| Genre | Comedy drama |
|---|---|
| Creator | Hugh Wilson |
| Writer | Richard Dubin David Chambers Samm-Art Williams Hugh Wilson |
| Director | Neema Barnette Richard Dubin Stan Lathan Max Tash Hugh Wilson |
| Starring | Tim Reid Daphne Maxwell Reid Tony Burton Virginia Capers Robert Harper |
| Theme music composer | Louis Alter Eddie DeLange |
| Opentheme | "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" performed by Louis Armstrong |
| Composer | Richard Kosinski |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Num seasons | 1 |
| Num episodes | 22 |
| Executive producer | Tim Reid Hugh Wilson |
| Producer | Max Tash David Chambers Richard Dubin |
| Camera | Single-camera |
| Runtime | 22–24 minutes |
| Company | Viacom Productions |
| Channel | CBS |
| First aired | September 14, 1987 |
| Last aired | March 22, 1988 |
Frank's Place is an American comedy-drama series that aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987–1988 television season. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star and fellow WKRP in Cincinnati alumnus Tim Reid.
TV Guide ranked it No. 3 on its 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".[1] Rolling Stone ranked it No. 99 on its list of the best sitcoms of the television era.[2]
Plot
Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicles the life of Frank Parrish (Tim Reid), a well-to-do African-American professor in Boston who inherits a restaurant, Chez Louisiane. In the premiere, Frank travels to New Orleans intending to sell the restaurant. However, waitress Miss Marie (Frances E. Williams), has a voodoo spin (curse) put on Frank ensuring that he will come back to carry on his family's business. Consequently, when Frank returns to New England, the life he's known there suddenly goes inexplicably haywire. Feeling he has no choice, Frank returns to New Orleans and makes many discoveries about black culture in New Orleans, the differences between northern and southern lifestyles, and himself.
On its surface, Frank's Place was a fish-out-of-water story, like The Beverly Hillbillies or Green Acres. However, the series' story lines featured weightier topics such as race and class issues.
Cast and characters
- Tim Reid as Frank Parrish
- Daphne Maxwell Reid (Tim Reid's real-life wife) as Hanna Griffin
- Tony Burton as Big Arthur
- Virginia Capers as Mrs. Bertha Griffin-Lamour
- Robert Harper as Bubba Weisberger
- Lincoln Kilpatrick as Reverend Deal
- Charles Lampkin as Tiger Shepin
- Francesca P. Roberts as Anna Mae
- Don Yesso as Shorty La Roux
- William Thomas Jr. as Cool Charles
- Frances E. Williams as Miss Marie, oldest living waitress
- Wayne Woodson as Happy Dinner Guest
Production
The idea for the series came from CBS vice president, Gregg Maday. As a young man, Maday frequented a restaurant in Buffalo, New York named Dan Montgomery's. Maday also wanted a series based in New Orleans due to the mid-1980s interest in Cajun cuisine and zydeco. The two ideas were combined. Wilson and Reid spent time in New Orleans for research. They found a restaurant named Chez Helene, and many of the things they encountered there were included in the series. Big Arthur was based on Chez Helene's owner, Austin Leslie. The series focused more on Creole cuisine and Creole culture rather than Cajun.[3]
Don Yesso was a real-life New Orleans native whom Wilson met on a flight to the city. Yesso was not an actor, but Wilson cast him because of his genuine Yat dialect.[3]
Unlike most sitcom productions of the era, Frank's Place was filmed with a single camera and used no laugh track.
Theme song
The series theme song was Louis Armstrong's classic "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?". Licensing the song for the show cost an estimated $2,300 per episode during the show's original broadcast.[4]
Awards and nominations
Cancellation
Frank's Place was cancelled after one season. Despite its strong beginning, ratings for Frank's Place declined. Viewers were reportedly puzzled by the show's changing timeslot and by how the show's style eschewed the traditional sitcom format. The show's large ensemble and film-style techniques made production costly.[9] Wilson remarked that: "We just didn’t please the Nielsen monster."[10]
Tim Reid was later told by CBS board member Walter Cronkite that the show was cancelled because Laurence Tisch, the network's CEO at the time, was upset by the episode "The King of Wall Street." Tisch, who bought CBS via junk bonds, viewed the episode as an insult since it depicted a Wall Street tycoon condemning junk bonds. As a result, Tisch demanded that the show be cancelled despite the objections of Cronkite and other board members.[11]
Syndication
Reruns aired on BET in 1990.[12]
Home media
In October 2008, CNN.com reported that because of music licensing issues, a DVD release would be unlikely.[13] However, on November 10, 2008, The Times-Picayune reported that plans were underway for an eventual DVD release, although Tim Reid has said that, due to the prohibitive costs of the music rights, a new musical score will be recorded that will "recreate the mood of the music." He adds, "it has to be the mood of the show or I'd rather not do it."[14]
However, the DVD was never produced. After a private screening of select episodes in 2011, Reid commented that music licensing costs "would cost more...now than it would to pay for all the actors that we had".[15]
Notes
- ^ Tied with The Wonder Years.
References
- ^ Roush, Matt (June 3, 2013). "Cancelled Too Soon". TV Guide. pp. 20 and 21
- ^ Best TV Sitcoms of All Time By Alan Sepinwall, Maria Fontoura, David Fear and Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, retrieved May 6, 2021.
- ^ Walker, Dave (2002-10-20). "Frankly unforgettable - It lasted just one season. But even now, 15 years after its premiere, the gloriously New Orleans-centric series 'Frank's Place' holds a special place in television history". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ Allman, Kevin (November 24, 2008). "Tim's place". The New Orleans Gambit. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ^ "1988 Artios Awards". www.castingsociety.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ "Frank's Place – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ "Past Winners & Nominees". Humanitas Prize. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Frank's Place". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "Frank's Place". Television Academy Interviews. 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve (1988-10-05). "CBS Puts 'Frank's Place' Out of Business". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
- ^ Rapoport, Ron; Dressen, Tom; Reid, Tim (2009). Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226709024.pages 243-245
- ^ Dawson, Greg (1990-01-25). "'Frank's Place' Back". Orlando Sentinel. Archived 2014-04-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ Leopold, Todd (October 3, 2008). "Not coming to a store near you". The Marquee Blog. CNN. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ^ Walker, Dave (November 10, 2008). "'Frank's Place' DVD on the way". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ^ Walker, Dave (October 13, 2011). "We still know what it means to miss 'Frank's Place'". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2025.