Home Free (TV series)

Home Free
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Richard Gurman Tim O'Donnell
Written by	Richard Gurman Tim O'Donnell
Directed by	James Widdoes
Starring	Matthew Perry Marian Mercer Diana Canova Anndi McAfee Scott McAfee Dan Schneider Brooke Theiss Alan Oppenheimer
Opening theme	"Home Free" performed by Christopher Cross
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Producer(s)	Julie Tsutsui
Running time	22–24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	March 31, 1993 (1993-03-31) – July 2, 1993 (1993-07-02)

Home Free is an American sitcom that aired on ABC for 13 episodes in the spring of 1993. It was a starring vehicle for Matthew Perry, who at this point was making his mark in Hollywood and was just over a year away from his landmark role as Chandler Bing on Friends. Among the well-known co-stars were Marian Mercer and Diana Canova. The series was created by Tim O'Donnell and Richard Gurman.

Synopsis

Matt Bailey (Perry) is a free-spirited, if somewhat lazy, 22-year-old freelance journalist enjoying the good life at home with his indulgent mom Grace (Mercer). He wasn't so concerned about completing his ascent into full-fledged adulthood, nor was he ever in a hurry to get out on his own, until his older, recently divorced sister Vanessa (Canova) returned home with her two kids so they could pick up the pieces and start their lives over. The unexpected arrangements forced Matt to take some crash courses in responsibility, to not only help out around the house, but to provide a good role model to his niece Abby (Anndi McAfee) and nephew Lucas (Scott McAfee), with whom he had particularly close bond. Matt's struggle to maintain his wild, free-living lifestyle while facing his new realities were the focus of most episodes. At the newspaper where he worked as a cub reporter, Matt's other world included co-worker and best friend Walter Peters (Dan Schneider), foxy photographer Laura (Brooke Theiss), of whom Matt was especially attracted to; and their gruff editor, Ben Brookstone (Alan Oppenheimer).

Reception

Home Free premiered in a cushy time slot of Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, between The Wonder Years (which was about to end its run) and Home Improvement. After only five episodes, the show relocated to the 9:30/8:30c timeslot of ABC's TGIF, in order to boost its ratings. The series was canceled in May 1993, but remained in its TGIF slot through July 2, 1993.

Production notes

Theme song

The theme song for Home Free was a soft-rock ballad performed by Christopher Cross.

External links

• Home Free at the Internet Movie Database
• Home Free at TV.com