That Was a Show?

It’s been a while since the last TWAS episode came out, so Brynn, Aaron and Barry have a little chat to check-in with fans…announce the sitcom that will be featured in the next regular episode...and do a little trivia game too! Visit our website! thatwasashow.com Follow us on Instagram @thatwasashow Merch: redbubble.com/people/thatwasashow Hosted by: Brynn Byrne @brynnabyrne Aaron Yeger @aaronyege...

George & Leo WAS a show. Bob Newhart played George—which is his actual first name in real life, thus keeping up the tradition of naming every single show he did after himself. George is the owner of a charming little bookshop on the equally charming little island of Martha’s Vineyard. His son Ted, played by Jason Batement, is engaged to be married to Casey, played first by Bess Meyer and then...

The Duck Factory WAS a show. The year was 1984 and NBC was entering their sitcom golden age. A young cartoonist from the midwest moves to LA to take a job at a decaying old animation studio, mainly known for their show Dippy Duck. That young cartoonist’s name is Skip Tarkenton, and he was played by none other than Jim Carrey in his first major role! Brynn, Aaron and Barry attempt to illustrate why...

Partners WAS a show. This short-lived sitcom is about two young architects in San Francisco, Bob (Jon Cryer) and Owen (Tate Donovan.) Off the top, Owen gets engaged to Alicia (Maria Pitillo), and his best friend Bob competes for attention as something of a third wheel. It’s a fairly standard hangout show about dating and friendship dynamics with vague references to work, but with slightly saltier...

Flying Blind WAS a show. It ran on Fox from September, 1992 to May, 1993, lasting a total of 22 episodes. It’s the story of a relationship between young, uptight and somewhat nebish Neil (Corey Parker) who lives at home with his parents, and the free-wheeling and sexually liberated Alicia (Téa Leoni) who lives with cool New York artist-loft party types. It features cameos from a veritable revolvin...

1989 saw the release of one of the most memorable cinematic comedies of all time, the John Hughes classic Uncle Buck starring the incomparable John Candy and Macaulay Culkin. A mere one year later, a sitcom version was released featuring practically none of the original cast. The replacements try their darnedest to replicate the unique charm of the film, which is of course the story of three kids...

For the 2023 very special holiday episode, the TWAS team watches Christmas episodes from three classic shows: a very successful show (Family Matters), a failed or forgotten show (Soul Man) and a wild card episode of a show with a particularly unusual format (The Nanny)...and learn more than they ever wanted to know about Stefan Urquelle. Join Brynn, Aaron and Barry as they usher in a nice relaxing...

Hardball WAS a show. This baseball themed workplace sitcom aired on Fox in the fall of 1994 and centred around the exploits of the fictional American League team The Pioneers. Sitting on the bench for this one were some actors who’d go on to be some real heavy hitters themselves, like Bruce Greenwood, Mike Starr, Phill Lewis, Joe Rogan and Steve “Kenny Bania” Hytner.  Join Brynn, Aaron and Barry a...

Going Places WAS a show. In fact, it was part of ABC’s famous TGIF lineup during the 1990 to 1991 season, and lasted just 19 episodes. It was about two brothers from Chicago who move to LA to take jobs as TV comedy writers, and move into a house owned by the show’s producer. Also living with them are two women who also write for the show. Hijinks ensue? Going Places stood out as a workplace comedy...

Soul Man WAS a show. It ran from April 15, 1997 to May 26, 1998 for a total of 25 episodes. Starring official Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd, it’s the story of Mike Weber, a widowed Episcopal priest and single father of four children in Royal Oak, Michigan. It takes place in the Home Improvement Sitcom Universe due to crossover episodes featuring Al Borland, and also features occasional guest appearanc...

1996 was a solid year for hangout shows about Gen-Xers. Boston Common is about Boyd and Wyleen Pritchett, a brother and sister from Virginia (played by Anthony Clark and Hedy Burress) who move to Boston. It lasted two years and 32 episodes. Wyleen’s there to attend college, and Boyd is just driving her there as a favour. The twist is that he stays because he meets Joy Byrnes (played by Traylor How...

1987 saw the release of the Academy Award winning film Harry and the Hendersons. That Oscar was for makeup and hairstyling, which makes sense when you consider that the star of the story is in fact a bigfoot. It was adapted into a sitcom a mere four years later. Both were produced by Amblin Entertainment, best known as the Spielberg-helmed production company responsible for another 1980s family-me...

The next episode of That Was a Show? is coming October 1st. Listen to this fun Radio Gizmo network promo to find out what it is!

On February 26, 1996 CBS pulled off quite possibly the greatest crossover marketing stunt in sitcom history with “Liz Night.” Four different prime time shows featured an ongoing stunt plot with Elizabeth Taylor and a lost black pearl necklace that she needs to promote her new fragrance. The story kicked off with the first show in the lineup—The Nanny. Brynn and Aaron watch the episode and try not...

The year was 1987 and comedies about multiple straight men raising children together and acting domestic was all the rage! That year saw the movie Three Men and a Baby, the start of Full House…but wait, there was one more lesser known show to hit the airwaves: My Two Dads! Starring Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan as the two dads, and Staci Keanan as the daughter who enters their lives by surprise at t...

Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place was the 1998 sitcom about Gen-X career and relationship angst. It featured Ryan Reynolds as Berg (Guy 1), Richard Ruccolo as Pete (Guy 2) and Traylor Howard as Sharon (a Girl). They hang out at Beacon Street Pizza in Boston (a Pizza Place) where the Guys work. After season two, the pizza place is dropped from both the story world and the title, and it becomes Two...

The Crew WAS a show! Before he found success with Desperate Housewives, Mark Cherry co-created this workplace/hangout/romcom sitcom about hot young flight attendants based in Miami. It was a sufficiently horny romp for the 90s Fox line-up but didn’t quite “land” the same pop culture impact as Friends or Living Single. Brynn, Aaron & Barry book a flight on this fictional airline to discuss the...

High Society WAS a show. The year was 1995, and women all over New York City were winning publishing companies in divorce settlements. Such was the case with Dorothy "Dott" Emerson, played by Mary McDonnell. She published the trashy yet highly successful romance novels penned by her best friend Ellie Walker, played by Jean Smart. The show is pretty much just about the daily comings and g...

Father Ted WAS a show…in fact it was the most successful Irish sitcom ever! This surprisingly dark, twisted sitcom left an indelible mark on the Emerald Isle, but it’s been largely forgotten over on this side of the pond. It’s about three Catholic priests who were banished to the fictitious Craggy Island for various sins, and now live together as roommates. How did this show become so uniquely ico...

Be Kind, Rewind! For this bonus episode, it’s a look back at the recently reviewed show The Single Guy. This show was created by Brad Hall (husband of Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and aired right before Seinfeld. The first time around there was some speculation about an episode featuring a cameo appearance from this comedy star best known for portraying Elaine Benes. Brynn and Aaron decide to give it a wa...

Bob WAS a show. After successful runs on both The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, Bob Newhart brought his famous stammering deadpan stylings to a third sitcom… but uh, this one, it was, it uh, it was just called…well, it uh, it was called Bob. So in this show Bob Newhart plays Bob McKay, an artist who created a comic book called Mad-Dog 20 years ago, but now works for a greeting card company. Sudden...

Love & War WAS a show. It’s basically what happens when Diane English, the legendary creator of Murphy Brown, makes a sitcom in the 80s rom-com style of movies like When Harry Met Sally . Love & War is about rough around the edges New York City newspaper columnist Jack Stein (Jay Thomas) and his attempts at romance—first in an on-again off-again relationship with restaurateur Wally Porter...

If you were to open a time capsule containing all the artifacts of the cynical postmodernism and depraved celebrity trolling of 1995 to 1998, you would also find a VHS tape containing all 3 seasons of The Naked Truth. Téa Leoni plays Nora, a recently divorced former photojournalist who, despite being only 26, was already nominated for a Pulitzer back before her controlling and two-timing wealthy e...

Prolific actor Matt Frewer secured his place in the pop culture zeitgeist with his lead in the cult classic Max Headroom, and went on to countless movie and TV roles—yet none bigger in terms of actual minutes of screen time than Dr. Mike Stratford, general practitioner, novelist, and TV medical expert in Providence, Rhode Island. Despite disappearing into obscurity, this show holds an important pl...

Welcome to the 90s NBC Must See TV Single-in-the-City Sitcom Universe! The Single Guy WAS a show…starring Jonathan Silverman, Joey Slotnick, Ming-Na Wen, Jessica Hecht and Ernest Borgnine! Right smack in the middle of Friends and Seinfeld, NBC had a show that seemed to draw on aspects of both shows to create a bridge between the two. Seinfeld was about single people who want to be single. Friends...