Thirtysomething

Thirtysomething was an ABC network drama series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Hershkovitz that premiered on September 29, 1987.

The show's cast consisted of actors Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Timothy Bustfield, Patricia Wettig, Melanie Mayron, Peter Horton and Polly Draper.

During the series' run, it was nominated for 41 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 13 of them. It also won two Golden Globes as well.

On May 28, 1991, the show ended after 4 seasons and 88 episodes partly due to low ratings and partly due to the desire of the creators & cast to move on to new projects.

Plot

"Thirtysomething" is about a group of friends learns to negotiate their prior involvement with the early 1970s counterculture as young adults, in contrast to the yuppie lifestyle which dominated American culture during the 1980s

Although seen as an ensemble drama, the show revolved around husband and wife Michael Steadman (Ken Olin) & Hope Murdoch (Mel Harris) and their baby Janie. Michael's cousin is photographer Melissa Steadman (Melanie Mayron) who used to date his college friend Gary Shepherd Ph.D. (Peter Horton) who eventually marries Susannah (Patricia Kalember).

Michael's business parter is Elliot Weston (Timothy Busfield), who has a troubled marriage with his wife Nancy (Patricia Wettig), a painter. Hope's childhood friend is local politician Ellyn Warren (Polly Draper).

Cast

Ken Olin as Michael Steadman
Mel Harris as Hope Murdoch Steadman
Timothy Busfield as Elliot Francis Weston
Patricia Wettig as Nancy Krigger Weston
Melanie Mayron as Melissa Steadman
Polly Draper as Ellyn Warren
Peter Horton as Professor Gary Shepherd
Luke Rossi as Ethan Weston
Patricia Kalember as Susannah Hart [seasons 3-4]
David Clennon as Miles Drentell [seasons 3-4]
Terry Kinney as Steve Woodman [season 1]
Richard Gilliland as Jeffrey Milgrom [season 2]
Erich Anderson as Billy Sidel [season 4]

Accolades

During its run on the air, "Thirtysomething" was nominated for 41 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 13 of them & also won two Golden Globe awards. In 1997, "The Go Between" and "Samurai Ad Man" were listed as number 22 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time."

The show was also placed the number 19 spot on "TV Guide′s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" in 2002, and in 2013, TV Guide placed it as No. 10 in its list of "The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time."

Emmys

1988 Winners

Drama Series
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
Writing in a Drama Series — Paul Haggis and Marshall Herskovitz (episode: "Business as Usual")
Guest Performer in a Drama Series — Shirley Knight (episode "The Parents Are Coming")

It also received the following nominations in 1988:

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Polly Draper
Editing for a Series — Single Camera Production (Victor Du Bois and Richard Freeman for *episode "Therapy")
Main Title Theme Music
Costuming for a Series (Marilyn Matthews and Patrick R. Norris for episode "Pilot") and *Marjorie K. Chan, Patrick R. Norris, Anne Hartley and Julie Glick for episode "Whose Forest is This?")

1989 Winners:

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
Writing in a Drama Series — Joseph Dougherty (episode: "First Day/Last Day")
Editing for a Series — Single Camera Production (episode: "First Day/Last Day")
Costuming for a Series (episode: "We'll Meet Again")

It also received the following nominations in 1989:

Drama Series
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Jack Gilford for episode "The Mike Van Dyke Show")
Directing in a Drama Series (Scott Winant for episode "We'll Meet Again")
Writing in a Drama Series (Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for episode "The Mike Van Dyke Show")
Art Direction for a Series (Brandy Alexander and Mary Ann Biddle for episode "Michael *Writes A Story")
Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (Clark Conrad, Tim Philben, Scott Millan and Will Yarbroug for episode "Michael Writes A Story")
Special Visual Effects (episode: "Michael Writes a Story")
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series (Carol Pershing for episode "We'll Meet Again")

1990 Winners

Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Wettig
Directing in a Drama Series (episode: "The Go-Between") (tied with Equal Justice).

It also received the following nominations in 1990:

Drama Series
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Timothy Busfield
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Melanie Mayron
Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Frechette for "Strangers")
Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Shirley Knight for "Arizona")
Writing in a Drama Series (episode: "The Go-Between")
Art Direction for a Series (Brandy Alexander and Mary Ann Biddle for episode "Michael's Campaign")
Hairstyling for a Series (Carol Pershing for episode "Strangers")
Costuming for a Series (Patrick R. Norris and Julie Glick for episode "Strangers")

1991 Winners