Chicken Soup (TV series)

Chicken Soup is an American sitcom starring Jackie Mason and Lynn Redgrave. It aired on ABC from September 12 to November 7, 1989.

Chicken Soup
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Saul Turteltaub Bernie Orenstein
Written by	Paul Perlove
Directed by	Terry Hughes Alan Rafkin
Starring	Jackie Mason Lynn Redgrave Rita Karin Kathryn Erbe Johnny Pinto Alisan Porter Brandon Maggart Cathy Lind Hayes
Composer	Gordon Lustig
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12 (4 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	Saul Turteltaub Bernie Orenstein Marcy Carsey Tom Werner
Producers	Gayle S. Maffeo Faye Oshima Belyeu
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Carsey-Werner Company
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 12 (1989-09-12) – November 7, 1989 (1989-11-07)

Premise

The series focuses on the interfaith relationship of a middle-aged Jewish man, Jackie (Mason), and an Irish Catholic woman, Maddie (Redgrave). Episodes centered around humorous situations and obstacles caused by the couple's different religions.

Cast

• Jackie Mason as Jackie Fisher
• Lynn Redgrave as Maddie Peerce
• Rita Karin as Bea Fisher
• Kathryn Erbe as Patricia Reece
• Johnny Pinto as Donnie Peerce
• Alisan Porter as Molly Peerce
• Brandon Maggart as Mike Donovan
• Cathy Lind Hayes as Barbara Donovan

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Terry Hughes	Saul Turteltaub Bernie Orenstein	September 12, 1989 (1989-09-12)	31.0[1]
Jackie Fisher and Maddie Peerce meet and fall in love. The catch: Jackie is Jewish and Maddie is Irish Catholic.
2	"The Dinner"	Alan Rafkin	Paul Perlove	September 19, 1989 (1989-09-19)	27.4[2]
Jackie and Maddie meet some friends for a dinner full of mishaps; Donnie and Patricia are sure that the couple is doomed.
3	"The Bartender"	Alan Rafkin	David Pollock & Elias Davis	September 26, 1989 (1989-09-26)	28.6[3]
Jackie must play bartender when Maddie throws a girls-only party and the bartender fails to show up.
4	"The Reservation"	Alan Rafkin	Saul Turteltaub Bernie Orenstein	October 3, 1989 (1989-10-03)	27.7[4]
Maddie and Jackie have problems at their favorite restaurant when neither makes a reservation.
5	"Double Date"	Alan Rafkin	Terri Collins & Bruce Reid Schaefer	October 10, 1989 (1989-10-10)	27.8[5]
Maddie and Jackie set their best friends up with each other and take them on a double date.
6	"Take My Kids, Please"	Alan Rafkin	Jerry Ross	October 24, 1989 (1989-10-24)	24.3[6]
After hearing her brother tell racist jokes, Maddie decides to make Jackie the godfather of her children.
7	"Bea Moves Out"	Alan Rafkin	Saul Turteltaub Bernie Orenstein	October 31, 1989 (1989-10-31)	23.3[7]
Bea wants to be on her own and moves out of Jackie's apartment.
8	"Almost Father Jackie"	Alan Rafkin	Sam Denoff & Marc Sheffler	November 7, 1989 (1989-11-07)	22.4[8]
Bea is upset that Jackie doesn't always act like a father.
9	"The Ralph Hearns Story"	Alan Rafkin	Manny Basanese	Unaired	N/A
10	"Operation Jackie"	Alan Rafkin	N/A	Unaired	N/A
Maddie is concerned when she learns that Jackie needs surgery.
11	"Bea's Night Out"	Alan Rafkin	N/A	Unaired	N/A
Jackie stays up all night waiting and worrying when Bea doesn't come home.
12	"Community Service"	Alan Rafkin	Paul Perlove	Unaired	N/A
Bea is sentenced to community service for her role in a school prank.

Controversy and cancellation

Chicken Soup was scheduled after the #1 primetime series Roseanne,^[9] but was canceled because it could not hold a large-enough percentage of the audience from its lead-in and because of controversy over inflammatory remarks by Mason during the New York City Mayoral elections.^[10]