''I'll Take Manhattan'' is a 1987 American television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, adapted from

Judith Krantz Judith Krantz (née Tarcher; January 9, 1928 – June 22, 2019) was a magazine writer and fashion editor who turned to fiction as she approached the age of 50. Her first novel '' Scruples'' (1978) quickly became a ''New York Times'' best-seller a ...

's 1986 bonkbuster novel of the same name. Screened by CBS, it tells the story of the wealthy Amberville family, who run their own publishing company in New York. After Zachary Amberville, the patriarch of the family, dies, the company is taken over by his unscrupulous brother Cutter. Zachary's children, especially his energetic and intelligent daughter Maxi, begin a battle to regain control of their father's company. ''I'll Take Manhattan'' was the highest-rated miniseries of the 1986–87 US television season with a 22.9/35 rating/share.

Plot summary

Part 1

Zachary 'Zach' Amberville ( Barry Bostwick), a former

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

and now successful businessman, falls in love with his employee Nina Stern (

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nominat ...

). However Nina prefers her career over marriage. Broken hearted, Zach leaves

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he falls in love with aristocratic ballerina Lily Davina Adamsfield (

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 19 ...

). After a failed audition, she agrees to marry Zach, and follows him to New York City. When Nina learns about this, she gets upset. Lily, meanwhile, settles as a housewife and gives birth to Zachary's child. She is worried that her ballet career is now nothing more than a hobby, and acts out by behaving as a spoiled rich wife, even being nicknamed 'The Ice Queen'. Her lack of interest in raising her children comes to notice with Zach, who feels that discipline is not the key factor in parenting. When their eldest son Toby ( Tim Daly) is eight years old, he is diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, meaning that he will be blind one day. At a formal party, Zachary runs into his younger brother Cutter (

Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rem ...

), who is both charismatic and immature. In the past, he did not contact the family unless he needed money and so Zachary is immediately wary of Cutter's arrival in town. Cutter himself, meanwhile, falls for Lily and they engage in a sexual relationship. Months later, Lily gives birth to Cutter's baby.

Part 2

New York, 1960. Zachary and Lily have grown apart, encouraging Zachary to get back in touch with Nina. Nina is initially reluctant to reconcile with him, though soon falls for his charms and agrees to work for him, on condition that they have a baby. Elsewhere, Cutter has impregnated Lily again and is pushing her to have an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. Lily offers to divorce Zachary to be with him, but Cutter leaves her during a trip to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. In a letter to Lily, he claims to be scouting for a location for a better life, though he actually becomes intimate with a woman named Daphne. Lily feels betrayed and schemes her way back into Zachary's life by claiming to be pregnant with his child. Zachary, who believes her, abandons Nina to start another life with Lily. In San Francisco, Cutter starts working as a broker and seduces the boss's daughter Candice Alexander ( Lynne Griffin), a beautiful but shy woman. Her father Jonas ( Walter Gotell) is opposed to the relationship, feeling that Cutter is only interested in Candice because she comes from money, and hires a private detective to gather evidence to prove this. Instead, Cutter assures a prominent part in her life by causing a horse accident that leaves Candice crippled: he marries her afterwards and manipulates Jonas into financially supporting them. Meanwhile, Lily gives birth to a son, whom she names Justin. Ten years later, Zachary's magazine company grows into an empire, which saddens one of his loyal workers Pavka Meyer ( Paul Hecht). His daughter Maxime 'Maxi' ( Valerie Bertinelli) is now 17 years old and gets expelled from a strict all-girls school due to her rebellious behavior including skipping school to gamble with her friend India West ( Julianne Moore). She starts working as a photographer at her father's company, in the department of Rocco Cipriani ( Jack Scalia). She falls in love with him, and they soon have sex. Cutter resumes his unfaithful behavior, and after an escapade with both Candice's sister Nanette (

Kate Vernon Katherine Elizabeth Vernon (born April 21, 1961) is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (from 1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in ...

) and Alice Chambers, he continues his affair with Lily, which Nanette and colleague Booker witness. Nanette informs her sister about Cutter's cheating behavior, causing Candice to get drunk and confront him. Cutter dismisses her claims, and states that Nanette has lied out of jealousy, before actually visiting Nanette to hit her. Nanette takes revenge by sending Candice pictures of Lily and Cutter having sex. Candice is heartbroken and commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by jumping from her hotel room. The photos are then sent to Zachary, who is now aware of both his wife and brother's betrayal. Instead of leaving his wife, Zachary threatens to take the children and murder Cutter if she ever meets with his brother again. In another sub-plot, Lily meets with Nina and claims that she did not trick Zachary into reconciling with her, leaving Nina to believe that Zachary did not want to be with her.

Cast

* Valerie Bertinelli as Maxime "Maxi" Amberville-Cipriani ** Alisan Porter as Young Maxime "Maxi" Amberville * Barry Bostwick as Zach Amberville *

as Lily Davina-Amberville **

Georgia Slowe Georgia Slowe (born 3 June 1966) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Perdita Hyde-Sinclair on the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2006 to 2008. Slowe received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her performance as Ju ...

as Young Lily Davina *

as Nina Stern * Jack Scalia as Rocco Cipriani * Paul Hecht as Pavka Meyer *

Timothy Daly Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

as Toby Amberville * Julianne Moore as India West * Adam Storke as Justin Amberville **

Keram Malicki-Sánchez Keram Malicki-Sánchez is an actor, musician, writer, filmmaker, interactive media and virtual reality developer, multimedia artist, and event producer. Acting career Malicki-Sánchez debuted in musical theatre at the age of seven in the title ...

as Young Justin Amberville *

as Cutter Amberville * Ken Olin as Nat Lammerman *

as Nanette Alexander * Brett Cullen as Dennis Brady * Lynne Griffin as Candice Alexander *

Adam LeFevre Adam LeFevre (born August 11, 1950) is an American character actor, poet, and playwright who works in cinema, television, theater and commercials. Biography LeFevre was born in Albany, New York, the son of Helen (née Rhodes), a hospital patient ...

as "Jumbo" Booker *

Staci Keanan Anastasia Love Sagorsky, also known as Staci Keanan, is an American deputy district attorney, law professor, and former actress. Keanan is best known for portraying the role of Nicole Bradford on the NBC sitcom ''My Two Dads'', from 1987 to 1990 ...

as Angelica Cipriani **

Hillary Wolf Hillary Jocelyn Wolf (born February 7, 1977) is an American former child actress and judoka. Career Wolf is best known for playing Megan, the sister of Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) in the ''Home Alone'' series. She also starred as the lead character ...

as Young Angelica Cipriani * Barbara Barrie as Sarah Amberville *

Chris Noth Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on ''Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...

as Fred Knox * Fritz Weaver as Mr. Amberville * Katharine Houghton as Pepper Delafield *

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

as Himself

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0092378 1987 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American television miniseries CBS original programming Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in London Television shows set in New York City Television shows set in San Francisco Adaptations of works by Judith Krantz