Empty Nest is a NBC network sitcom created and produced by Susan Harris which aired from October 8, 1988 to April 29, 1995, lasting for 7 seasons and 170 episodes.
It was created as a spin-off of the NBC sitcom "The Golden Girls." An also popular spin-off of the series, "Nurses" aired from 1991 to 1994.
Plot[]
Set in Miami, Florida, the show was about the misadventures of widowed pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston whose two adult daughters, Barbara and Carol have moved back home with him after their failed marriages.
Cast[]
- Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston
- Judith-Marie Bergan as Libby Weston (1989, 1995)
- Dinah Manoff as Carol Weston
- Kristy McNichol as Barbara Weston (1988–1992, 1995)
- David Leisure as Charley Dietz
- Park Overall as Laverne Todd
- Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo (1993–1995)
- Paul Provenza as Patrick Arcola (1992–1993)
- Lisa Rieffel as Emily Weston (1993)
- Marsha Warfield as Dr. Maxine Douglas (1993–1995)
- Bear the Dog as Dreyfuss
Production[]
After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Kristy McNichol quit "Empty Nest" after its fifth season, but she returned in the final episode of the show.
"Empty Nest," "The Golden Girls" and "Nurses" represented one of the few times in American television history that three shows from the same producer (which all taking place in the same city and explicitly set up with the characters knowing each other from the very beginning) aired on the same network in one night.
On at least two occasions, Susan Harris wrote storylines which carried through all three series as fictional crossovers.
Ratings[]
The success of "Empty Nest" was because it would air straight after "The Golden Girls" and spent its first few seasons ranked in the top 30, after "The Golden Girls" ended.
The show aired alongside "Nurses", but the ratings later slipped from the top 30 to #66.