Sisters (American TV series)

Sisters
Created by	Ron Cowen Daniel Lipman
Starring	Swoosie Kurtz Sela Ward Patricia Kalember Julianne Phillips Sheila Kelley Elizabeth Hoffman
Country of origin	USA
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	127
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Ron Cowen Productions Dainel Lipman Productions Lorimar Television (1991-1993) Warner Bros. Television (1993-1996)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	May 11, 1991 – May 4, 1996

Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC. The show debuted on May 11, 1991 for a seven-episode test run and was subsequently renewed for the 1991 fall schedule.

Synopsis

The show focused on four sisters living in Winnetka, Illinois. Their recently deceased father, Thomas Reed, a doctor, had been absent and a workaholic, while their long-suffering mother turned to alcoholism to cope with his neglect and affairs. Having always wanted sons, their father had called the girls by male versions of their full names: Alexandra was called Alex; Theodora, Teddy; Georgiana, Georgie; and Francesca, Frankie.

For the first two seasons, each episode began with the sisters' weekly ritual of chatting in a steam bath together. During both the spring 1991 run and the full 1991–92 season, the opening credits ran in front of a steamed window as the camera slowly began to reveal the interior of the sauna. During the credits, the women were heard in the background chatting.

Sisters used a more traditional opening sequence beginning with the 1992–93 season: glossy, black-and-white filmed scenes of the sisters engaging in various activities during both their childhood and adult years. Only the girls' hands and arms were seen as they played jacks, signed a check, played the piano, typed on the computer, or in the case of another adulthood scene, had their spouse unzip their dress in a moment of intimacy. In the final shot the sisters' hands pile on top of each other's as Sela Ward's Teddy can be heard saying "I love you guys". Initially, the only soundtrack used for the opening was the sounds of the characters, but in the fall of 1993 a piano solo composed by John Debney was added as theme music. The sounds of the girls were still audible to an extent. This version ran for the final three years of Sisters.

Another unique aspect of the show was that each episode featured a number of flashbacks, in which the characters would interact with their younger selves (played by younger actresses).

Although the show was a drama with soap opera-style storylines, the show was also quirky and offbeat in the style of other shows at the time like Northern Exposure. The show was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who went on to adapt Queer as Folk for the American market.

Season One

Teddy comes back into town from California only to discover her ex-husband Mitch is dating her younger sister Frankie. Alex discovers her husband Wade is a crossdresser. Teddy breaks up Mitch and Frankie's wedding drunk with a shotgun. Frankie decides not to reschedule their wedding and she and Mitch stop seeing each other. Ashamed of how her behavior is affecting her family and especially her daughter Cat, Teddy leaves Cat with Mitch and announces she will return to California alone. Georgie's son Evan is diagnosed with leukemia. Teddy decides to stay in Winnetka.

Season Two

Georgie attempts to balance her needs with Evan's during his treatment. Alex and Wade divorce following his infidelity; Reed (Ashley Judd) reacts by rebelling and dropping out of school. Frankie and Mitch elope. Teddy discovers she is pregnant with Mitch's baby following a brief encounter while Frankie and Mitch were separated. Truman and Beatrice begin a relationship. Teddy suffers a miscarriage. Alex begins dating her plumber, Victor, while Wade tries to win her back. Georgie runs for the school board. Teddy eventually turns a job doing window dressing at a fashion boutique into a career as a clothing designer. Frankie discovers she cannot carry a child; following a failed adoption, she asks Georgie to be a surrogate mother for her baby.

Season Three

Alex plans Truman and Beatrice's wedding, but they decide to elope; Reed and Kirby (Paul Rudd) are married instead. Georgie gives birth to Frankie's son Thomas George after a car accident; Georgie has difficulty seeing him as her sister's child. Alex and Teddy feud due to Alex's jealousy of Teddy's newfound success as a clothing designer. Simon Bolt (Mark Frankel) invests in Teddy's fashion design company but later sells it to a Texan investor without consulting Teddy. A Hollywood producer makes a TV movie of the family's surrogacy story. Alex is diagnosed with breast cancer; her standup comedy about her cancer experience leads her to a new job as a talk show host. Frankie and Mitch divorce and spar over custody of Thomas George.

Season Four

Cat is attacked and raped by a college acquaintance; James Falconer (George Clooney) is assigned to investigate the case. Frankie quits her executive job and buys the Sweet Sixteen diner. Trevor rebels and is sent to boarding school, then runs away from the school to live on the streets; no one knows where he is. Georgie falls into a depression about her perceived failure as a parent and considers suicide. Truman is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The stress of Trevor's disappearance leads Georgie and John to separate. Alex meets Big Al (Robert Klein) when he agrees to sponsor her talk show. A fifth sister, Charley Bennett (Jo Anderson), is introduced; she is a cancer patient who needs a bone marrow donation from a relative. None of the sisters are a match, but Frankie decides to make an effort to bring Charley into the family. Alex and Big Al marry, then he is arrested and sent to prison for tax evasion. Georgie and John reunite after realizing they cannot control what happens to Trevor. Reed returns for a visit and gives birth to Halsey. During a tornado, Trevor finally returns from the streets. Falconer and Teddy marry on a plane that is caught in the storm.

Season Five

Falconer is killed. His murder was ordered by a criminal he was about to testify against in court. Georgie begins seeing a new therapist, Dr. Caspian (Daniel Gerroll), who manipulates her into believing she had been molested by her father. Big Al is released from prison early and runs for mayor. Frankie inherits a boxer, Lucky (John Wesley Shipp), from a former client, and eventually begins a relationship with him. A viewer with terminal cancer asks Alex to take care of her daughter, Roxie (Kathryn Zaremba); Alex wants to adopt the little girl, but her father returns and they move away together. Dr. Caspian and Georgie begin an affair during her therapy sessions; Georgie leaves John, believing Dr. Caspian loves her, but Dr. Caspian ignores her and claims she has misinterpreted their "work" together. Georgie realizes she has been manipulated, but has no evidence to get the psychological board to revoke his license. Charley tricks Dr. Caspian into making incriminating statements while she records their sessions. Alex helps Truman end his life; she is arrested, but avoids prison when a terminally ill judge recuses himself from her case. Teddy has an affair with Daniel Albright (Gregory Harrison), the man who had Falconer killed, in an attempt to gather evidence about the crime. With Lucky's help, she succeeds and Albright is arrested. Frankie accidentally creates Cowlotta, a large pink cow character that appeals to children, and is asked to move to Japan to manage the character.

Season Six

Now divorced from John, Georgie goes to graduate school in psychology. She falls in love with Brian (Joe Flanigan), a much younger student in her classes. Teddy and Cat are mugged, so Teddy gets a gun for protection only to accidentally shoot herself in the head while confronting a criminal. She eventually begins a relationship with Dr. Gabriel Sorensen (Stephen Collins), the brain surgeon who saved her life. Charley (now played by Sheila Kelley) becomes a foster parent to Jesse (Sean Nelson), the son of a woman who died at her free clinic. Reed (now played by Noelle Parker) returns to town after divorcing Kirby and losing custody of her daughter Halsey, and ends up running a high-priced call-girl ring. She is arrested and sentenced to community service at an AIDS hospice. Big Al has a heart transplant. Charley wants to adopt Jesse, and plans to quickly marry her boyfriend, her colleague Dr. Wes Hayes (Michael Whaley), because a stable two-parent family is more appealing to the adoption agency. However, Charley ultimately realizes Jesse should stay with his brother, who had been adopted by another family; she marries Wes anyway. In the final episode, Georgie's college thesis about her sisters drives them all apart. Beatrice has a stroke and dies. Frankie returns in time to say goodbye and announces she plans to move back home. Georgie sees John at the memorial service and realizes she misses him. Georgie breaks up with Brian. Teddy announces she is pregnant with a daughter. Georgie and John discuss reconciling and share an embrace. Finally, Alex assumes the role of family matriarch.

Main characters

Alexandra "Alex" Reed Halsey Barker (Swoosie Kurtz)

Eldest sister Alex was wealthy and somewhat superficial, but remained protective and close to her sisters. Her first marriage to wealthy, cross-dressing plastic surgeon Wade Halsey (David Dukes) ended following his infidelity. Alex's experience with breast cancer eventually led to a career as a talk show host, where she met and married "Big Al" Barker (Robert Klein), an outlandish but likeable home appliance retailer who sponsored her talk show as "The Prince of Pricetown". She often clashed with her rebellious daughter Reed.

Theodora "Teddy" Reed (Sela Ward)

Free-spirited second sister Teddy was a recovering alcoholic who had been living in California prior to the beginning of the series. Upon her return to Winnetka, Teddy reacted poorly when she learned her ex-husband Mitch (Ed Marinaro) was in a relationship with her sister Frankie, and openly pursued Mitch even though he and Frankie were engaged. Teddy eventually broke up their wedding drunk with a shotgun, but in the aftermath, seemed ashamed of her behavior; in the next season of the show, Teddy stopped pursuing Mitch and she and Frankie became close friends. Teddy had been an artist as a teenager and during the series launched a career as a fashion designer, which led to a relationship with British millionaire Simon Bolt (Mark Frankel) who purchased and eventually sold her fashion company. Teddy and Mitch had a teenage daughter, Cat (Heather McAdam). Teddy eventually began a relationship with the detective who investigated the rape, James Falconer (George Clooney), but he was killed shortly after their marriage. In the final season, Teddy married neurosurgeon Dr. Gabriel Sorenson (Stephen Collins).

Georgiana "Georgie" Reed Whitsig (Patricia Kalember)

The third and most level-headed and responsible sister, Georgie was a stay-at-home mom and off-and-on real estate agent. She was the most trusted confidant of her sisters. On the surface, she had an ideal domestic life with a loving if eccentric husband John (Garrett M. Brown) and two sons, Trevor (Ryan Francis) and Evan (Dustin Berkovitz). After Evan successfully battled leukemia, Georgie decided to repay the blessing by acting as surrogate mother for her sister Frankie's child Thomas George. Georgie experienced a major crisis when her son Trevor rebelled; he was eventually sent away to a school for troubled teens. After Trevor was sent away, Georgie felt she was a failure as a parent and considered suicide, but abandoned the idea after realizing how deeply the rest of her family would feel such a loss. Trevor eventually returned to his family, and in the next season, Georgie sought professional help, only to fall under the spell of a corrupt therapist (played by Kalember's real-life husband, Daniel Gerroll). He manipulated Georgie into an affair, which eventually resulted in her divorce from John. During the last season Georgie attended graduate school in psychology, where she met Brian, a younger man who she dated through the season. In the series finale, it was implied that Georgie and John might reconcile.

Francesca "Frankie" Reed Margolis (Julianne Phillips)

Youngest sister Frankie was a workaholic businesswoman. She married her sister Teddy's ex-husband Mitch, and after discovering she suffered from infertility, eventually asked her sister Georgie to act as a surrogate mother for her child Thomas George. She was also very devoted to her career, which put a strain on her relationship with Mitch and eventually resulted in their divorce. Following their divorce, Frankie quit her executive job and became the owner of the Sweet Sixteen, the sisters' favorite local diner. In the fifth season, Phillips left the show and the Frankie character moved to Japan for work, although she did return for the two-hour series finale.

Dr. Charlotte "Charley" Bennett Hayes (Jo Anderson/Sheila Kelley)

During the fourth season, the sisters discovered a fifth sister, the love child of an affair their father had had with another woman. This fifth sister, Charley Bennett, was played initially by Jo Anderson on a recurring basis and then by Sheila Kelley who received starring status in the final season. Charley was integrated into the story lines more and more as Frankie was phased out, as Julianne Phillips had decided to leave the show. Charley had spent her childhood in foster homes and was initially somewhat cold towards her newfound sisters, but eventually came to accept them into her life. Charley was a doctor who worked in a free health care clinic; at one point she briefly joined an affluent private practice, but eventually returned to the free clinic. During the final season, Charley took in an orphaned teenager named Jesse and intended to adopt him, but ultimately did not complete the adoption because she realized Jesse should go with his brother who had been adopted by another family. Near the end of the series, she married her colleague Dr. Hayes.

Beatrice Reed Ventnor (Elizabeth Hoffman)

Beatrice, the sisters' mother and the family matriarch, was a recovering alcoholic who at the start of the series had been recently widowed. Her husband's long-term affair with his nurse had caused her to seek solace in alcohol. In the third season she married retired local judge Truman Ventnor, who later suffered from Alzheimer's. Beatrice died in the series finale.

Supporting characters

John Whitsig (Garrett M. Brown)

John was Georgie's husband, and the most prominently featured of all the sisters' husbands. At the beginning of the series John had been laid off and spent much of his time at home in his bathrobe singing old vocal standards. He recorded an album, "The Sound of Whitsig," but when his son Evan was diagnosed with leukemia, John returned to work as an accountant. Brown received starring status for the first five seasons; during season 5, Georgie and John separated, and he did not return as a regular for the final season. John did return in the series finale, and it appeared that he and Georgie might reconcile.

Mitch Margolis (Ed Marinaro)

Mitch was Teddy's high school sweetheart and first husband. Together they had a daughter, Cat, but eventually Teddy and Mitch divorced. Later he started seeing her younger sister Frankie, which caused tension between the sisters. Mitch and Frankie eventually married and had a son, though they too ultimately divorced. Marinaro received starring status for the first four seasons, but did not make any appearances in seasons 5 and 6, though his character was mentioned on several occasions.

Catherine "Cat" Margolis (Heather McAdam)

The daughter of Teddy and Mitch, Cat was the most prominently featured of all the sisters' children, appearing frequently throughout all the seasons. Cat was featured in a controversial storyline where she was raped. Eventually, as a result of this experience, she decided to become a cop. While training, she met her partner Billy, who she eventually fell in love with. During the final season McAdam received starring status, something none of the other children of the sisters had during the show's run.

Reed Halsey Philby (Kathy Wagner, Ashley Judd, Noelle Parker)

Alex and Wade's daughter Reed appeared on and off throughout the show's run and was played by three different actresses. During the second season Reed rebelled against her parents by dropping out of school, and at the beginning of the third season eloped with aspiring filmmaker Kirby Philby (Paul Rudd). They had a daughter, Halsey, at the end of season 4. By the final season Reed had divorced Kirby, lost custody of her daughter and moved back to Winnetka where she eventually came to run a high-priced call girl ring. After being arrested and sentenced to community service, Reed finally seemed to abandon her rebellious ways.

Notable Guest Stars

• George Clooney had a recurring role as Detective James Falconer in 1993–1994, just before going on to star in ER. His character dated Teddy after he investigated the rape of her daughter Cat. They eventually married, and he was later killed in the line of duty.
• Ashley Judd starred as Alex's daughter Reed beginning in the fall of 1991 (replacing Kathy Wagner, who had originated the role of Reed in the spring seven-episode run), and continued in the role for the next three seasons. She left the show in 1994 to focus on her film career, after she won critical acclaim from starring in the film Ruby in Paradise.
• Actor Paul Rudd (from Friends, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and I Love You, Man) starred as Reed's husband, Kirby.
• Actress Nora Dunn of Saturday Night Live had a recurring role as Alex's TV producer "Norma Lear" (a clear play on the name of famous real-life TV producer Norman Lear).
• 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins played Dr. Gabriel Sorenson, Teddy's love interest and eventual husband.
• Joe Flanigan (Stargate Atlantis) played Georgie's much-younger lover Brian, a student she met after returning to college.
• Eric Close (Santa Barbara/Without a Trace) played Cat's police partner and eventual love interest Billy Griffin.
• Robert Klein portrayed Alex's second husband "Big Al" Barker on a recurring basis.

Ratings

Season		U.S. ratings	Network	Rank
1	1991	N/A	NBC	N/A
2	1991-92	10.45 million	NBC	#55
3	1992-93	10.11 million	NBC	#56
4	1993-94	10.11 million	NBC	#52
5	1994-95	9.0 million	NBC	#75
6	1995-96	6.8 million	NBC	#103

Reception

The series received eight Emmy Award nominations over the course of its run, winning once in 1994 for Sela Ward as Best Lead Actress. Swoosie Kurtz was also nominated twice in the Lead Actress category in 1993 and 1994.

External links

• Sisters at IMDb