Brewster Place
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{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
|image =
|caption =
|based_on = {{Based on|The Women of Brewster Place|Gloria Naylor}}
|developer =
|genre = Drama
|writer = Maya Angelou
Paul W. Cooper
Earl Hamner, Jr.
Dianne Houston
Don Sipes
|director = Ivan Dixon
Jan Eliasberg
Bill Duke
Helaine Head
|starring = Oprah Winfrey
Brenda Pressley
Olivia Cole
Rachael Crawford
Kelly Neal
John Cothran Jr.
Oscar Brown Jr.
John Speredakos
Jason Weaver
|theme_music_composer = David Shire
|opentheme = Performed by Take 6
|composer = David Shire
|country = United States
|language = English
|num_seasons = 1
|num_episodes = 11 (2 unaired)
|list_episodes =
|camera = Single-camera
|executive_producer = Earl Hamner, Jr.
Don Sipes
Oprah Winfrey
|producer = Reuben Cannon
Stan Kallis
|editor = Dann Cahn
Quinnie Martin, Jr.
Joe Morrisey
|runtime = 22 minutes
|channel = ABC
|company = Amanda Productions
The Don Sipes Organization
Harpo Productions
Hearst Entertainment
|first_aired = {{Start date|1990|05|01}}
|last_aired = {{End date|1990|07|11}}
|related = {{Plainlist|
}}
}}
Brewster Place is an American drama series which aired on ABC in May 1990. The series was a spinoff of the 1989 miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, which was based upon Gloria Naylor's novel of the same name. The series starred talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who also served as co-executive producer.
Plot
Set in 1967, the series begin with events following the end of the 1989 miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place. Mattie Michael (Oprah Winfrey) is fired from her job as a beautician, and agrees to purchase a neighborhood restaurant with her best friend Etta Mae (Brenda Pressley). Kiswana (Rachel Crawford), Abshu (Kelly Neal), and Miss Sophie (Olivia Cole) are still residents of Brewster Place, and various other individuals move onto the block as the series progresses.
The series was filmed entirely in Chicago, on the lot of Winfrey's Harpo Productions. It failed to capture the audience and critical acclaim of the miniseries, and was cancelled after a month. However, the full season of 11 episodes has since been released on both VHS and DVD.
Cast
- Oprah Winfrey as Mattie Michael
- Rachael Crawford as Melanie "Kiswana" Browne
- Brenda Pressley as Etta Mae Johnson
- Olivia Cole as Miss Sophie
- Kelly Neal as Abshu Kamau
- John Cothran as Ralph Thomas
- Oscar Brown Jr. as Jessie
- John Speredakos as Mickey Adriano
- Jason Weaver as Matthew Thomas
Episodes
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; style="background:#fff;" |
| style="background:#;"| No.
! style="background:#;"| Title ! style="background:#;"| Directed by ! style="background:#;"| Written by ! style="background:#;"| Original air date {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = Pilot | DirectedBy = Bill Duke | WrittenBy = Earl Hamner Jr. & Don Sipes | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|05|01}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = Open for Business | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Paul W. Cooper | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|05|08}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = One Small Step at a Time | DirectedBy = Ivan Dixon | WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s= Earl Hamner Jr. & Don Sipes|t= Dianne Houston}} | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|05|09}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = Spring Fever | DirectedBy = Ivan Dixon | WrittenBy = Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|05|16}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = Whatever Happened to Patience Jones? | DirectedBy = Ivan Dixon | WrittenBy = Andrew Sipes | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|05|30}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = Gone Fishing | DirectedBy = Lesli Linka Glatter | WrittenBy = Paul W. Cooper | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|06|13}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 7 | Title = Bernice Sands Comes Home | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|06|20}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 8 | Title = The Poet | DirectedBy = Jan Eliasberg | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|06|27}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 9 | Title = Family Album | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Johnny Dawkins | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|07|04}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 10 | Title = Say It Loud | DirectedBy = Roy Campanella, II | WrittenBy = Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1990|07|11}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 11 | Title = Partners | DirectedBy = | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = UNAIRED | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 12 | Title = County General | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Kathy McCormick & Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = UNAIRED | ShortSummary = | LineColor = }} |
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Ratings
- Episode 1: 15.3 rating/21.9 million viewers
- Episode 2: 13.2 rating
- Episode 3: 9.7 rating
- Episode 4: 10.1
- Episode 5: 9
- Episode 6: 7.6 rating/11.9 million viewers
Reception
Entertainment Weekly gave the series a grade of B−, and reviewed the show mildly favorably, stating, "There's something warm and comforting about Brewster Place, and something complacent and artificial as well."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317345,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717082736/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317345,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2013|title=Television reviews for week of May 11, 1990|magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=11 May 1990|publisher=|accessdate=27 September 2017}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0098757|Brewster Place}}
Category:1990s American drama television series
Category:1990 American television series debuts
Category:1990 American television series endings
Category:American television spinoffs
Category:Television series set in the 1960s
Category:Television series set in 1967
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Historical television series