''Homefront'' is an American television

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series created by former ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

'' producers

Lynn Marie Latham Lynn Marie Latham is an American television writer, producer, and showrunner. Her initial foray into writing for television was as a story editor for the series '' Berrenger's'' in 1985. That same year, Latham became a writer for the nighttime ser ...

and

Bernard Lechowick Bernard Lechowick is an American television writer and producer. He grew up in Mentor, Ohio and is a father of two sons, Richard Latham Lechowick and Vincent Latham Lechowick.Lorimar Television Lorimar Television, formerly Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969

. The show is set in the late 1940s in the fictional city of River Run,

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, and aired on

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from September 24, 1991, to April 26, 1993. The show's theme song, " Accentuate the Positive", was written by

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

and performed by

Jack Sheldon Beryl Cyril "Jack" Sheldon Jr. (November 30, 1931 – December 27, 2019) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He performed on ''The Merv Griffin Show'' and participated in episodes of the educational music television series ''Scho ...

Series overview

''Homefront'' begins in September 1945 and focuses on three families from different backgrounds, the Sloan, Metcalf and Davis families. The Sloans, Mike Sr. and Ruth (

Ken Jenkins Ken Jenkins (born August 28, 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the chief of medicine on the American comedy series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2009). He has also had notable appearances in many popular TV shows. Ea ...

and

Mimi Kennedy Mary Claire "Mimi" Kennedy (born September 25, 1948) is an American actress, author and activist. Best known for her roles in television sitcoms, Kennedy co-starred in numerous short-lived sitcoms before her role as Ruth Sloan on '' Homefront'' ...

), own a steel manufacturing factory initially responsible for making tank parts in the war. They are coming to grips with the death of their only son, Mike Jr., a soldier, and the arrival of his Italian war bride, Gina (Giuliana Santini), a Jewish Holocaust survivor. The Metcalfs include widow Anne (

Wendy Phillips Wendy Phillips (born January 2, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on television series including '' Falcon Crest'', '' Homefront'' and ''Promised Land''. Life and career Phillips was born in Brooklyn, New York. She made her scre ...

) and her three children, Hank (

David Newsom David Newsom (born March 10, 1962) is an American actor, producer and fine-art photographer. He is best known for his various critically acclaimed appearances in American television and for his work in 2005 and 2006 with Viggo Mortensen and Per ...

), Linda (

Jessica Steen Jessica Steen (born December 19, 1965) is a Canadian actress in both film and television, who may be best known for her recurring role as Lisa Stillman, on the CBC primetime drama series '' Heartland'' (2007–present). Personal life Jessica S ...

) and Jeff (

Kyle Chandler Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. He received critical acclaim for his performance as Eric Taylor in the NBC series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011), winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding L ...

). Anne and Linda are dealing with being displaced from their job at the plant for returning GIs, while Hank, a returning soldier, and Jeff, a baseball player for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, are involved in a love triangle with college student Sarah Brewer (

Alexandra Wilson Alexandra Muriel Wilson is an American actress. She is best known for playing the original Josie Watts on the soap opera '' Another World'' (1988–1991). She also starred in the television series '' Homefront'' (1991-1992) and the film '' Sm ...

). Meanwhile, Linda's friend, Ginger Szabo (

Tammy Lauren Tammy Lauren is an American film and television actress. She starred in the 1997 horror film '' Wishmaster.'' Career As a child actress, Lauren's acting debut was in the role of Melissa Turner on the one-season television series '' Who's Watch ...

) is shocked when her boyfriend Charlie Hailey (Harry O'Reilly) returns from the war with a British war-bride, Caroline (

Sammi Davis Samantha "Sammi" Davis (born 21 June 1964) is an English actress. She gained considerable praise for her performances in ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), as a teenage prostitute, and Ken Russell's ''The Rainbow'' (1989). She also had significant roles in ...

). Abe (

Dick Anthony Williams Richard Anthony Williams (August 9, 1934 – February 16, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his starring performances on Broadway in ''The Poison Tree'', ''What the Wine-Sellers Buy'' and ''Black Picture Show''. Williams also had ...

) and Gloria Davis (

Hattie Winston Hattie Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American film, television and Broadway actress. She is known for her roles as Margaret Wyborn on '' Becker'', Lucy Carmichael in '' Rugrats'', '' The Rugrats Movie'', and the spin off series '' All Gro ...

) are descendants from slaves and work for the Sloans as a chauffeur and housekeeper respectively. Their son Robert (Sterling Macer, Jr.) is a decorated veteran who served in Europe with the 761st Armored Battalion. He lands a job at Sloan Industries but is isolated and belittled by his racist co-workers. In the second season, he is joined by Perrette (

Perrey Reeves Perrey Reeves (born ) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her recurring role as Melissa Gold on the television series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' from 2004 to 2011 and Marissa Jones in the 2003 com ...

), his white French

war bride War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II. Allies of World War II, Allied servicemen ...

. Later cast members include Al Kahn (

John Slattery John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated 4 times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outsta ...

), a Jewish union organiser and possible former Communist sympathiser who seduces Anne, and Judy Owens (

Kelly Rutherford Kelly Rutherford (born November 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Generations'' (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera '' ...

), a widow working as a bartender who has an affair with Mike Sr. While the show received critical praise, it struggled in the ratings and was close to being cancelled after its first season. An April 11, 1992 issue of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' ran a S.O.S (Save Our Shows) campaign to save five series from cancellation, which included ''Homefront'', and two other period pieces (set in the 1950s), ''

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

'' on

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and ''

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'' 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 ...

. Of the five, ''Homefront'' received the most votes – 99,591 – and was subsequently renewed. Abigail Van Buren of ''

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'' also dedicated a column to the show, urging fans to write into the network to save it. However ratings did not improve in its second season, and after being moved around the schedule numerous times, the show was cancelled.

Cast and characters

as Jeff Metcalf * Sammi Davis-Voss as Caroline Hailey *

as Mike Sloan, Sr. *

as Ruth Sloan *

as Ginger Szabo *Sterling Macer, Jr. as Cpl. Robert Davis (season 1 & 1–4 of season 2) *

as Lt. Hank Metcalf (season 1) *Harry O'Reilly as Sgt. Charlie Hailey *

as Anne Metcalf Kahn *Giuliana Santini as Gina Sloan *

as Linda Metcalf *

as Abe Davis *

as Sarah Brewer ( 1–20) *

as Gloria Davis *

as Al Kahn ( 5+) *

as Judy Owen (season 2; recurring season 1)

Episodes

Season 1 (1991–92)

;Note:

Season 2 (1992–93)

;Note:

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama , state=collapsed 1990s American drama television series Television series by Lorimar Television Television series set in the 1940s Television shows set in Ohio 1991 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company television dramas