''Tattingers'' (later ''Tattinger's'') is an American comedy-drama television series that aired by the

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 ...

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

from October 26, 1988, to April 26, 1989, as part of its 1988 fall lineup. After failing in the Nielsen ratings as an hour-long program, the plot and characters were briefly revived in the spring of 1989 as the half-hour

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 ...

''Nick & Hillary''. An unaired episode, "Screwball," aired on

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

on April 4, 1999.

Synopsis

''Tattingers'' is the story of a divorced couple, Nick and Hillary Tattinger (

Stephen Collins Stephen Weaver Collins (born October 1, 1947) is an American former actor and writer. He is known for playing Eric Camden on the television series '' 7th Heaven'' from 1996 to 2007. Afterwards, Collins played the roles of Dayton King on the ABC ...

and Blythe Danner), along with their 2 daughters: Nina and Winnifred. They had remained co-owner partners in a posh

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

restaurant until Nick was shot by a drug dealer, which prompted them to sell the restaurant and move to Paris. Their successors, however, proved incapable of properly running the restaurant, so Nick reclaimed the restaurant from them to give it another go. Real-life Manhattan celebrities often appeared in cameo roles as themselves as Nick's exclusive clientele.

Cast

as Nick Tattinger * Blythe Danner as Hillary Tattinger *

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...

as Sid Wilbur * Roderick Cook as Louis Chatham * Zach Grenier as Sonny Franks (Tattingers) *Patrice Colihan as Nina Tattinger *Chay Lentin as Winnifred Tattinger *Thomas Quinn as O'Malley (Tattingers) *

Mary Beth Hurt Mary Beth Hurt (''née'' Supringer; born September 25, 1946) is an American actress of stage and screen. She is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actress. Notable films in which Hurt has appeared include '' Interiors'' (1978), ''The World Accord ...

as Sheila Bradley * Chris Elliott as Spin (Nick & Hillary)

Episodes

Reception

This program was a ratings failure and was cancelled in January 1989. However, NBC was apparently unwilling to give up totally on the characters or the concept, and the program was revamped into a half-hour sitcom, ''Nick & Hillary''. This new series premiered on April 20, 1989, but proved even less successful than its predecessor and was cancelled after only two episodes.

References

General *Brooks, Tim, and Marsh, Earle, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present'' is a trade paperback reference work by the American television researchers Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, first published by Ballantine Books in 1979. History Th ...

'' {{MTM Enterprises NBC original programming 1980s American comedy-drama television series 1988 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings English-language television shows Television series by MTM Enterprises Television series created by Tom Fontana Television series set in restaurants Television shows set in New York City