Hearts Afire

For the 1915 film, see Hearts in Exile (1915 film).

Hearts Afire
Created by	Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
Starring	John Ritter Markie Post Billy Bob Thornton Beth Broderick Wendie Jo Sperber Clark Duke Leslie Jordan Conchata Ferrell
Composer	Bruce Miller
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	54 (1 unaired)
Production
Running time	30 minutes per episode
Production companies	Bloodworth-Thomason Mozark Productions Adam Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 14, 1992 – February 1, 1995

Hearts Afire is an American sitcom starring John Ritter and Markie Post that aired on CBS from September 14, 1992 to February 1, 1995. 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).

Series premise

Described by CBS as a "politically topical series" and 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, Beth Broderick, 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.

Episode list

Season 1: 1992–1993

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by:	Written by:	Original air date
1	1	"Bees Can Sting You, Watch Out: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14)
2	2	"Bees Can Sting You, Watch Out: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14)
3	3	"The Big Date"	Unknown	Unknown	September 21, 1992 (1992-09-21)
4	4	"Three Men and a Bed"	Unknown	Unknown	September 28, 1992 (1992-09-28)
5	5	"John's Stallion"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 1992 (1992-10-05)
6	6	"First Time"	Unknown	Unknown	October 12, 1992 (1992-10-12)
7	7	"Significant Others"	Unknown	Unknown	October 26, 1992 (1992-10-26)
8	8	"Everybody Loves My Baby"	Unknown	Unknown	November 9, 1992 (1992-11-09)
9	9	"Conversations with My Shrink"	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 1992 (1992-11-16)
10	10	"The Fundamental Things Apply"	Unknown	Unknown	November 23, 1992 (1992-11-23)
11	11	"Smithersgate"	Unknown	Unknown	November 30, 1992 (1992-11-30)
12	12	"Everyday's a Holiday"	Unknown	Unknown	December 14, 1992 (1992-12-14)
13	13	"While the Thomasons Slept"	Unknown	Unknown	December 21, 1992 (1992-12-21)
14	14	"Trivial Pursuit"	Unknown	Unknown	January 4, 1993 (1993-01-04)
15	15	"Never Play Touch Football with the Kennedys"	Unknown	Unknown	January 11, 1993 (1993-01-11)
16	16	"Miss Starr Dates Georgie Anne's Pop"	Unknown	Unknown	January 18, 1993 (1993-01-18)
17	17	"While the Thomasons Slept in the Lincoln Bedroom"	Unknown	Unknown	February 1, 1993 (1993-02-01)
18	18	"Her Year with Fidel"	Unknown	Unknown	February 8, 1993 (1993-02-08)
19	19	"Cold Feet: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	February 22, 1993 (1993-02-22)
20	20	"Cold Feet: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	February 22, 1993 (1993-02-22)
21	21	"Take My Senate Seat, Please"	Unknown	Unknown	March 1, 1993 (1993-03-01)
22	22	"Flamingo Summer"	Unknown	Unknown	March 15, 1993 (1993-03-15)
23	23	"Class Reunion"	Unknown	Unknown	March 22, 1993 (1993-03-22)

Season 2: 1993–1994

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by:	Written by:	Original air date
24	1	"Lovely Always: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27)
25	2	"Lovely Always: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	October 27, 1993 (1993-10-27)
26	3	"Moonlighting"	Unknown	Unknown	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)
27	4	"The Great Depression"	Unknown	Unknown	November 10, 1993 (1993-11-10)
28	5	"First Edition"	Unknown	Unknown	November 17, 1993 (1993-11-17)
29	6	"String of Pearls"	Unknown	Unknown	November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24)
30	7	"The Stud Club"	Unknown	Unknown	December 8, 1993 (1993-12-08)
31	8	"Blue Christmas"	Unknown	Unknown	December 15, 1993 (1993-12-15)
32	9	"True Confessions"	Unknown	Unknown	December 29, 1993 (1993-12-29)
33	10	"Accelerated Dating"	Unknown	Unknown	January 12, 1994 (1994-01-12)
34	11	"Sweet Revenge"	Unknown	Unknown	January 19, 1994 (1994-01-19)
35	12	"The Sons of Sissy-Whatsis"	Unknown	Unknown	February 2, 1994 (1994-02-02)
36	13	"Fatal Traction"	Unknown	Unknown	February 9, 1994 (1994-02-09)
37	14	"Sleepless in a Small Town"	Unknown	Unknown	March 28, 1994 (1994-03-28)
38	15	"Do the Limbaugh"	Unknown	Unknown	April 11, 1994 (1994-04-11)
39	16	"Love in the Afternoon"	Unknown	Unknown	April 18, 1994 (1994-04-18)
40	17	"The Big Yes"	Unknown	Unknown	April 25, 1994 (1994-04-25)

Season 3: 1994–1995

Nº	Ep	Title	Directed by:	Written by:	Original air date
41	1	"Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby"	Unknown	Unknown	September 24, 1994 (1994-09-24)
42	2	"The Virgin Lonnie"	Unknown	Unknown	October 1, 1994 (1994-10-01)
43	3	"It's My Party"	Unknown	Unknown	October 8, 1994 (1994-10-08)
44	4	"The Sock-Her Boys"	Unknown	Unknown	October 15, 1994 (1994-10-15)
45	5	"Birth of a Donation"	Unknown	Unknown	October 22, 1994 (1994-10-22)
46	6	"Fat Like Me"	Unknown	Unknown	October 29, 1994 (1994-10-29)
47	7	"Born to Dance"	Unknown	Unknown	November 26, 1994 (1994-11-26)
48	8	"Pros and Condoms"	Unknown	Unknown	December 3, 1994 (1994-12-03)
49	9	"The Perfect Christmas"	Unknown	Unknown	December 10, 1994 (1994-12-10)
50	10	"Help Wanted"	Unknown	Unknown	January 11, 1995 (1995-01-11)
51	11	"Mrs. Hartman, Mrs. Hartman"	Unknown	Unknown	January 18, 1995 (1995-01-18)
52	12	"Group Therapy"	Unknown	Unknown	January 25, 1995 (1995-01-25)
53	13	"John and Georgie's Not So Excellent Adventure"	Unknown	Unknown	February 1, 1995 (1995-02-01)
54	14	"The Outsider"	TBD	TBD	N/A

DVD releases

Image Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time in 2005. These releases have since been discontinued and are out of print.

On November 7, 2012, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series and released Hearts Afire - The Complete Series on DVD on January 8, 2013. The 7-disc set features all 54 episodes of the series, as well as bonus features.

DVD set		Episodes	Release date
	The Complete First Season	23	August 2, 2005
	The Complete Second Season	17	November 1, 2005
	The Complete Third Season	14	February 7, 2006
The Complete Series		54	January 8, 2013

Cameos

• Hugh E. Rodham, father of the incoming First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made a cameo appearance in December 1992. The producers of the series were friends of the Clintons.
• Political pundit Rush Limbaugh guest-starred as himself on an April 1994 episode. That episode had the series' highest rating, finishing as the 8th-highest ranked show of the week during its original airing.

See also

• All's Fair

External links

• Hearts Afire at IMDb
• Hearts Afire at epguides.com
• Hearts Afire webpage at TVHeaven.com