''The Mommies'' 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 ...

television series created by Terry Grossman and Kathy Speer 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 ...

from September 18, 1993, to June 10, 1995. NBC originally canceled ''The Mommies'' after one season along with other Saturday night sitcoms ''

Café Americain ''Café Americain'' is an American television sitcom starring Valerie Bertinelli that aired on NBC from September 18, 1993, to February 8, 1994, with two leftover episodes shown on May 28, 1994. It was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, ...

'' and ''

Nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

''. Due to increased ratings during summer reruns, NBC renewed the series for midseason with some tweaks in format (as well as its title shortened to simply ''Mommies''). However, the ratings dropped again in season 2, and the series was pulled in the spring of 1995, with its final episode being burned off over the summer.

Synopsis

The series was loosely based on the real-life personas of Caryl Kristensen and Marilyn Kentz (aka The Mommies) as suburban neighbors and their families in

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village na ...

. Episodes focused on how they dealt with parenting and modern-day issues. The duo also co-produced and co-wrote the series. Neighbors "Perfect Mom" Barb Ballantine (

Julia Duffy Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in television, appearing in minor guest roles before being cast in the role of Penny Davis in the series '' The Doctors'' fr ...

) and "Mr. Mom" Tom Booker (

Jere Burns Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...

) were introduced in the middle of season one with Duffy becoming a series regular. Season two brought several changes to the series. Jere Burns was upgraded to series regular, Paul Kellogg was recast, Marilyn got divorced, and Barb's never before seen husband (played by fellow ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, ...

'' alum

Peter Scolari Peter Thomas Scolari (September 12, 1955 – October 22, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Michael Harris on '' Newhart'' (1984–1990), Henry Desmond on ''Bosom Buddies'' (1980–1982) and Wayne Szalinski on ''Hon ...

) became recurring. Also laugh track usage was reduced.

Cast

Main

* Caryl Kristensen - Caryl Kellogg * Marilyn Kentz - Marilyn Larson *

Robin Thomas Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin ** Forest r ...

(season 1) and

Lane Davies Lane Davies (born July 31, 1951) is an American actor. Personal life Davies was born in Dalton, Georgia, the son of Emily and Bill Davies. He has three brothers—Bruce, George, and Whit. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with ...

(season 2) - Paul Kellogg, Caryl's husband * Ashley Peldon - Kasey Larson, Marilyn & Jack's daughter * Shiloh Strong - Adam Larson, Marilyn & Jack's son *

Sam Gifaldi Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictiona ...

- Danny Kellogg, Caryl & Paul's son *

Ryan Merriman Ryan Earl Merriman (born April 10, 1983) is an American actor. He began his career at the age of ten and has appeared in several feature films and television shows. He is best known for a handful of Disney Channel original movies and for portr ...

- Blake Kellogg, Caryl & Paul's son *

David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries '' The Winds of War'' and '' War and Remembrance'', and he was a frequent tel ...

- Jack Larson, Marilyn's husband *

- Barb Ballantine *

- Tom Booker (1994-1995: recurring, season 1; main, season 2)

Recurring

Jennifer Blanc Jennifer Blanc (born Jennifer Tara) is an American actress. She was born in New York City. She is married to actor Michael Biehn. Personal life Blanc, who goes by Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, is married to Michael Biehn Michael Connell Biehn ( ; ...

- Tiffany (1993-1994) *

- Ken Ballantine, Barb's husband * Courtney Peldon - Beth Booker, Tom's daughter (1994-1995) *

Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American former actor, writer, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, on the family sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle''. He also played Ross ...

- Jason Booker, Tom's son (1994-1995)

Episodes

Season 1 (1993–94)

Season 2 (1995)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mommies, The 1990s American sitcoms 1993 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings English-language television shows NBC original programming Television shows set in Sonoma County, California Television series by CBS Studios