Ann Jillian (TV series)

Ann Jillian is an American sitcom television series created by Deidre Fay and Stuart Wolpert, starring Ann Jillian that aired on NBC from November 30, 1989, to August 19, 1990.^[1]

Ann Jillian
Series premiere print advertisement
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Deidre Fay Stuart Wolpert
Starring	Ann Jillian Lisa Rieffel Amy Lynne Zachary Rosencrantz Noble Willingham Chantal Rivera-Batisse Cynthia Harris
Composer	Ray Colcord
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (3 unaired)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	9-J Inc. Dahn Tahn Productions Castle Rock Entertainment
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	November 30, 1989 (1989-11-30) – August 19, 1990 (1990-08-19)

Plot

After the death of her firefighter husband, Ann McNeil, an ex-Radio City Music Hall Rockette, and her 14-year-old daughter Lucy, move from New York to a small northern California village named Marvel, where Ann and her husband went for their honeymoon. Lucy is apprehensive of her new surroundings in a new town and at first misses the fast-paced atmosphere of New York City, but she begins to adjust and makes new friends. Ann is also learning to adjust as well as she starts a new job at a gift shop run by Mrs. Hufnagel. The teens that Lucy hangs out with are Kaz, Melissa, and Robin. Kaz's well-meaning grandfather, Duke, helps Ann and Lucy in their new surroundings.^[2]

Cast and characters

• Ann Jillian as Ann McNeil
• Lisa Rieffel as Lucy McNeil
• Noble Willingham as Duke Howard
• Cynthia Harris as Sheila Hufnagel
• Zachary Rosencrantz as Kaz Sumner
• Chantal Rivera-Batisse as Melissa Santos
• Amy Lynne as Robin Winkle

Production

The pilot for the series was produced in early 1989, when it was called The Ann Jillian Show.^[3] Retitled Ann Jillian, it premiered as a series on NBC on November 30, 1989, running for 7 episodes before it was put on hiatus in January. The series returned briefly in August 1990, running three additional episodes before being cancelled after a final broadcast on August 19. Three further episodes had been produced, but never aired.

At the time the pilot for the series was produced, Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced the show, also had another pilot produced for NBC named The Seinfeld Chronicles starring stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld. When it tested poorly, and Ann Jillian tested more positively, Castle Rock committed to Jillian's series, which was picked up for a full season order. However, the show would only last one season, whereas the subsequently re-titled Seinfeld lasted for nine seasons, ending in 1998, becoming among the most successful sitcoms in television history.^[4]

Episodes

No.	Title [5]	Directed by [5]	Written by [6]	Original release date	Prod. code [5]
1	"California Dreamin'"	John Bowab	Deidre Fay & Stuart Wolpert	November 30, 1989 (1989-11-30)	03-0101
2	"Interrupted Melody"	John Bowab	Deidre Fay & Stuart Wolpert	December 3, 1989 (1989-12-03)	03-0102
3	"Love-15"	John Bowab	Efrem Seeger	December 10, 1989 (1989-12-10)	03-0105
4	"Since I Don't Have You"	John Bowab	Lyla Oliver & Patrick Cleary	December 17, 1989 (1989-12-17)	03-0108
5	"Buddy System"	John Bowab	Stephen Neigher	December 31, 1989 (1989-12-31)	03-0103
6	"Career Week" "Shoots and Ladders"[citation needed]	John Bowab	Barbara Hall	January 7, 1990 (1990-01-07)	03-0107
7	"The Crush"	John Bowab	Dick Bensfield & Jack Elinson	January 20, 1990 (1990-01-20)	03-0109
8	"Run for the Roses"	John Bowab	Story by : Lyla Oliver & Patrick Cleary Teleplay by : Lyla Oliver & Patrick Cleary and David S. Cohen & Roger Schulman	August 5, 1990 (1990-08-05)	03-0111
9	"Old Friends"	John Bowab	Shelly Zellman	August 12, 1990 (1990-08-12)	03-0112
10	"It's a Mall World After All"	John Bowab	Tom Straw	August 19, 1990 (1990-08-19)	03-0113
Note: This episode, the last produced, effectively served as a "pilot" to a rebooted version of the series – from this episode forward, the focus of the series would have shifted to Ann McNeil's new job as the activities director of the local Marvel shopping mall and the characters she worked with there.[7]
11	"Good Citizen"	John Bowab	Stephen Hattman & Stuart Wolpert	Unaired	03-0104
12	"A Housewarming"	John Bowab	Deidre Fay & Stuart Wolpert	Unaired	03-0106
13	"The Anniversary"	John Bowab	Lyla Oliver	Unaired	03-0110

Reception

Howard Rosenberg of Los Angeles Times reviewed the comedy negatively, quipping that the series "has more Anns than laughs."^[8]

References

1. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). "Ann Jillian (Situation Comedy)". The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9 ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
2. Vernon Scott (November 27, 1989). "New, Improved and Funnier Ann Jillian Launches TV Assault". Los Angeles Times. United Press International. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
3. Diane Haithman (March 24, 1989). "TV Pilots Ready for an Air War". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
4. Freeman, Marc (May 13, 2018). "'Seinfeld' Finale at 20: Hidden Tales From the Vault of a Comedian's Bizarro World". Encyclopedia of Things. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 16, 2018. Castle Rock, which owned the series, had two pilots at NBC that year: Seinfeld and one with Ann Jillian. Whereas Seinfeld tested poorly, Ann Jillian tested through the roof and earned a 13-episode commitment. Castle Rock decided to focus on that.
5. From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Ann Jillian"]"". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
6. "Ann Jillian - WGA Directory".
7. Vincent Terrace (February 12, 2013). "The Ann Jillian Show". Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012. McFarland. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-476-60249-3.
8. Howard Rosenberg (November 30, 1989). "TV REVIEWS : More Anns, Fewer Laughs in NBC's 'Ann Jillian'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-06-17.

External links

• Ann Jillian at IMDb