| Creator: | Miriam Trogdon |
| Director: | Andy Cadiff James Widdoes |
| Starring: | Delta Burke Bill Engvall Beth Grant Earl Holliman Gigi Rice Nancy Giles |
| Opentheme: | "Climb That Mountain High" by Reba McEntire |
| Country: | United States |
| Company: | Perseverance Inc. Bungalow 78 Productions Universal Television |
| Location: | Universal Studios, Universal City, California |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 17 |
| Executive Producer: | Barry Kemp Delta Burke |
| Producer: | Jay Kleckner Lisa Albert |
| Runtime: | 22 minutes |
| Channel: | ABC |
Delta is an American sitcom television series starring Delta Burke that aired on ABC from September 15, 1992, to August 25, 1993. It was a new starring vehicle for Burke, as her return to television following her dismissal from the CBS sitcom Designing Women in the spring of 1991.
Burke portrays Delta Bishop, a young woman with dreams of writing and singing country music. She became a hairstylist at Mona's House of Hair, married Charlie Bishop and thought she had found happiness. After eight years of marriage, she became restless: she was eager to follow in the footsteps of her childhood idol, Patsy Cline, and become a country music star. She quits her job, leaves her husband and friends behind, and travels to Nashville, Tennessee. There, she finds an apartment over the garage of a home owned by her cousin, Lavonne Overton (Gigi Rice), and her husband, Buck (Bill Engvall). She also finds a job waiting tables at The Green Lantern, a local bar that hosts an amateur night which she believes that if she could sing her songs there, it could jumpstart her career.
Burke, most popular for her role as Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women, reportedly utilized her own singing talents for the role of Bishop, and dyed her familiar brunette hair blonde to play the role. The theme song was "Climb That Mountain High" by Reba McEntire which was not a charted single; the tune was featured on Reba's 1990 MCA album Rumor Has It.
The sitcom premiered September 15, 1992, to healthy ratings following Roseanne. It then moved to Thursday nights opposite FOX's The Simpsons, and ratings began to sink. It was pulled from the schedule in December 1992 and returned to ABC the following spring 1993 for six episodes before finally being canceled. In an attempt to infuse ratings, the show was moved back to Tuesdays after Roseanne, and Burke brought her brunette hair back that spring (even refilming the opening credits to correspond with the change in hair color), in the sake of familiarity, but these changes proved to be too little, too late. It would rank 72nd for the season with an average 9.6 rating.[1]
| Dates | Broadcast time (ET) | |
|---|---|---|
| September 15, 1992 | Tuesday 9:30-10:00 pm | |
| September 17, 1992 - December 17, 1992 | Thursday 8:00-8:30 pm | |
| April 6, 1993 - April 27, 1993 | Tuesday 9:30-10:00 pm | |
| July 28, 1993 - August 25, 1993 | Wednesday 9:30-10:00 pm |
Earl Holliman was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film at the 50th Golden Globe Awards in 1992.