''The Charmings'' is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

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 follows

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

and

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, includi ...

, awakened from a thousand-year spell, as they adjust from their familiar life in the

enchanted forest In folklore and fantasy, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy. ...

to the modern ways of 20th century

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

. The series originally aired from March 20, 1987, to February 11, 1988, 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 ...

Synopsis

The opening voice-over sets up the premise: The premise of the series' plot was that fairy tale characters

and

were magically transported to a 20th-century suburb in Burbank,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Each episode shows the Charmings trying to adapt to their new life while Lillian, the wicked stepmother, and her wise cracking Magic Mirror watch from upstairs. After the first season,

Caitlin O'Heaney Caitlin O'Heaney (born August 16, 1952) is an American television, film and stage actress. O'Heaney has worked extensively in live theater, but is best known for playing Sarah Stickney White, the female lead on the American Broadcasting Company, ...

(who portrayed Snow White), was replaced by Carol Huston. After mild success as part of ABC's Friday night lineup, the series was moved to Thursday nights for its second season, in a head-to-head battle with NBC's ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of ''The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'', and later ''

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- ...

''. Due to low ratings, the series was canceled after twenty episodes. One episode remains unaired in the US, though it was shown during the show's run in the UK and in 2021 in Canada on CTV.

Characters

; Snow White Charming: Played by

(1987) and Carol Huston (1987–1988). Her "fairy tale" motif catches the attention of a department store executive, who sponsors a line of interior decorating products and gives her a job overseeing the designs. ; Prince Eric Charming: Played by Christopher Rich. Unskilled at anything in the modern world, he largely is a stay-at-home dad who wrote about his time in the Enchanted Kingdom. Later he learns he has a skill for handyman work and carpentry, and soon gets a job in construction. ; Thomas and Cory Charming: The two Charming children of Snow White and Prince Eric Charming. Played by

Brandon Call Brandon Spencer Lee Call (born November 17, 1976) is an American former television and film actor as a child and adolescent. He played Hobie Buchannon in the first year of ''Baywatch'', and J.T. Lambert over a period of seven seasons on the TV ...

and

Garette Ratliff Henson Garette Ratliff Henson (born January 5, 1980) is an American actor, best known for his role as Guy Germaine in '' The Mighty Ducks'' trilogy. Early life and education Henson was born in Burbank, California to a professional photographer mothe ...

. Due to their spending the least time in the fairy tale world, they had been the most assimilated into 20th century society, and they face difficulties accepting they are from fairy tales. ; Queen Lillian White: The wicked stepmother of Snow White, whose sorcery often backfires on her, but occasionally proves useful in helping her family. Played by

Judy Parfitt Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt (born 7 November 1935) is an English theatre, film and television actress. She made her film debut in a minor supporting part in '' Information Received'' (1961), followed by supporting role in the BBC television ...

. ; Luther: One of the Seven Dwarfs. Played by

Cork Hubbert Cork Hubbert (July 3, 1952 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and television actor. Biography Hubbert was born Carl Hubbert in Pendleton, Oregon. He is best known for the roles of Luther on the American television show ''The Charmings ...

. ; The Magic Mirror: Played by

Paul Winfield Paul Edward Winfield (May 22, 1939 – March 7, 2004) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark fi ...

. The Mirror frequently reminds Lillian that her daughter and son-in-law will come out on top and make it in this new land because unlike her, they are goodhearted people who respected others. A running gag is that he makes remarks about how Snow White is the fairest and telling Lillian "it ain't you!" whenever she asks who is the fairest. However, it is implied he may have been joking, because at one point when Lillian has lost her powers and he must depart, he confides in her that she has always been the fairest. ; Don "King of Carpets" Miller and Sally Miller: The Charmings' neighbors who find their new neighbors' penchant for

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

style odd but never figure out they were the real Prince Charming and Snow White. Even when Eric is under a truth spell and confides in Don that they were Prince Charming and Snow White, Don considers it a joke. Played by

Paul Eiding Paul Eiding (born March 28, 1957) is an American actor and instructor, best known for his voice roles as List of Metal Gear characters#Roy Campbell, Colonel Roy Campbell in the ''Metal Gear (series), Metal Gear'' series and Max Tennyson in the '' ...

and Dori Brenner.

Episodes

Season 1 (1987)

Season 2 (1987–88)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charmings, The 1987 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows American fantasy television series Fantasy comedy television series Works based on Snow White Television shows set in Burbank, California Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows based on fairy tales