''Ferris Bueller'' 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 ...

television series based on the 1986 John Hughes film ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer ...

''. The show stars

Charlie Schlatter Charles Thomas "Charlie" Schlatter (born May 1, 1966) is an American actor who has appeared in several films and television series. He is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Jesse Travis, the resident student of Dr. Mark Sloan (played by Dick Van ...

in the title role. The series debuted on August 23, 1990, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and was cancelled within its first season, a few months after its debut. The show was produced by Maysh, Ltd. Productions in association with Paramount Television. Hughes was not involved in the show's production.

Synopsis

Though based on the film, the series was not a canon continuation; rather it was set up to portray itself as being the "real life" situations upon which the film was loosely based. In the pilot episode, Ferris (Schlatter) refers to the film and expresses his displeasure at Matthew Broderick portraying him, even going as far as destroying a life-size cardboard cutout of Broderick with a chainsaw. However no further references to the film within the series' continuity would be made after this. As in the film, the series focused on Ferris Bueller and his high school experiences at Ocean Park High, including dealing with his best friend Cameron ( Brandon Douglas), love interest Sloan (

Ami Dolenz Ami Bluebell Dolenz (born January 8, 1969) is an American former actress. Early life Dolenz was born in Burbank, California, into a show business family. She is the daughter of Micky Dolenz of the 1960s group the Monkees, and British television ...

), and sister Jeannie (

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

). Although the film was set in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, the series was set in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

. Like the film, Ferris is liked by everyone as the "cool guy on campus." He is extremely popular, suave, and quick witted and is a master of ceremonies who often breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

. Cameron is still a depressive neurotic who, through Ferris, is able to loosen up occasionally. Sloan is portrayed slightly different in that she is not completely wrapped around Ferris' finger and has to be won over at times. Ed Rooney is the primary antagonist and always out to get Ferris but usually ends up foiled or humiliated. His secretary, Grace, is not a wise-cracking sarcastic, but a passive pushover with an unreciprocated crush on Ed. Jeannie is constantly at odds with Ferris and his being favored by all. Though she can be antagonistic, she has proven not all bad, albeit begrudgingly. In the film, Mr. and Mrs. Bueller's names are Katie and Tom but in the series they are Barbara and Bob; also, Ferris is a junior and Jeannie is a senior as opposed to the other way around in the movie.

Cast

Starring

as Ferris Bueller *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory'' ...

as Principal Ed Rooney *

Sam Freed Sam Freed (born August 29, 1948) is an American actor who has performed on Broadway and television and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of ''Kate & Allie''. In the short-lived serie ...

as Bill Bueller *

as Jeannie Bueller *

as Sloan Peterson * Brandon Douglas as Cameron Frye *

Judith Kahan Judith Kahan (born May 24, 1948) is an American actress and television writer. Early years Kahan was born May 24, 1948, in Roslyn Heights, New York, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Kahan. She attended Boston University's School of Fine and ...

as Grace *

Cristine Rose Cristine Sue Rose (born January 31, 1951), sometimes credited as Christine Rose, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama '' Heroes''. Early life Rose was born in Lynwood ...

as Barbara Bueller

Recurring

* Jeff Maynard as Arthur Petrelli * Jerry Tullos as Mr. Rickets * David Glasser as Dork * Brandon Rane as Wimp * Chris Claridge as Student #2/Surfer/Tim * Bojesse Christopher as Greaser * Jim DeMarse as Mr. Prescott/Mr. Tenser

Guest

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series ''Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recogni ...

as Mrs. Tenser

Episodes

Season 1 (1990–91)

Reception and cancellation

Compared to the film, the show received mostly negative reviews from critics. It also suffered from comparisons to not only the '80s film, but also another series, ''

Parker Lewis Can't Lose ''Parker Lewis Can't Lose'' is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on Fox from September 1990 to June 1993. It was produced by Clyde Phillips Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television. During the last season, the se ...

''; at the time that series initially proved to be more successful when it came to ratings, lasting for three seasons. Ratings for ''Ferris'' were strong at first, but declined in later episodes. The series was cancelled due to poor viewership and low ratings after one season airing a total of thirteen episodes.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris Bueller (Tv Series) 1990 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1990s American high school television series 1990s American single-camera sitcoms 1990s American teen sitcoms English-language television shows NBC original programming Live action television shows based on films Television series about teenagers Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Santa Monica, California