Hearts Afire
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| Hearts Afire | |
|---|---|
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| Format | Comedy |
| Created by | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason |
| Starring | John Ritter Markie Post Billy Bob Thornton Doren Fein Clark Duke |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 54 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | September 14, 1992 – February 1, 1995 |
Hearts Afire is a sitcom that aired from September 14, 1992 to February 1, 1995 on CBS. It starred John Ritter and Markie Post, with Post portraying a journalist and Ritter playing a senator's aide.
The series' title is taken from a line in the Earth, Wind & Fire song "That's the Way of the World" (which originally served as the series' theme song).
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[edit] Series premise
Created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason, the show starred John Ritter and Markie Post playing John Hartman and Georgie Anne Lahti Hartman, respectively. Supporting actors included Billy Bob Thornton and Ed Asner. The show was set in Washington, D.C. and centered on a senator's aide (Ritter) and a political reporter (Post) whose professional disagreements masked a growing attraction for one another. Other costars on the show included George Gaynes and Wendie Jo Sperber. The series was itself a satire on current affairs in Washington, D.C.
In the second season, the show abruptly changed its setting to the Southern town where John Hartman grew up; he returns to take over the town's failing newspaper, and his wife and several of the other cast members joined him there.
[edit] Production and rights issues
The series was independently produced by Mozark Productions (series executive producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's company) and Adam Productions (Ritter's company) under the dummy company "Hearts Afire Productions". It did not receive any outside help from any major studio, although another independent distributor, Genesis Entertainment, handled international distribution outside the U.S. Because of this and the fact that only 54 episodes were produced, the series was never made available for television syndication, although USA Network aired reruns.
The John Ritter estate now has complete control over the series. In 2005, the Ritter estate awarded the home video rights to Image Entertainment (beating out favorites Lions Gate Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment). All three seasons of the series are now available on DVD, in altered versions due to music rights issues. Some music has been re-scored, as it was in the USA Network rerun versions, but otherwise the content is unedited.
[edit] DVD releases
Image Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 1 and 2 contain special features including bloopers & outtakes.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 16 | August 2, 2005 |
| The Complete Second Season | 22 | November 1, 2005 |
| The Complete Third Season | 14 | February 7, 2006 |
[edit] Cameos
- Hugh E. Rodham, father of former First Lady of the United States and current United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, made a cameo appearance in 1992. The producers of the series were friends of the Clintons.[1]
- Political pundit Rush Limbaugh guest-starred as himself on a 1994 episode. That episode had the series' highest weekly rating, finishing at #8 for its original airing.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Pace, Eric (April 8, 1993). "Hugh Rodham Dies After Stroke; Father of Hillary Clinton Was 82". The New York Times (New York). http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/08/obituaries/hugh-rodham-dies-after-stroke-father-of-hillary-clinton-was-82.html. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
