Series History
A season-by-season guide
to the entire show!
"It's a simple premise, but it's vintage
[Susan] Harris, and like everything else she does, Empty Nest has been
meticulously thought out and superbly cast. Each of the regulars is carefully
drawn, consistently realized....As for Empty Nest, it's warm and entertaining
comedy...If you like the humor in Golden Girls, you'll enjoy Empty Nest. And
even if you don't like Golden Girls, sample Empty Nest anyway. Trust
us."
---TV Guide,
1988
"Harry Weston is delicious and Dreyfuss the dog
is delightful. [Empty] Nest is home to an experienced ensemble that knows
its way around a sitcom."
---TV Guide,
1992
Capitalizing on the popularity of her hit series
The Golden Girls, creator Susan Harris decided to develop a
companion piece set just down the street from the girls and centering around the
empty nest syndrome, an idea never touched on before in the plot of a weekly
series.
The initial pilot aired at the end of the second season of
The Golden Girls and starred Rita Morena and Paul Dooley as a married
couple whose daughter had gone away to college. When that idea wasn't
well-received, Harris assembled a talented cast and retooled her new series as a
vehicle for Richard Mulligan - who had worked with Harris on her earlier
series Soap - as a widowed pediatrician with three adult
daughters. The series debuted as part of NBC's Saturday night
lineup in the fall of 1988.
Empty Nest
starred:
Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry
Weston
Kristy McNichol as Barbara Weston (Seasons One-Five,
1988-1992)
Dinah Manoff as Carol Weston
David Leisure as Charley
Dietz
Park Overall as Nurse Laverne Todd
Paul Provenza as Patrick Arcola
(Season Five, 1992-1993)
Lisa Rieffel as Emily Weston (Season Five,
1993)
Marsha Warfield as Dr. Maxine Douglas (Seasons Six-Seven,
1993-1995)
Estelle
Getty as Sophia Petrillo (Seasons Six-Seven, 1993-1995)
From its debut,
Empty Nest was an instant hit and solidified itself as more than a
mere spinoff, eventually even earning more viewers than the series from
which it was spun-off. This section of the site offers a detailed description of
each season, noting the changes in the series and cast, as well as information
about the events taking place throughout each year.
Original Pilot I Season One I Season Two I Season Three
Season Four I Season Five I Season Six I Season
Seven