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Thea (TV series)

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Thea
GenreSitcom
Created byBernie Kukoff
Written byBill Bryan
Lenore G. Bunt
Dan Cohen
Elias Davis
Tom Devanney
Michelle Jones
Bernie Kukoff
David Kukoff
David Pollack
F.J. Pratt
Donald Seigel
Terri Schaffer Hicks
Chris Sheridan
Latrice Williams
Directed byJohn Bowab
Linda Day
Paul Kreppel
Jay Sandrich
Tony Singletary
Chuck Vinson
StarringThea Vidale
Adam Jeffries
Brandy Norwood
Jason Weaver
Brenden Jefferson
Cleavant Derricks
Yvette Wilson
Theme music composerFreddie Washington
Benjamin Wright
ComposerKurt Farquhar
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes19
Production
Executive producersBernie Kukoff
Andrew Susskind
ProducersTom Devanney
Mary Ellen Jones
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companiesCastle Rock Entertainment
Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1993 (1993-09-08) –
February 16, 1994 (1994-02-16)

Thea is an American sitcom that premiered September 8, 1993, on ABC, and ended on February 16, 1994, for a total of 19 episodes. Starring stand-up comedian Thea Vidale, Thea series marked the first time an African American woman comedian was the star of a series named after her.[1]

Synopsis

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Set in Houston, Texas, Thea Vidale stars as title character Thea Armstrong-Turrell, a widowed mother of four children who works as a supermarket cashier during the day and runs a single-chair beauty salon called Styles by Thea from her home at night.

Although the show initially attracted high ratings, viewership declined steadily over the course of the season, and the series was canceled after 19 episodes, having ended the season in 43rd place.

Cast

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Main

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Recurring

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Jay SandrichBernie KukoffSeptember 8, 1993 (1993-09-08)20.7[2]
Thea has a hectic routine: working at the supermarket checkout by day, dressing hair by night, and supervising her four demanding children. Jarvis gives his mother $25 which he earned delivering sandwiches during his school lunch hour, but she insists that he keep the money and eat his own lunch in the cafeteria. Danesha returns from taking James clothes-shopping, and James blabs that he had to keep trying on ill-fitting clothes while she talked on the phone to her new boyfriend Leonard, whom she's meeting at the library later. Thea insists that Leonard pick Danesha up at home so she can inspect him. Meanwhile, Jerome is supposedly at a friend's house doing a geography assignment, but Thea finds his geography book and knows that he has been at the video arcade instead, and grounds him before she leaves to attend a memorial service. It's the night of a big video-game competition, and Jerome sneaks out despite Jarvis' attempts to keep him at home, then must face Thea's wrath.
2"Jerome Makes the Grade"Jay SandrichTom DevanneySeptember 10, 1993 (1993-09-10)15.9[2]
Jerome is failing English because of his desperate attempts to make the school basketball team. When Thea forces him to finish his book report on To Kill a Mockingbird, he doesn't make the team but gets a B on his report. Meanwhile, Danesha attempts to submit a video to America's Funniest Home Videos.
3"Dirty Laundry"Jay SandrichBill BryanSeptember 15, 1993 (1993-09-15)23.4[3]
The washing machine breaks down, which means endless trips to the laundromat. Meanwhile, Danesha's boyfriend is in hot water after he kisses another girl, and Thea puts him through the wringer before he can come clean with Danesha.
4"How I Got Over"Jay SandrichMichelle JonesSeptember 29, 1993 (1993-09-29)14.9[4]
Thea gets a chance to train for manager, but Jerome plans a boxing-match party while Thea is at her night-school class.
5"To Tell the Truth"Jay SandrichDon SiegelOctober 6, 1993 (1993-10-06)15.4[5]
Jarvis lets his younger brother drive and they get into an accident, but the boys don't tell their mother who was behind the wheel. To punish them, Thea cooks up a scheme with Lynette, who pretends to have lost her wedding ring in her trash, now at the bottom of a very fragrant dumpster.
6"Artie's Party"Chuck VinsonBill Bryan & Tom DevanneyOctober 13, 1993 (1993-10-13)15.4[6]
Conflict brews when Arthur invites Jarvis to his bachelor party but Thea thinks he's too young to attend.
7"Here Comes Mr. Gordon"Linda DayDan Cohen & F.J. PrattOctober 20, 1993 (1993-10-20)17.0[7]
Thea acquires an unwanted admirer.
8"Birthday Girl"Jay SandrichDavid KukoffNovember 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)14.6[8]
On her birthday, Thea's treasured gift of tickets to a Motown reunion concert go unused when her boss calls her in to work a replacement shift.
9"Danesha Loooves Leonard"John BowabTeri SchafferNovember 17, 1993 (1993-11-17)15.1[9]
When Danesha's romance with Leonard disrupts the household, Jarvis and Jerome hatch a plan to split them up.
10"Mama, I'm Full"Chuck VinsonMichelle JonesNovember 24, 1993 (1993-11-24)14.8[10]
Thea must work at the market on Thanksgiving, so she entrusts Danesha with the cooking of the family feast.
11"Good Stock"Chuck VinsonBernie Kukoff & Michelle JonesDecember 1, 1993 (1993-12-01)22.2[11]
Jerome finds he has a knack with stocks, which leads Thea to lend him a real-investment stake.
12"A Christmas Story"Chuck VinsonTom DevanneyDecember 15, 1993 (1993-12-15)14.9[12]
Jarvis procrastinates putting up the Christmas lights because he's afraid of heights.
13"Danesha Project"Tony SingletaryElias Davis & David PollockDecember 22, 1993 (1993-12-22)14.2[13]
Danesha teams up with Cliff Croverd, the most popular guy in school, for a social-studies project on single parents.
14"Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"Chuck VinsonUnknownJanuary 5, 1994 (1994-01-05)17.6[14]
Thea finds herself in a hairy situation when she can't afford mandated improvements to her in-home salon and an inspector wants to close it down.
15"Who's Zoomin' Who"Jay SandrichTeri SchafferJanuary 12, 1994 (1994-01-12)15.0[15]
Marcella uses Jerome to make her boyfriend Dwayne jealous, while Jerome uses the relationship to meet his own needs. Meanwhile, Thea decides to fix her own plumbing after Charles can't make time to do it for her.
16"Of Fish and Men"John BowabLenore G. BuntJanuary 19, 1994 (1994-01-19)17.3[16]
Danesha is paired with a basketball star for a school project, but he tries to pass all the work off on her.
17"Call Me Thea"Paul KreppelGary HardwickFebruary 2, 1994 (1994-02-02)15.6[17]
Thea takes a day off, leaving the kids to do the household chores. She visits her favorite barbecue joint, Mickey's, but Mickey has died and new owner Roy's cooking doesn't come close, so Thea joins the restaurant as the head chef.
18"T.C.B."Paul KreppelMichelle JonesFebruary 9, 1994 (1994-02-09)16.8[18]
Barbecue-sauce chef Thea is offered a restaurant partnership.
19"The Pie Queen and the Loan Duck"John BowabTeri SchafferFebruary 16, 1994 (1994-02-16)13.6[19]
Jarvis needs space and privacy to study for his college SATs. Meanwhile, Thea is outraged when she learns that Mitch Mallard, the banker who holds the mortgage on the diner, eats there for free.

Syndication

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Reruns of the show aired on BET from 1994 to 1998 and returned to the same channel on Mother's Day in 2008, but stopped airing a few months later.

Ratings

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  • Episode 1: 13.6/22, 20.7 million, #11
  • Episode 2: 10.4/20, 15.9 million, #29
  • Episode 3: 15.0/24, 23.4 million, #10
  • Episode 4: 10.1/17, 14.9 million, #52
  • Episode 5: 10.5/17, 15.4 million, #52
  • Episode 6: 10.3/16, 15.4 million, #53
  • Episode 7: 11.2/18, 17.0 million, #40
  • Episode 8: 10.0/16, 14.6 million, #57
  • Episode 9: 9.7/15, 15.1 million, #55
  • Episode 10: 9.3/16, 14.8 million, #56
  • Episode 11: 13.6/21, 22.2 million, #23
  • Episode 12: 9.6/16, 14.9 million, #54
  • Episode 13: 8.5/14, 14.2 million, #61
  • Episode 14: 11.4/17, 17.6 million, #45
  • Episode 15: 10.2/16, 15.0 million, #58
  • Episode 16: 11.5/17, 17.3 million, #47
  • Episode 17: 10.1/16, 15.6 million, #59
  • Episode 18: 10.7/16, 16.8 million, #48
  • Episode 19: 9.2/14, #46 [20]

Award nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result
1994 Young Artist Awards Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series Brandy Norwood, Jason Weaver, Brenden Jefferson and Adam Jeffries Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 252. ISBN 1-55783-680-9.
  2. ^ a b Gable, Donna (September 15, 1993). "Smooth start for 'seaQuest DSV'". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  3. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 22, 1993. p. 3D.
  4. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. October 6, 1993. p. 3D.
  5. ^ Gable, Donna (October 13, 1993). "New shows pick up steam in ABC win". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  6. ^ Graham, Jefferson; Gable, Donna (October 20, 1993). "'Home Improvement' powers to No. 1". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  7. ^ DeRosa, Robin (October 27, 1993). "World Series earns CBS a win". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  8. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 10, 1993. p. 3D.
  9. ^ DeRosa, Robin (November 24, 1993). "CBS sweeps back to top". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  10. ^ DeRosa, Robin (December 1, 1993). "Thanksgiving week tie for NBC, CBS". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  11. ^ DeRosa, Robin (December 8, 1993). "'White Dog' has its day; CBS, its week". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  12. ^ DeRosa, Robin (December 22, 1993). "ABC on top for 2nd week". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  13. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. December 29, 1993. p. 3D.
  14. ^ DeRosa, Robin (January 12, 1994). "'Improvement' leads ABC charge". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  15. ^ DeRosa, Robin (January 19, 1994). "'Columbo' on the case for ABC". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  16. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. January 26, 1994. p. 3D.
  17. ^ DeRosa, Robin (February 9, 1994). "Lilith brings ratings to 'Frasier'". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
  18. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. February 16, 1994. p. 3D.
  19. ^ "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. February 23, 1994. p. 3D.
  20. ^ "Ratings Week, According to Nielsen" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. No. 9. 28 Feb 1994.
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