''Class of '96'' is an American drama series that aired on Fox from January to May 1993. The series was created by John Romano and filmed mostly at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Synopsis

The series focused on seven students at Havenhurst College in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Although the seven come from different backgrounds, circumstance led them to become friends. The series dealt with the differences, both in personality and social status, of the group of friends, the challenges they faced in their first year of college, and social issues such as

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...

and

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

Cast and characters

Main

* Jason Gedrick as David Morrissey, a passionate writer from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. * Lisa Dean Ryan as Jessica Cohen, a

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

student who falls for David. *

Megan Ward Megan Marie Ward (born September 24, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her numerous credits in science fiction and horror movies and television series. In 2007, she joined the cast of the American daytime drama ''General Hospi ...

as Patty Horvath, Jessica's roommate, the daughter of a famous

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. * Brandon Douglas as Whitney Reed, a rich kid who is being trained to follow in his father's footsteps, including living in his father's old college room. *Perry Moore as Antonio Hopkins, Whitney's roommate, an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

star

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player from the inner city. *

Kari Wührer Kari Samantha Wuhrer (born April 28, 1967) is an American actress, model, and singer. Wuhrer began her career as a teenager, and is best known for her time as a cast member on MTV's ''Remote Control'', as well as her roles as Maggie Beckett in ...

as Robin Farr, Jessica and Patty's roommate, an attractive girl from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. * Gale Hansen as Samuel "Stroke" Dexter, David's roommate, an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

Guest stars

Guest stars throughout the series run include Gillian Anderson, John Cameron Mitchell, Matt LeBlanc,

Julie Bowen Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primet ...

Robin Tunney Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. Tunney made her film debut in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films '' Empire Records'' (1995) and '' The Craft'' (1996). Her perform ...

Dylan Neal Dylan Jeremy Neal (born October 8, 1969"Catching up with....Dylan Neal". ''Soap Opera Digest''. July 22, 2013. p. 73.) is a Canadian/American actor. He holds dual citizenship in Canada and the United States. He is known for his portrayal of the ...

, Elizabeth Dennehy, James LeGros, Fritz Weaver,

Reed Diamond Reed Edward Diamond (born July 20, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for the roles of Det. Mike Kellerman on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', Jason Pillar in season 8 of '' 24'', and recurring character Laurence Dominic on ''Dollhouse' ...

Karyn Dwyer Karyn Dwyer (born Karyn Elizabeth Dwyer; 22 March 1975 – 25 September 2018) was a Canadian actress, whose best known role was as Maggie in the 1999 film ''Better Than Chocolate''. Early life Dwyer was the oldest of five children, three sons ...

, Mason Adams and

Ele Keats Ele Keats (born Elemy Georgescu; August 24, 1973) is an American television, film and stage actress, model, and jewelry designer. Keats's most notable roles were in the Disney musical drama film ''Newsies'', Garry Marshall's '' Frankie and Johnn ...

. Director and series consultant Peter Horton also made a cameo in one episode as a professor; he was previously known for playing a professor on ''thirtysomething''.

Reception and cancellation

The

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in television in the United States, United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a te ...

aired on January 19, 1993 with ratings falling steadily after the premiere due to competition from '' Full House'' and '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'' on ABC and '' Rescue 911'' on CBS, all of which ranked in the Top 20 that season. The series was cancelled and finished airing its 17-episode order on May 25.

Episodes

External links

* * {{epguides, id=Classof96 1993 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings 1990s American drama television series 1990s American college television series English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Disney–ABC Domestic Television Television shows filmed in Toronto