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''Who's the Boss?'' is an American
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produced by Hunter-Cohan Productions in association with
Embassy Television ELP Communications (formerly known as T.A.T. Communications Company, Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Embassy Communications) was an American television production company founded in 1974 by Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio. ...
(later Embassy Communications and ELP Communications) and
Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution company. It is the second name of Columbia Pictures' television division Screen Gems ...
and stars
Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...
as Tony Micelli, a former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
athlete who strives to raise his daughter, Samantha Micelli (
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano ( ; born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'' (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in '' Charmed'' ...
), outside of the hectic nature of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and relocates her to
Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...
, where he works as a live-in housekeeper for a single advertising executive named Angela Bower (
Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap oper ...
). The series' cast also includes Katherine Helmond as Angela's mother, Mona Robinson, and Danny Pintauro as Angela's young son, Jonathan Bower. The show became one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1980s. The series was nominated for more than 40 awards, including ten
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
s and five
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
nominations, winning one of each, although early reviews of the series were lukewarm. Also very successful in the ratings, ''Who's the Boss?'' ranked in the top ten in the final primetime ratings between 1985 and 1989, and has since continued in syndication worldwide.


Plot

Widower Anthony Morton "Tony" Micelli is a former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player who was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. Wanting to move out of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
to find a better environment for his daughter, Samantha, he takes a job in the upscale suburb of
Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...
, as a live-in housekeeper for divorced advertising
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
Angela Bower and her young son Jonathan. He and Samantha move into the Bower home. Also appearing is Angela's feisty, sexually progressive mother Mona Robinson, who dates all kinds of men, from college-age to silver-haired CEOs. The title of the show refers to the role reversal of Tony and Angela. Angela is the breadwinner of the home, and Tony (although he is not her husband) stays at home to take care of the household and provides guidance and support to the children, Samantha and Jonathan. It challenged contemporary stereotypes of young, Italian-American males as macho, boorish, and wholly ignorant of life outside of urban working-class neighborhoods. Tony was depicted as sensitive, intelligent, and domestic with an interest in intellectual pursuits, and yet still athletic and streetwise. The easy-going, spontaneous Tony and the driven, self-controlled Angela are attracted to each other, though both are uncomfortable with the notion for much of the show's run. While there is playful banter and many hints of their feelings for each other, Tony and Angela do their best to avoid facing this aspect of their developing relationship and date other people. Angela has a steady romantic interest in Geoffrey Wells ( Robin Thomas), while Tony has a variety of girlfriends who come and go, including Kathleen Sawyer ( Kate Vernon) in seasons six and seven. In the meantime, however, they become best friends, relying on each other frequently for emotional support. In addition, Tony provides a male role model for Jonathan, while Angela and Mona give Samantha the womanly guidance she had been missing. Keeping ties with Tony's and Sam's Brooklyn roots is motherly former neighbor Mrs. Rossini ( Rhoda Gemignani), who ends up becoming a thorn in Mona's side. Several other friends turn up a few times each season, sometimes in New York, sometimes in Connecticut. Angela eventually strikes out on her own and opens an ad firm in season three, while Tony decides to go back to school at
Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...
, enrolling in the same college that daughter Samantha would later attend. Sam's best friend Bonnie (Shana Lane-Block) is a recurring character during these seasons, while romance comes into her life in the form of her boyfriend Jesse Nash ( Scott Bloom) during her sophomore year of high school. At the start of season eight, Tony and Angela finally acknowledge their love for each other. However, the series does not end with the widely expected marriage but on a more ambiguous note. This was due primarily to concerns by the network that a marriage, representing a definitive ending, could hurt syndication. Tony Danza also vehemently opposed the marriage, saying it would contradict the original purpose of the show. During the final season, Sam finds a new love in Hank Thomopoulous (Curnal Achilles Aulisio) who became a full-time character in January 1992. A fellow college student, Hank was originally poised to enter a medical program, but soon decides to become a puppeteer. Sam and Hank marry after an engagement lasting a matter of weeks.


Cast

*
Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...
as Tony Micelli *
Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap oper ...
as Angela Robinson Bower *
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano ( ; born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'' (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in '' Charmed'' ...
as Samantha Micelli * Danny Pintauro as Jonathan Bower * Katherine Helmond as Mona Robinson


Episodes


Background

''Who's the Boss?'' was created by television producers and business partners Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter in 1983. In early development, the series was titled ''You're the Boss'', about Angela employing Tony and the gender role reversal. Before the fall 1984 premiere, the producers changed it to ''Who's the Boss?'', an open-ended title which hinted that any one of the leads could get their way and be the "boss". Unlike Danza, who had served as the Tony prototype from the beginning, Judith Light was one of many who auditioned for the role of Angela. She was eventually cast based on her performance, which Hunter commented was a "class ..
Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
type, or more of a
Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...
." The character of Mona was initially created as an older sister to Angela, but as Cohan and Hunter struggled to handle the casting of the role, they decided on re-writing the role into "a free spirit with a quick tongue," who they envisioned Katherine Helmond to play. Danny Pintauro and Alyssa Milano were also cast based on their auditions. The series' pilot was shot in November 1983, a full 10 months before the show actually went on the air. ABC originally was planning to put it on mid-season in January 1984, but due to creative differences between the producers and the network, the show was delayed until the next season. The show debuted on September 20, 1984, up against the debut of another sitcom, NBC's ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
''. In the fall of 1991, after seven years on its established Tuesday night slot, ''Who's the Boss?'' was moved to Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. (against NBC's ''
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. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
''), along with fellow long-running sitcom ''
Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...
''. In February 1992, ABC added the long-running '' Perfect Strangers'' and the new cartoon ''
Capitol Critters ''Capitol Critters'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Steven Bochco Productions and Hanna-Barbera in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show is about the lives of mice, rats, and roaches who reside in the basem ...
'' to the night. It was promoted as the new ''I Love Saturday Night'' lineup, an equivalent to the hit Friday '' TGIF'' block. ''Who's the Boss?'' moved to 8:30 p.m., with ''Capital Critters'' as its lead-in. The ''I Love Saturday Night'' banner proved to be short-lived, folding on February 29, 1992; ''Who's the Boss?'' moved back into the Saturday 8/7c slot in early March. The series's ratings dropped significantly in its new time slot, and the decision was made to end the series in the spring of 1992. The hour-long series finale aired on Saturday, April 25, 1992, along with the finales for ''Growing Pains'' and ''
MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...
.'' ''Who's the Boss?'' reruns continued to air through the summer.


Influence


Critical reception

Early reviews of the series were lukewarm. Jerry Buck, writing for '' Ocala Star-Banner'', noted that while the series "doesn't have the same impact [as ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
''], it's not bad, either." He compared Danza and Light's on-screen chemistry to Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. ''The Pittsburgh Press'' criticized that "the show may have a universal theme utit's hard to find," while Duane Dudek of ''
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...
'' summed the series as a "pleasant little sitcom" which was not a "struggle for mastery utin some ways, a rather old-fashioned love story." John J. O'Connor of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was complimentary of the female leads, Light and Helmond, but was concerned if Danza, who "spends a good deal of time with his shirt off and his thick weight-lifted physique" would "keep this sitcom in ratings shape."


Awards and nominations

''Who's the Boss?'' was nominated for more than forty awards, including ten
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
and five
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
nominations, winning one each; Katherine Helmond received the 1989
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film is an award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is the Golden Globe Award given in honor of an actress who has deli ...
, while Mark J. Levin was awarded the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Comedy Series for his work on the episode "Two on a Billboard." Frequently nominated at the annual
Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
, Milano earned three awards for her portrayal of Samantha. Danny Pintauro and recurring guest Scott Bloom received one award each.


Theme song

The show's theme song, "Brand New Life", was written by series creators and executive producers Cohan and Hunter, with music composed by
Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts including Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has ...
and
Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainmen ...
. Three versions were used throughout the series' run, which were performed by
Larry Weiss Laurence D. "Larry" Weiss (born March 25, 1941) is an American songwriter and musician. He wrote " Rhinestone Cowboy", a US no.1 hit for Glen Campbell in 1975; and co-wrote " Bend Me, Shape Me", " Hi Ho Silver Lining" and several other internatio ...
(1984–1986),
Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late ...
(1986–1990), and Jonathan Wolff (1990–1992). The third version was first used for the last eight episodes of season six, and a very minor revision of that particular version of the theme was used during seasons seven and eight. The first line of the theme song was changed from "There is more to life than what you're living" to "There's a time for love and a time for living" in season three onwards.


Distribution


Syndication

ABC aired reruns of ''Who's the Boss?'' at 11:00 a.m. (EST) during its
daytime Daytime or day as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences Daylight, natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the ...
schedule from June 1, 1987, until July 1, 1988; it was later replaced by ''
Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...
'' on the daytime schedule. The series entered off-network syndication to premiere in September 1989; the show was a success in syndication and was offered to local stations including Los Angeles–based
KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). The two stations share studios at the ...
and Secaucus, New Jersey–based
WWOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York metropolitan area as the flagship of the MyNetworkTV programming service. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alon ...
throughout the 1990s. TBS premiered the show in October 1994 for one full hour at 7:05 p.m. EST until July 1995 when it moved to one airing at 6:35 p.m. EST weekdays. TBS moved the show to mornings where it aired from October 1995 until December 1996. TBS would bring back the show for one last time August 1997 to October 1997 again airing one full hour at 7:05 p.m. EST. From 2004 to 2007, the show was syndicated through The Program Exchange. Fox Family/ABC Family aired the series in 1999 until 2003.
Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite since 2009) is an American nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon. List of programs broadcast by Nick at Nite, The block's programming broadcasts from prime time to Late-night television, late night, with ...
broadcast the show between 2004 and 2006. In 2005,
TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...
broadcast the show as part of Nick at Nite's 20th Anniversary Celebration. The series also aired on
Ion Television Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American broadcast television network and FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August ...
from July 2007 to February 2008, airing Monday-Thursdays at 9:00 and 9:30 pm. EST. It began airing on the
Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...
in an early afternoon weekday block beginning on May 17, 2010, and ran until April 2, 2011. The series began airing on TVGN in July 2012, and on
Hub Network Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...
from April 1 until July 12, 2013. On June 1, 2014, the show joined the regular TV Land schedule. Several episodes from seasons one, two, and eight was formerly viewed for free in Minisode format on Crackle, formerly owned by
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
's IMDb TV service. On August 22, 2019, it was announced that
Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operatio ...
would be airing reruns of the series in the fall of 2020. On July 20, 2020, Antenna TV announced that they would begin airing reruns of the series on October 5, 2020, until it was removed a year later in August 2021. The series began to air on the new Great American Family network on Monday, November 29, 2021. The series also began to air on
Rewind TV Rewind TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group, and is a spinoff/sister network of Antenna TV. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1980s to the early 2000 ...
when it launched on September 1, 2021, and on IFC on March 24, 2023. In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, the entire series can be streamed for free on the CTV's streaming service, CTV Throwback. The series is currently available for streaming online on Sony Pictures'
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel, Throw Back TV in the United States and on
Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
. The entire series is currently available to stream on
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as of December 8, 2023. Some episodes of the show are currently available on
Sling TV Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aim ...
. However, all of the episodes are on
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
in HD quality.


Home media

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released the first season of ''Who's the Boss?'' on DVD in Region 1 on June 8, 2004. The remaining seven seasons have yet to be released due to copyright issues.


Spin-offs

The first attempted ''Who's the Boss?'' spin-off had its origins in the final episode of season two, "Charmed Lives", a
backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
for a program about two women up for the same job as well as overall being a series about the lives of single career women in the '80s. Starring Fran Drescher and Donna Dixon, it was not picked up as a series. In 1987, producers had planned a spin-off entitled ''Mona'', which focused on Mona's character leaving Angela to help her brother Cornelius run a seedy hotel in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. The third season featured this plot in a two-part episode, but when ABC changed their mind about the spinoff, fearing what Mona's departure could mean to the show, the ending was rewritten to feature Mona returning to Angela's home. The third attempted spin-off, which did make it to series, was titled '' Living Dolls''. Premiering and ending in 1989, the show starred Leah Remini,
Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is an American actress, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama ...
, and
Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry ( ; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant of 1986 and also placing six ...
. The show featured Remini, who had appeared in two ''Who's the Boss''? episodes as a friend of Samantha's, as a homeless model taken under the wing of an agent played by Learned. In those same ''Who's the Boss?'' episodes, Jonathan Ward played Learned's son Rick; in the ''Living Dolls'' series,
David Moscow David Raphael Moscow (born November 14, 1974) is an American actor, producer and activist. He is best known for his role as young Josh Baskin in the 1988 film ''Big'' and as David Jacobs in the 1992 musical film '' Newsies.'' Career In 1988, Mo ...
took over the role.


Planned reboot/sequel series

In August 2020, a revival/sequel of the series was announced, with
Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...
and
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano ( ; born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'' (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in '' Charmed'' ...
returning as their roles of Tony and Samantha Micelli, respectively. In June 2022, the sequel series was slated to premiere on
Amazon Freevee Amazon Freevee (stylized as freevee and fv, also shortened as Freevee, formerly known as IMDb Freedive and IMDb TV, and sometimes spelled FV) is an American Free ad-supported streaming television, ad-supported video on demand, video-on-demand ( ...
. However, in October 2024, they would not move forward with it, shopping it around to other channels.


International versions

Several versions of ''Who's the Boss?'' have been produced for foreign television markets. Some are dubbed and others are remakes. In many cases the names of the lead characters were changed: *Aired in India, ''Samne wali khidki'' starred
Archana Puran Singh Archana Puran Singh (born 26 September 1962) is an Indian actress and television personality. She is known for her comedy roles in several Bollywood movies and as a judge in the comedy shows ''The Kapil Sharma Show'' and '' Comedy Circus''. She ...
as Sanjana and Akshay Anand as Rohit. Here, the housekeeper was a struggling actor living as paying guest who has a niece who is the same age as Sanjana's son. There is no sexual tension between Rohit and Sanjana, although she is a divorcee and is hit upon by her neighbor, retired Army man Kukreja Bharat Kapoor and various recurring guest stars. *Aired in France starting 1987, first on Antenne 2 (now
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
), then on M6. The show was renamed ''Madame est servie'' ("Dinner is served", but literally "Madam is served", referring to Tony being Angela's housekeeper). When the entire series aired in Canada on
Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...
, only the pilot intro was used (with shots of the van going around the block after leaving Tony's apartment, and a shot of Samantha and Tony in the van). *In Italy, the first two seasons were aired in 1989 on minor network
Odeon TV Odeon 24 was an Italian channel owned by Gold TV, a television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation prov ...
as ''Casalingo Superpiù'' (''Super Housekeeper''); Katherine Helmond's character name was changed from Mona to Moira because in Italian, "mona" means "рuѕsy". *In the United Kingdom, '' The Upper Hand'' aired on ITV from 1990 to 1996 while the original ''Who's The Boss?'' was screened on the individual ITV regional stations. The show starred Joe McGann, Diana Weston, and
Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress and singer, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...
in the roles originally played by Tony Danza, Judith Light and Katherine Helmond respectively. In 1993, Helmond herself appeared in an episode of this version as Madame Alexandra. *Though the show had been broadcast in Germany in a dubbed version as '' Wer ist hier der Boss?'' (''Who is the Boss Here?'') since 1992 on RTL Television, a year later, the channel produced 15 early episodes with a German cast. The show was called ''Ein Job fürs Leben'' (''A Life's Job''). Tony was renamed Vito, an Italian guest worker from Berlin-Neukölln and former striker of soccer club
Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...
. Angela Bower was renamed Barbara Hoffmann. Their home was located in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
's upscale suburb Othmarschen. Despite these little changes, the original scripts were used for shooting, and even the stage set was an almost identical replica of the original American set, with only minor details changed, such as paintings and bric-a-brac in German style. RTL Television gave the same treatment to '' Married... with Children'' under the title ''Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt'' (''Help! My family is nuts!'') with 26 episodes. The two shows shared the first hour on Thursdays in the prime time slot from 8:15 pm to 10:15 pm. *A Spanish-language version, produced in Mexico by
TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as so ...
and Columbia TriStar International Television, debuted in 1998 under the title '' Una familia con Ángel'' (''A Family with Angel'') starring Laura Luz and Daniel Martínez. It was broadcast in the U.S. on the
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
network. *In Brazil,
Rede Bandeirantes Rede Bandeirantes (, ''Bandeirantes Network''), or simply known as Band (), is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It began broadcasting on May 13, 1967 on VHF channel 13 in São Paulo. Its founder was businessman :pt:João Saad, Jo ...
produced with Columbia TriStar International Television a Portuguese-language version of the show called ''Santo de Casa'' (''House Saint''), starring Daniel Boaventura, Regina Remencius and Ana Lúcia Torre. This version debuted in 1999. *In 2005, the Argentinian network Telefé also made its own local version called '' ¿Quién es el Jefe?'' (''Who is the Boss?''), a direct translation of the original American title. It starred Nicolás Vázquez, Gianella Neyra and Carmen Barbieri in the adult roles. *In 2006, a Russian remake premiered that was titled ''Kto v dome khozyain?'' (which translates as "Who is the head in this house?"). It starred Anna Nevskaya (as Daria, the boss) and Andrey Noskov (as Nikita, the housekeeper). It originally aired for three years on CTC and used most of the episodes of the American original and concludes with the wedding of the main characters in the 150th episode. *In 2006, Colombian network
Caracol TV Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Platea ...
produced ''¿Quién manda a quién?'' (which was the title of the original show when dubbed in Spanish). *A Polish version, '' I kto tu rządzi?'' (''And Who is in Charge Here?''), debuted in 2007 on
Polsat Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. , it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30% Polsat belongs to Grupa Polsat Plus ( WSE: CP ...
, starring Małgorzata Foremniak and
Bogusław Linda Bogusław Linda (; born 27 June 1952) is a Polish actor known from films such as ''Pigs (1992 film), Psy'' and ''Tato''. He appeared in Andrzej Wajda's ''Man of Iron'' and ''Danton (1983 film), Danton'' and in Krzysztof Kieślowski's ''Blind Chan ...
. *In Turkey, it is aired as '' Patron Kim?'' (''Who is the Boss?'') on ATV Turkey.


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* {{Who's the Boss 1980s American multi-camera sitcoms 1984 American television series debuts 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1992 American television series endings American English-language television shows Television series about single parent families Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Connecticut Television series about widowhood Gender role reversal American Broadcasting Company sitcoms 1980s American sitcoms