain his wild, free-living lifestyle while facing his new realities were the focus of most episodes. His other world was the newspaper where he worked as a cub reporter, inhabited by co-worker and best friend Walter Peters (

Dan Schneider Daniel James Schneider (born January 14, 1966) is an American television producer, screenwriter, and actor. After appearing in mostly supporting roles in a number of 1980s and 1990s films and TV shows, Schneider devoted himself to behind-the-s ...

), foxy photographer Laura (

Brooke Theiss Brooke Theiss-Genesse (born October 23, 1969) is an American actress who has starred in film and on television. Early life Theiss was born in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California to actors Dick Thies and Kathleen Mitchell. She changed the spell ...

), to whom Matt was especially attracted; and their gruff editor, Ben Brookstone (

Alan Oppenheimer Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s. Early life Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...

Cast

as Matt Bailey *

as Grace Bailey *

as Vanessa Bailey *

as Abby Bailey * Scott McAfee as Lucas Bailey *

as Walter Peters *

as Laura *

as Ben Brookstone

Production

Theme song

The theme song for ''Home Free'' was a soft-rock ballad performed by Christopher Cross.

Episodes

Reception

''Home Free'' premiered in a cushy time slot of Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, between ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...

'' (which was about to end its run) and ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

''. After only five episodes, due to low ratings, the show was put on a five-week hiatus, which spared it from airing as a part of the important May sweeps month. The series was cancelled during May upfronts, but returned to the schedule on May 28 in the 9:30/8:30c timeslot of

's '' TGIF''. Original episodes continued to air in the ''TGIF'' slot through July 2, 1993. The last two episodes of the 13-episode order were unaired.

References

External links

* {{TGIF (ABC) 1990s American sitcoms 1993 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Television series about divorce Television series about journalism Television series by Universal Television TGIF (TV programming block) Television shows set in Missouri