''The Faculty'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

starring Meredith Baxter as a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

administrator.Winslow, Harriet. "'The Faculty': Meredith Baxter, Vice Principal."

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

, 1996-03-10, p. Y3. The show aired on ABC from March to June 1996.Margulies, Lee. "TV Ratings: Two 'Frasiers' Help NBC to Lopsided Win."

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

, 1996-03-20, p. 9.Graham, Jefferson. "ABC's dramatic twist 'Murder' back minus Benzali; 'Noah' returns."

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

, 1996-05-20, p. 1D.

Premise

Baxter played Flynn Sullivan, a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

d vice-principal balancing the demands of her career with

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wi ...

hood. ''The Faculty'' was notable among school-based programs for its focus on activity in Hamilton Middle School's faculty lounge, rather than in the classrooms.Nichols, Judy. "Worth Noting on TV."

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

, 1996-03-12, p. 14. Co-creator Neil Thompson called it "an adult-based show," and said that the relationships among the school's staff were the central element. The premiere episode featured Sullivan's decision whether to expel a student for painting graffiti on a school wall that accused a teacher of having sex with a sheep.Rosenberg, Howard.

, 1996-03-13, p. 3.

Cast

* Meredith Baxter as Flynn Sullivan, school vice principal * Jenica Bergere as Amanda Duvall, new math teacher *

Peter Michael Goetz Peter Michael Goetz (born December 10, 1941) is an American actor. Early life and education Goetz was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Esther L. and Irving A. Goetz, a construction engineer.Nancy Lenehan Nancy Lenehan (born April 26, 1953) is an American actress who has appeared in film and television since the 1980s. She is best known for Audrey in ''Grace Under Fire'' (1993-1998), Kay Hickey in ''My Name Is Earl'' (2005-2008), and Angela in ' ...

as Daisy Skelnick, Herb's secretary *

Peter MacKenzie Peter Mackenzie (born January 19, 1961) is an American actor. Career He co-starred in films ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), ''Torch Song Trilogy'' (1988), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992) and '' Trumbo'' (2015). He is also known for his television ro ...

as Clark Edwards, a history teacher * Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. as Luis Jackson, a school nurse * Constance Shulman as Shelly Ray, Flynn's best friend and the school's most cynical teacher

Episodes

Background and production

Baxter said that the role of Flynn Sullivan appealed to her because it was a break with TV tradition, portraying an "intelligent, capable woman" who "isn't looked at a sexual object or as a target" and "doesn't need to be defended and protected and rescued." The

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was fo ...

described Flynn as "90 percent dignity, 10 percent dizziness." Baxter said she "would love to go with less dignity" but compared the character to Mary Richards: "everyone around her can be a little nuts, but there has to be some center there that viewers can believe in."Moore, Frazier. "Meredith Baxter No Woman in Distress in Her New 'Faculty.'"

, 1996-03-13, p. C4. In creating the show, Baxter knew she wanted to set it in a workplace as opposed to a family home, in contrast with her previous work (such as the hit 1980s sitcom ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

''). She and her colleagues considered settings including a fashion magazine, an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

and a

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

before deciding on a school. Baxter was also one of the show's executive producers, along with Thompson, whose parents and sister were teachers, and Gary Murphy.Bianculli, David. "In Charge Of "The Faculty": New Comedy Puts Meredith Baxter In Authority Role On Both Sides of Camera." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1996-03-14, p. 41.

Response

''The Faculty'' premiered on Wednesday, March 13, 1996 as a midseason replacement.McCabe, Bruce. "Inside the teachers' lounge." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', 1996-03-10, p. 4. Reviews of the show were generally unfavorable.

Matt Roush Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

of ''

'' said ''The Faculty'' "fails the critical tests of originality and pungency," although he called Baxter the show's "one unmistakable asset."Roush, Matt. "Uninspired 'Faculty' goes by rote." ''

'', 1996-03-13, p. 3D.

Howard Rosenberg Howard Anthony Rosenberg (born June 10, 1942) is an American television critic. He worked at ''The Louisville Times'' from 1968 through 1978 and then worked at the ''Los Angeles Times'' for 25 years where he won a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

of the ''

'' said the sitcom was "of light merit," comparing its characters unfavorably to the funnier school personalities of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. Frederic Biddle of ''

'' was particularly negative, calling Baxter a failure as a physical comedian and decrying "the stick-figure boobies who pass for supporting characters."Biddle, Frederic. Faculty' has a lot to learn." ''

'', 1996-03-13, p. 78. In contrast, ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''s John Freeman praised the show, calling its

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

"notably strong" and naming Shulman and Goetz as stand-outs.Freeman, John. "Baxter, cast have distinct faculty for sitcom humor". ''

, 1996-03-13, p. E7. ''The Faculty'' won its time slot with its premiere episode, placing 34th in the weekly

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faculty, The 1990s American school television series 1990s American sitcoms 1996 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Middle school television series