''Nurses'' 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 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 ...

from September 14, 1991, to May 7, 1994, created and produced by

Susan Harris Susan Harris (née Spivak; born October 28, 1940) is an American television writer and producer, creator of Emmy Award-winning sitcoms ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and ''The Golden Girls'' (1985–1992). Between 1975 and 1998, Harris was one of the m ...

as a spin-off of ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ric ...

'', which itself was a spin-off of ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

''.

Synopsis

The series revolved around a group of nurses working at the same

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

hospital as ''Empty Nest''s Dr. Harry Weston. Initially, the main characters were strong-willed nurse Annie Roland (

Arnetia Walker Arnetia Walker is an American actress and singer, active since 1971. She played Nurse Annie Roland in the NBC sitcom ''Nurses'' from 1991 to 1994. Life and career Walker was born in Columbus, Georgia, Walker was very young when her mother died, ...

), sarcastic nurse Sandy Miller ( Stephanie Hodge), dim-witted nurse Julie Milbury ( Mary Jo Keenen) and

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

nurse Gina Cuevas (

Ada Maris Ada Maris (born June 13, 1957) is an American actress known for her starring roles in the sitcoms ''Nurses'' and ''The Brothers Garcia''. Maris was born in East Los Angeles and grew up there. Her college education came at Boston University and UCL ...

) who frequently reminisced about her homeland, the fictional San Pequeño. Also in the cast were arrogant Dr. Hank Kaplan (

Kip Gilman Kenneth David Gilman (born November 18, 1946) is an American television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Hank Kaplan in the American sitcom television series ''Nurses''. Gilman was born in Revere, Massachusetts. He began his care ...

), wise-cracking

orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. The highest ro ...

Paco Ortiz (

Carlos Lacamara Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

) and flaky nurse Greg Vincent (

Jeff Altman Jeff Altman (born August 13, 1951) is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared as a guest on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and ''Late Show with David Letterman'' a combined 45 times. Altman mesmerized contemporaries like Davi ...

Florence Stanley Florence Stanley (born Florence Schwartz; July 1, 1924 – October 3, 2003) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her roles in ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977) and its spinoff ''Fish'' (1977-1978), ''My T ...

had a recurring role during the first season as Dr. Riskin. Changes were made after the first season in an effort to boost ratings.

David Rasche David Rasche ( ; born August 7, 1944) is an American theater, film and television actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980s satirical police sitcom ''Sledge Hammer!'' Since then he has often played characters ...

joined the cast in the second season as Jack Trenton, a slimy

white-collar criminal The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

forced to perform community service at the hospital, and in the final season

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 ...

joined the cast as new hospital administrator Casey McAfee. Other changes included the addition of

Markus Flanagan Markus Flanagan (born August 20, 1964) is an American actor. Career In 1990, he starred in the short-lived ABC police drama '' Sunset Beat'' alongside George Clooney, Michael Deluise and Erik King. He was a series regular on NBC's ''Nurses'' ...

as hunky orderly Luke Fitzgerald for the second season only, the changing of the show's theme song in seasons two and three, having nurse Gina and Dr. Hank Kaplan get married (Gina being pregnant by Dr. Hank). Nurse Greg Vincent was also written off after season one. In the series' final season, nurse Sandy was gone, and the series' focus moved increasingly from the nurses to Casey McAfee's adjustments in running the hospital under a new HMO, and the antics of Jack Trenton and his sidekick Paco the orderly."Reruns on Lifetime"

Cast

* Stephanie Hodge as Nurse Sandy Miller (1991–1993) *

as Nurse Annie Roland * Mary Jo Keenen as Nurse Julie Milbury *

as Greg Vincent (1991–1992) *

as Gina Cuevas *

as Dr. Hank Kaplan (credited in Season 1 as Kenneth David Gilman) *

Carlos Lacámara Carlos Lacámara (born November 11, 1958) is a Cuban-born American actor and playwright who has had a long career on American television, making his first appearance in 1983 on the sitcom ''Family Ties'' and mostly played in roles as Paco Ortíz ...

as Paco Ortiz *

as Dr. Riskin (1991–1992) *

as Luke Fitzgerald (1992–1993) *

as Jack Trenton (1992–1994) *

as Casey MacAfee (1993–1994)

Episodes

Crossovers

The following is a list of ''Nurses'' episodes featuring characters from ''The Golden Girls'' and ''Empty Nest''. ;Season One *Episode 2: "A Lesson in Life" – Laverne Todd from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 6: "Mother, Jugs, and Zach" – Harry Weston from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 9: "Begone with the Wind" –

Rose Nylund Rose Nylund is a character from the sitcom television series ''The Golden Girls'' and its spin-off, '' The Golden Palace''. She was portrayed by Betty White for 8 years, totalling 204 episodes. Rose was supposed to be played by Rue McClanahan, ...

from ''The Golden Girls'' and Laverne Todd from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 20: "Moon Over Miami" –

Blanche Devereaux Blanche Devereaux is a character from the sitcom television series '' The Golden Girls'', and its spin-off ''The Golden Palace''. Blanche was portrayed by Rue McClanahan for 8 years and 204 episodes across the two series. The charact ...

from ''The Golden Girls'' and Charley Dietz from ''Empty Nest'' ;Season Two *Episode 2: "In My New Country" – Laverne Todd from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 7: "Playing Doctor" – Carol Weston from ''Empty Nest'' ;Season Three *Episode 1: "The Eagle Has Landed" – Harry Weston from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 4: "Jack's Indecent Proposal" – Charley Dietz from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 7: "The Bridges of Dade Country" – Harry Weston from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 9: "Temporary Setbacks" – Sophia Petrillo from ''The Golden Girls'' and ''Empty Nest'', and Carol Weston from ''Empty Nest'' *Episode 10: "The Birth of a Marriage" – Harry Weston from ''Empty Nest''

References

External links

* {{Golden Girls 1991 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings 1990s American sitcoms 1990s American medical television series 1990s American workplace comedy television series American television spin-offs English-language television shows Works about nursing NBC original programming Television shows set in Miami Television series by ABC Studios The Golden Girls