thirtysomething (1987–1991)

Hope and Michael are a married couple in their thirties, living in Philadelphia, and struggling with everyday adult angst. Michael runs an ad agency with his friend Elliot, whose marriage ... See full summary »

Creators:

Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick

Stars:

Timothy Busfield, Polly Draper, Mel Harris

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 26 wins & 45 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Timothy Busfield	...	Elliot Weston (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Polly Draper	...	Ellyn Warren (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Mel Harris	...	Hope Murdoch Steadman (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Peter Horton	...	Gary Shepherd (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Melanie Mayron	...	Melissa Steadman (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Ken Olin	...	Michael Steadman (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Patricia Wettig	...	Nancy Krieger Weston (85 episodes, 1987-1991)
Brittany Craven	...	Janey (66 episodes, 1987-1991)
Lacey Craven	...	Janey (66 episodes, 1987-1991)
Luke Rossi	...	Ethan Weston (41 episodes, 1987-1991)

Storyline

Hope and Michael are a married couple in their thirties, living in Philadelphia, and struggling with everyday adult angst. Michael runs an ad agency with his friend Elliot, whose marriage to Nancy is beginning to show the cracks of age, as is the friendship between Hope and her best friend Ellyn. Michael's best friend, Gary, on the other hand, is trying to get on with his womanising life, and get over the mutually-destructive affair he had with Michael's cousin, Melissa. It all sounds like just another soap, but is given a unique atmosphere by the production team (the Bedford Falls company, also responsible for 'My So Called Life') whose intelligent scripts, believable characters and frequent dips into the slightly surreal world of the character's minds places the series as one of the highlights of the late 1980s.

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Plot Keywords:

best friend | friendship | marriage | reconciliation | business | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dertigers

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bedford Falls Productions, MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (85 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character 'Michael Steadman' was ranked #46 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (20 June 2004 issue).

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Quotes

Prof. Gary Shepherd: Even Hemingway wasn't good at being Hemingway.

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Crazy Credits

Throughout season 1 and season 2 Elliot's and Ellyn's names are spelled incorrectly in the opening credits. Elliot's is spelled with two 't's ("Elliott"), and Ellyn's is spelled with a second 'e' instead of a 'y' ("Ellen"). "Ellyn" is not corrected until the first episode of season 3 (3.1 "Nancy's mom") and "Elliot", not until the fourth episode of season 3 (3.4 "new baby").

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Connections

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Marshall Herskovitz (2007)

User Reviews

ThirtySomething was a great show

I miss watching this show. It was entertaining and thoughtful in some cases such as when Nancy had cancer. The cast handled divorce, the perils of daily life, issues with kids, love with each other, etc. I think the men seemed to be kind of immature compared to Hope and Nancy, but I loved all the characters regardless of how they acted. I looked forward to my weekly time with them. I was only in my early to late 20's when it was on, but I can say that some of the angst that they went through, I also went through, so in some of the episodes I could relate. I wish it were still on although at this point we would be calling it FiftySomething. LOL!!