A New Kind of Family (partially found ABC sitcom; 1979-1980)
Photo of the cast of the series (before change).
Status: Partially Found
A New Kind of Family is a short-lived American TV sitcom that aired on ABC from September 16th, 1979 up until January 5th, 1980. The series only had one season and consists of 11 episodes[1][2], before being cancelled by ABC in 1980.
Premise
Kit Flanagan (played by Eileen Brennan) is a widowed mother of three children: Tony Flanagan (played by a young Rob Lowe), Hilary Flanagan (played by a young Lauri Hendler), and Andy Flanagan (played by a young David Hollander). With not enough money to support their needs for shelter, they've decided to share a home with a divorced mother named Abby Stone (played by Gwynne Gilford), and her daughter, Jill Stone (played by a young Connie Ann Hearn), to save money.
Midway through its run, the show was briefly pulled from airing for a month[3]. The show eventually aired again in December 1979 continuing its run, but the characters of Abby and Jill Stone were written out of the show and were replaced by a different family known as "the Ashtons", introducing the characters of Jess Ashton (played by Telma Hopkins) and Jojo Ashton (played by a young Janet Jackson). The reason for the replacement was that the show had really low ratings during its run on television, and it was in hopes that changing the cast would improve the ratings of the series. Unfortunately, the series' rating did not improve at all even with the sudden cast change and the show was cancelled in January 1980 by ABC, only airing for 11 episodes.
Cast
The Flanagans
- Eileen Brennan as Kit Flanagan
- Rob Lowe as Tony Flanagan
- Lauri Hendler as Hillary Flanagan
- David Hollander as Andy Flanagan
The Stones
- Gwynne Gilford as Abby Stone (episodes 1-6; September–October 1979)
- Connie Ann Hearn as Jill Stone (episodes 1-6; September–October 1979)
The Ashtons
- Telma Hopkins as Jess Ashton (episodes 7-11; December 1979 – January 1980)
- Janet Jackson as Jojo Ashton (episodes 7-11; December 1979 – January 1980)
Availability
The series never received any home media release. It is likely however that shows from the time the show aired was recorded on video tapes due to them being conventional and mainstream, however, no full episodes have yet to resurface online. The only available video material for the series that can be found anywhere is its opening credits, from its first six episodes run.
Episodes
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Do | Sep 16, 1979 | Lost |
| 2 | Are You Sure Barnum and Bailey Started Like This? | Sep 23, 1979 | Lost |
| 3 | The Hero | Sep 30, 1979 | Lost |
| 4 | The Overcharge | Oct 7, 1979 | Lost |
| 5 | Invasion of Privacy | Oct 21, 1979 | Lost |
| 6 | Andy's New Dad | Oct 28, 1979 | Lost |
| 7 | Thank You for a Lovely Evening | Dec 15, 1979 | Lost |
| 8 | Is There a Gun in the House? | Dec 22, 1979 | Lost |
| 9 | Fair Weather Friend | Dec 29, 1979 | Lost |
| 10 | The Break-Up | Oct 14, 1979 | Lost |
| 11 | No Smoking, Please | Jan 5, 1980 | Lost |
Gallery
Images
Photo of the newly added characters in the series "the Ashtons", played by Telma Hopkins and a young Janet Jackson.
Unknown magazine snippet that contains brief information about the show.
Videos
Trivia
The series received a nomination for "Outstanding Video Tape Editing For A Series" at the 32nd Emmy Awards in 1980. Unfortunately, they would not win the award as the award would be given to The Muppet Show.[4]
External Links
References
- ↑ Nostalgiacental.com article on the show Retrieved 24 March '23
- ↑ iMDB episode listing. Retrieved 24 March '23
- ↑ October 3rd, 1979 issue of The New York Times that includes information that the show was one of the shows that are likely to be replaced and pulled out briefly, which it did. Retrieved 24 March '23
- ↑ 32nd Emmy Awards in 1980 - Outstanding Video Tape Editing For A Series Retrieved 24 March '23