| Creator: | Jane Anderson |
| Starring: | James Naughton Royana Black Steve Vinovich Miriam Flynn Bryan Cranston |
| Genre: | Sitcom |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 9 (2 unaired) |
| Network: | CBS |
| Company: | GTG Entertainment |
Raising Miranda is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1988 as part of its fall lineup. Starring James Naughton and Royana Black, it depicted the struggles of a father and his teenage daughter to adjust to their circumstances after their wife and mother abandons their family.[1] [2]
Donald Marshak, a building contractor in Racine, Wisconsin, suddenly finds himself a single parent when his wife Bonnie attends a self-improvement class and abruptly abandons him and their smart, sensitive 15-year-old daughter Miranda, in order to go "find herself."[1] [2] The un-domestic Donald is forced to serve as both father and mother to a distressed teenage girl.[1] [2] [3]
Marcine Lundquist is Miranda's lifelong best friend and confidante[1] [2] and Jack Miller is a new transfer student Miranda has befriended at school.[1] [2] Joan and Bob Hoodenpyle are the Marshaks' noodly neighbors and friends.[1] [2] [3] Miranda's wacky, unemployed Uncle Russell is Donald's brother-in-law and buddy and lives in a van permanently parked in the Marshaks' driveway.[1] [2] [3]
Despite its rather grim premise — a wife and mother abandoning her family — the show was billed as a situation comedy, the humor being derived from Donald Marshak's challenges in parenting after the departure of his wife.
Portraying Donald's brother-in-law and Miranda's uncle Russell, Bryan Cranston appeared in his first regular primetime television role in Raising Miranda.[3]
Raising Miranda received generally poor reviews from critics.[3]
Raising Miranda aired on CBS on Saturday nights at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time,[1] [2] up against NBC's hit sitcom Amen. It premiered on November 5, 1988.[1] [2] After seven episodes averaged a poor 6.0 rating, CBS cancelled the series. Its last episode was broadcast on December 31, 1988,[1] [2] leaving two of its nine episodes unaired.
SOURCES [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows