The People Next Door (American TV series)

The People Next Door is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from September 18 until October 16, 1989, as part of its Fall 1989 schedule.

The People Next Door
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Wes Craven Bud Wiggins
Developed by	Steve Sunshine Madeline Sunshine
Written by	Wes Craven Madeline Sunshine Steven Sunshine Bud Wiggins Bruce Wagne
Directed by	J.D. Lobue
Starring	Jaclyn Bernstein Mary Gross Jeffrey Jones Leslie Jordan Christina Pickles Chance Quinn Jackie Swanson
Opening theme	"The People Next Door" performed by Dr. John
Composers	Bill Maxwell Lou Pardini
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (5 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	Wes Craven Madeline Sunshine Steve Sunshine
Producer	Mark Grossan
Cinematography	Richard Hissong
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	The Sunshines, Inc. Wes Craven Films Lorimar Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 18 (1989-09-18) – October 16, 1989 (1989-10-16)

Synopsis

Set in Covington, Ohio, The People Next Door starred Jeffrey Jones, previously regarded as a character actor, as cartoonist Walter Kellogg, a man whose imagination was so vivid that many of the things which he imagined materialized immediately.^[1] His wife Abigail was portrayed by Mary Gross.^[1] They had two children, 14-year-old Matthew and 11-year-old Aurora. Abigail's sister "Cissy" (Christina Pickles) was also a regular, as was meddlesome mailman Truman Fipps (Leslie Jordan).^[1] The character of Debbie was played by Jackie Swanson.

The series proved to be a ratings disaster, and was cancelled after only five of ten of its produced episodes aired.^[1] Early critic reviews called the show "risky" for survival, and the series was the first to be cancelled by CBS in the fall of 1989.^[1] When it made its premiere, ratings started off well, but would decline in significant numbers as each week went on, leading to CBS pulling the plug.^[1]

Cast

• Jeffrey Jones as Walter Kellogg
• Mary Gross as Abigail MacIntyre Kellogg
• Jaclyn Bernstein as Aurora Kellogg
• Chance Quinn as Matthew Kellogg
• Leslie Jordan as Truman Fipps
• Christina Pickles as Cissy MacIntyre

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"I Do, I Do"	J.D. Lobue	Story by : Wes Craven & Bud Wiggins and Madeline Sunshine & Steven Sunshine Teleplay by : Madeline Sunshine & Steven H. Sunshine	September 18, 1989 (1989-09-18)
2	"Town Without Pity"	J.D. Lobue	Madeline Sunshine & Steve Sunshine	September 25, 1989 (1989-09-25)
3	"Dream Date"	J.D. Lobue	Lee Aronsohn	October 2, 1989 (1989-10-02)
4	"You Show Me Yours..."	J.D. Loube	Mark Masuoka	October 9, 1989 (1989-10-09)
5	"Happy Birthday, Baby"	J.D. Loube	Bob Tischler	October 16, 1989 (1989-10-16)
6	"Halloween"	N/A	N/A	Unaired
7	"Make Room for Abby"	N/A	N/A	Unaired
8	"Jealousy Story"	N/A	N/A	Unaired
9	"House and Home"	N/A	N/A	Unaired
10	"No ZZZ's"	N/A	N/A	Unaired