A Year in the Life 

Joe Gardner, a child of the Depression, is a successful plastics manufacturer in Seattle, Washington. After his wife dies, his four adult children move back in. Anne, 35 and an ex-hippie, ... See full summary »

Creators:

Joshua Brand, John Falsey, Stu Krieger

Stars:

Richard Kiley, Trey Ames, Adam Arkin

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Richard Kiley	...	Joe Gardner 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Trey Ames	...	David Sisk 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Adam Arkin	...	Jim Eisenberg 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Jayne Atkinson	...	Lindley Gardner Eisenberg 22 episodes, 1987-1988
David Oliver	...	Sam Gardner 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Kay Ericson Gardner 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Amanda Peterson	...	Sunny Sisk 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Wendy Phillips	...	Anne Gardner Maxwell 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Morgan Stevens	...	Jack Gardner 22 episodes, 1987-1988

Storyline

Joe Gardner, a child of the Depression, is a successful plastics manufacturer in Seattle, Washington. After his wife dies, his four adult children move back in. Anne, 35 and an ex-hippie, has been divorced twice and returns with her two children, David and Sunny. Lindley, 31, is a sales representative in her father's company and a new mother. Jack, 30, is a drifter "trying to find himself," and Sam, Joe's youngest child, is a preppy who is married to Kay, a free-spirit.

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Plot Keywords:

free spirit | preppy | new mother | sales representative | ex hippie | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un anno nella vita

Filming Locations:

Edmonds, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It rarely happens that a cancelled series will win any awards but Richard Kiley won both the Emmy and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role of Joe Gardner on A Year in the Life. In his acceptance speech he joked "I'm proud to accept this award for the show that TV Guide rightly calls 'The best show on television' A show that I only wish a few more of you had watched"

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Connections

Follows A Year in the Life (1986)

User Reviews

The Best TV Show That Never Was

This show was an instant hit with me when it first aired. It had a quality that is rarely seen on network TV anymore. Even though the show was in the upper echelon of quality, I knew it wasn't gonna last. It was too different, too smart for the general population. It was kind of like 30-something which appeared a year or two later in that it made you feel and think more than maybe the average American suburbanite wants to when they plop themselves down on their living room couch.

The show will probably never be aired again since it only lasted 1 year--unfortunately the title foreshadowed it's own life span. What may be even sadder is that it could've been the start of a nice acting career for Amanda Peterson who had just done "Can't Buy Me Love" a short time earlier. Once the show cancelled, her career went on a tailspin she never recovered from.

I managed to only tape 1/2 of an episode so if someone has the season on tape, please get in contact with me so we can do business.