''Ann Jillian'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

television series created by Deidre Fay and Stuart Wolpert, starring

Ann Jillian Ann Jillian (born Ann Jura Nauseda; January 29, 1950) is an American former actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry waitress Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom ''It's a Liv ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from November 30, 1989, to August 19, 1990.

Plot

After the death of her firefighter husband, Ann McNeil, an ex-Radio City Music Hall Rockette, and her 14-year-old daughter Lucy, move from New York to a small northern California village named Marvel, where Ann and her husband went for their honeymoon. Lucy is apprehensive of her new surroundings in a new town and at first misses the fast-paced atmosphere of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but she begins to adjust and makes new friends. Ann is also learning to adjust as well as she starts a new job at a gift shop run by Mrs. Hufnagel. The teens that Lucy hangs out with are Kaz, Melissa, and Robin. Kaz's well-meaning grandfather, Duke, helps Ann and Lucy in their new surroundings.

Cast and characters

as Ann McNeil *

Lisa Rieffel Lisa Rieffel (born January 12, 1975) is an American actress and singer. Life and career Rieffel was born in Denville, New Jersey. As a child actress, she starred on Broadway and at The Kennedy Center in '' Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure''. ...

as Lucy McNeil *

Noble Willingham Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. (August 31, 1931 – January 17, 2004) was an American actor who appeared in more than thirty films and in many television shows, including a stint opposite Chuck Norris in ''Walker, Texas Ranger''. Early life Will ...

as Duke Howard *

Cynthia Harris Cynthia Lee Harris (August 9, 1934 – October 3, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' and the sitcom ''Mad About You''. Life and career C ...

as Sheila Hufnagel *Zachary Rosencrantz as Kaz Sumner *Chantal Rivera-Batisse as Melissa Santos *Amy Lynne as Robin Winkle

Production

The pilot for the series was produced in early 1989, when it was called ''The Ann Jillian Show''. Retitled ''Ann Jillian'', it premiered as a series on NBC on November 30, 1989, running for 7 episodes before it was put on hiatus in January. The series returned briefly in August 1990, running three additional episodes before being cancelled after a final broadcast on August 19. Three further episodes had been produced, but never aired. At the time the pilot for the series was produced,

Castle Rock Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick (September 8, 1947 – February 27, 2025) and Alan Horn. Histo ...

, which produced the show, also had another pilot produced for NBC named '' The Seinfeld Chronicles'' starring stand-up comedian

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

. When it tested poorly, and ''Ann Jillian'' tested more positively, Castle Rock Entertainment committed to Jillian's series, which was picked up for a full season order. However, the show would only last one season, whereas the subsequently re-titled ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' lasted for nine seasons, ending in 1998, becoming among the most successful sitcoms in television history.

Episodes

Reception

Howard Rosenberg of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reviewed the comedy negatively, quipping that the series "has more Anns than laughs."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 96533 1980s American multi-camera sitcoms 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1989 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings American English-language television shows Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series by Castle Rock Entertainment Television shows set in California NBC sitcoms