Empty Nest
Genre	Sitcom
Creator(s)	Susan Harris
Starring	Richard Mulligan Dinah Manoff Kristy McNichol David Leisure Park Overall Paul Provenza Lisa Rieffel Marsha Warfield Estelle Getty
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	170
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	October 8, 1988 – June 17, 1995

Empty Nest was a television sitcom that ran on NBC from 1988 to 1995. The series was created as a spin-off of The Golden Girls by creater and producer Susan Harris. For its first three seasons, Empty Nest was highly successful and was one of the top 10 most watched programs. Image File history File links Nestlogo. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Susan Harris is the producer of many television sitcoms, such as Soap, Benson, and The Golden Girls. ... Richard Mulligan (November 13, 1932 - September 26, 2000) was an American television and film actor whose career spanned 34 years. ... Dinah Manoff (born January 25, 1958 in New York City, New York) is an American stage and film actress. ... Kristy McNichol ca. ... David Leisure (born November 16, 1950) is an American actor best known for his role as Charlie Dietz in the sitcom Empty Nest and fictional automotive pitch man Joe Isuzu in a popular series of North American television commercials in the 1980s. ... Park Overall (b. ... Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957 in New York City) is an actor, comedian and filmmaker. ... Lisa Rieffel (born 12 January 1975, in Denville, New Jersey) is an American actress. ... Marsha Warfield (born March 5, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an African-American actress best remembered for her 1986-1992 role on the popular NBC sitcom Night Court. ... Estelle Getty (born Estelle Scher on July 25, 1923 in New York City) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning actress (theatre and screen). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (282nd in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... NBC (an acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A spin-off in television is a new series which contains either characters or theme elements from an old series. ... The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired Saturday nights on NBC from September 14, 1985 to May 9, 1992. ... Susan Harris (born in Mount Vernon, New York) is a television comedy writer and producer. ...

Synopsis

The show revolved around successful pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston (Richard Mulligan), whose life is turned upside down when his wife dies and two of his adult daughters move back into the family home in Miami. Pediatrics (also spelled paediatrics or pædiatrics) is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants and children. ... Richard Mulligan (November 13, 1932 - September 26, 2000) was an American television and film actor whose career spanned 34 years. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ...

Although not a true spinoff in that none of the characters from Empty Nest had ever appeared on The Golden Girls before, it was soon revealed that the Westons lived across the street from the Golden Girls and later on, over the years, the characters from Golden Girls and Empty Nest made occasional appearances on each other's shows. The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired Saturday nights on NBC from September 14, 1985 to May 9, 1992. ...

Eldest daughter Carol (Dinah Manoff) was a neurotic and high-strung recent divorcee, while middle daughter Barbara (Kristy McNichol) was a tough-talking police officer. The two sisters frequently bickered and vied for the attention of their father (who they still called "Daddy"). The Weston's large dog Dreyfuss was also frequently shown for comedic relief. Dinah Manoff (born January 25, 1958 in New York City, New York) is an American stage and film actress. ... Kristy McNichol ca. ...

In 1993, Kristy McNichol left the show and the youngest Weston daughter Emily (Lisa Rieffel) joined the cast. Her character had never been seen before as she had apparently been travelling in Africa for several years. Rieffel left the show after one season and for the show's final two seasons only Carol remained of the Weston children. McNichol would later return for the series finale in 1995. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Lisa Rieffel (born 12 January 1975, in Denville, New Jersey) is an American actress. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Another main character was the Weston neighbour Charley (David Leisure), a womanizing cruise ship employee who frequently barged in to the house unannounced to borrow food or make sexist comments. David Leisure (born November 16, 1950) is an American actor best known for his role as Charlie Dietz in the sitcom Empty Nest and fictional automotive pitch man Joe Isuzu in a popular series of North American television commercials in the 1980s. ...

Harry's job was another major focus for the show. For the first five seasons Harry worked out of the hospital, where he was aided by his wise-cracking southern nurse Laverne (Park Overall). In season six, Harry and Laverne left the hospital and joined a struggling inner-city medical clinic run by the tough-talking Dr. Maxine Douglas (Marsha Warfield) Park Overall (b. ... An inner city is the central area of a major city. ... Marsha Warfield (born March 5, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an African-American actress best remembered for her 1986-1992 role on the popular NBC sitcom Night Court. ...

Other characters who later joined the cast were Carol's boyfriend Patrick (Paul Provenza) and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), who reprised her Golden Girls character during Empty Nest's final two seasons (after the cancellation of The Golden Palace). Sophia's appearance was explained in that she had moved back into the nearby Shady Pines retirement home in the neighbourhood. Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957 in New York City) is an actor, comedian and filmmaker. ... Estelle Getty (born Estelle Scher on July 25, 1923 in New York City) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning actress (theatre and screen). ... The Golden Palace was a spin-off of the sitcom The Golden Girls that aired during the 1992–93 season on the American TV network CBS. It featured three of the four characters from The Golden Girls operating an upscale hotel called The Golden Palace. ...

Trivia

• Originally, The Golden Girls spin-off was going to feature different characters. In a 1987 episode of The Golden Girls entitled "Empty Nest", George and Renee Corliss (played by Paul Dooley and Rita Moreno) were introduced as the Girls's neighbours, a middle-aged couple suffering from Empty nest syndrome. The set of the Corliss' house was the exact same as the one that later became the Weston residence, and they also had an annoying neighbour played by David Leisure (although named Oliver). However, the couple apparently fared poorly with test audiences and the premise was revamped.

The cast of Empty Nest. Clockwise from left:Dinah Manoff, Park Overall, David Leisure, Kristy McNichol,and Richard Mulligan.

• In 1991, Empty Nest spawned its own spinoff, Nurses, a sitcom about a group of nurses working in the same hospital as Dr. Weston.

• The three series represented one of the few times in American television history that three shows from the same producer, 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, Harris wrote storylines which carried through all three series.

• The show's theme song was Life Goes On, written by John Bettis and George Tipton and performed by Billy Vera.

The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired Saturday nights on NBC from September 14, 1985 to May 9, 1992. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paul Dooley (fore) as Enabran Tain in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine See Paul Dooley (Australian rules footballer) for the Western Bulldogs footballer. ... Rita Moreno on the 1962 album cover for Academy Award Winner Rita Moreno Sings Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico) is an Academy Award-winning actress and the first and only Puerto Rican actress in history (as well as one of only twelve people) to have... Empty nest syndrome is a general feeling of depression and loneliness that parents feel when one or more of their children leave home. ... David Leisure (born November 16, 1950) is an American actor best known for his role as Charlie Dietz in the sitcom Empty Nest and fictional automotive pitch man Joe Isuzu in a popular series of North American television commercials in the 1980s. ... A test screening is a preview screening of a movie conducted before its general release, in order to gauge audience reaction. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (588x750, 121 KB)The cast of Empty Nest. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (588x750, 121 KB)The cast of Empty Nest. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nurses is a television sitcom that ran on NBC from 1991 to 1994. ... John Bettis is a lyricist who has co-written many famous popular songs over the years. ... George Aliceson Tipton, also known as George Tipton, is an American composer, musical arranger and conductor. ... Billy Vera (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actor. ...

Airdates and Ratings

• During Empty Nest's run, it was part of NBC's highly successful Saturday night block of programming, and during its first few seasons it would air on Saturday Nights at 9:30pm, directly following the Golden Girls

• Empty Nest was ranked in the top 10 of the Nielsen Ratings for its first three seasons. It was the 9th most watched show in 1988-1989, 9th again in 1989-1990 and 7th in the 1990-1991 season. In the 1991-1992 season it was ranked 23rd, and for the final three seasons it fell out of the top 25 altogether [1].

The god Saturn, after whom Saturday is named. ... When TV viewers or entertainment professionals in the United States mention ratings they are often referring to Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. ...

Awards

In 1989, Richard Mulligan won both the Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The series received a number of other Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations over the years, especially for Mulligan and for Park Overall who was nominated three times for a Golden Globe Award. An Emmy Award. ... The Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... Park Overall (b. ...

External Links

• Empty Nest at the Internet Movie Database
• Empty Nest Online