''Brand New Life'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

and Don Murray and produced by

Walt Disney Television Disney General Entertainment Content, doing business as Walt Disney Television, is an American entertainment company that oversees television content and assets owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Forming the company's General Enter ...

and

NBC Productions Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predece ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

as part of ''

The Magical World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' during the 1989–90 television season. The series originally premiered as a two-hour television movie pilot entitled ''Brand New Life: The Honeymooners'' on September 18, 1989, as part of ''

NBC Monday Night at the Movies ''The NBC Monday Movie'' was a television anthology series of films that debuted on February 4, 1963 (in the middle of the 1962-63 season). It was referred to as ''Monday Night at the Movies'' prior to the mid-1980s. Contrary to popular contemp ...

'' and its ratings success led to the commissioning of a weekly series. Afterwards, the show's regular timeslot was on Sunday nights on NBC's ''The Magical World of Disney'' from October 1, 1989, to April 15, 1990. The series also marked Barbara Eden's first television series since '' Harper Valley PTA'' (1981–1982) and is also her third collaboration with Don Murray, having previously starred together in the television films ''

Return of the Rebels ''Return of the Rebels'' (working title ''The Eagle Rock Rebels Ride Again'') is a 1981 American made-for-television biker drama film starring Barbara Eden, Don Murray, Christopher Connelly, Robert Mandan, Jamie Farr and Patrick Swayze. It origi ...

'' (1981) and ''

The Stepford Children ''The Stepford Children'' is a 1987 American made-for-television horror science fiction thriller film inspired by the Ira Levin novel ''The Stepford Wives''. It was directed by Alan J. Levi with a screenplay by Bill Bleich and starring Barbara ...

'' (1987). The theme song "Brand New Life" was written by

Steve Tyrell ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

and performed by

Jill Colucci Jill Colucci (born 1949) is an American songwriter and vocalist. She initially rose to prominence in 1988, singing the main scores to the film ''Mystic Pizza''. She sang the ABC promo campaigns ''Something's Happening'' (the 1987 version with B ...

Synopsis

Barbara McCray (Barbara Eden) is a struggling divorced mother of three teenagers working part-time as a waitress while studying to become a court reporter, who meets and marries Roger Gibbons (Don Murray), a wealthy attorney and widower with three teenagers of his own. Together, they set up housekeeping in his Bel Air home and stories follow the comedic and dramatic incidents of blending two families with contrasting social backgrounds.

Cast

as Mrs. Barbara McCray Gibbons * Don Murray as Mr. Roger Gibbons * Shawnee Smith as Amanda Gibbons *

Byron Thames Byron Thames (born April 23, 1969) is an American television and film actor and musician. Early life Born in Jackson, Mississippi, his family moved shortly after his birth to New Orleans, Louisiana. He moved to Hollywood, California, with his m ...

as Laird Gibbons *

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom '' What I Like About You'' (2002–06). In 2012, she starre ...

as Ericka McCray *

Alison Sweeney Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she played under co ...

as Christy McCray *

David Tom David Tom is an American actor, most famous for portraying Billy Abbott on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' from 1999 to 2002, and again in 2014. Career In 1993, Tom was nominated for two Young Artist Awards for his roles in '' ...

as Bart McCray * Eric Foster as Barlow Gibbons

Episode list

TV movie pilot

Series

References

External links

* (pilot) * (series) * (pilot) * {{Amg movie, 124166, Brand New Life
''Brand New Life'' at epguides.com
1989 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings 1980s American comedy-drama television series 1990s American comedy-drama television series NBC original programming Television films as pilots Television series by Disney Television series about families Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Los Angeles English-language television shows