American Dreamer (TV series)

American Dreamer is an American sitcom television series created by Susan Seeger, which aired on NBC from September 20, 1990, until June 22, 1991, as part of its 1990-91 lineup.

American Dreamer
GenreSitcom
Created bySusan Seeger
StarringRobert Urich
Chay Lentin
Johnny Galecki
Jeffrey Tambor
Carol Kane
ComposerPeter Leinheiser
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producerGary David Goldberg
ProducerLinda Nieber
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesUbu Productions
Paramount Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 20, 1990 (1990-09-20) –
June 22, 1991 (1991-06-22)

American Dreamer stars Robert Urich as fictional character Tom Nash, formerly a high-powered network correspondent who was forced to reassess his priorities following the death of his wife. He decided to give up his career in order to spend more time with his children. To do this, he moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he supported his family by contributing a column about "real people" to a Chicago newspaper. His editor, Joe Baines (Jeffrey Tambor), felt Tom was completely wasting his talents and drove out from Chicago weekly (a huge sacrifice, from his viewpoint) to attempt to convince Tom to return the world of "hard news". Other characters included Tom's zany secretary, Lillian Abernathy (Carol Kane), and a friendly waitress at Tom's favorite local diner, Holly Baker (Margaret Welsh).

This program was considered low-key. Tom sometimes "broke the fourth wall" to address the viewers directly about his thoughts regarding the situations he encountered. This philosophizing gained only a small audience and the program was cancelled at midseason, although selected episodes were rerun the following summer.

It is not related to the film of the same name.

Cast

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected by [1]Written by [2]Original air date
1"Pilot"Sam WeismanSusan SeegerSeptember 20, 1990 (1990-09-20)
2"Guys Just Wanna Have Fun"Sam WeismanGary David GoldbergSeptember 22, 1990 (1990-09-22)
3"Flight of the Dodo"Sam WeismanBrad HallSeptember 29, 1990 (1990-09-29)
4"All God's Children Go to Wisconsin"Sam WeismanBruce HelfordOctober 6, 1990 (1990-10-06)
5"Corvette Man"Sam WeismanTheresa RebeckOctober 13, 1990 (1990-10-13)
6"Over the Hill?"Sam WeismanBrad HallOctober 20, 1990 (1990-10-20)
7"Mr. Wizard"Sam WeismanDavid OwenOctober 27, 1990 (1990-10-27)
8"Divorce, American Dreamer Style"Sam WeismanSusan Seeger & Brad HallNovember 3, 1990 (1990-11-03)
9"In from the Cold: Part 1"Sam WeismanSeth FreemanNovember 10, 1990 (1990-11-10)
10"In from the Cold: Part 2"Sam WeismanSeth FreemanNovember 24, 1990 (1990-11-24)
11"The Fabulous Baker Girls"Sam WeismanTheresa RebeckDecember 1, 1990 (1990-12-01)
12"A Face in the Cloud"Sam WeismanGordon FarrDecember 8, 1990 (1990-12-08)
13"Don't Drink the Water"Sam WeismanTheresa RebeckMay 25, 1991 (1991-05-25)
14"Mother Knows Best"Sam WeismanBrad Hall & Theresa RebeckJune 1, 1991 (1991-06-01)
15"Papa Joe"Sam WeismanSeth FreemanJune 8, 1991 (1991-06-08)
16"Heartbreak Diner"Sam WeismanSusan SeegerJune 15, 1991 (1991-06-15)
17"They Shoot Ducks, Don't They?"Sam WeismanBrad HallJune 22, 1991 (1991-06-22)

References

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  1. ^ From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "American Dreamer"]". cocatalog.loc.gov. United States Copyright Office. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "American Dreamer". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
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