Kate & Allie

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CBS (ended 1989)
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Show Summary

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Kate and Allie, which ran on CBS from 19 March 1984 to 22 May 1989, was the brainchild of Sherry Coben who came up with the idea for the series while attending a high school reunion. There she noticed that a couple of divorcees who seemed unhappy and dissatisfied found comfort in sharing with each other. Coben worked with this germinal notion and successfully pitched the resulting script, originally entitled, "Two Mommies," to Michael Ogiens, then head of New York program development at CBS. Ogiens liked the script because it contained fresh material that dealt with a real issue of the day--single parenthood. Kate and Allie was an instant success, ranking fourth the week it debuted, garnering consistently high ratings thereafter, and earning Jane Curtin two consecutive Emmys and Bill Persky, one. The characters and the issues they dealt with obviously appealed to the program's audience. Saint James' character, Kate, is a woman recently divorced from her unstable and somewhat flighty part-time actor husband, Max. She has one daughter, 14-year-old Emma (Ari Meyers). Curtin's Allie is also recently divorced from her successful, but unfaithful doctor husband, Charles. She has a 14-year-old daughter Jennie (Allison Smith) and a seven-year-old son, Chip (Frederick Koehler). Neither Kate nor Allie have ruled out remarriage but view their new situation as a provisional reprieve, a time for both women to come to know and appreciate themselves. On one level the series dealt with practical problems faced by divorced women with children: adjusting to a new lifestyle and to living closely with new people, dealing with children's issues, beginning to date again, securing financial stability.moreless
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Episode Guide

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S 6 :  Ep 22 Aired 5/22/89
S 6 :  Ep 22
S 6 :  Ep 21 Aired 5/15/89
S 6 :  Ep 20 Aired 5/8/89
S 6 :  Ep 19 Aired 5/1/89

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Fan Reviews (8)

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  • A show that needs to be rediscovered!

    8.8
    "Great"
    By lstaltari, Feb 19, 2011
    This show is just so special on so many levels. I watched it constantly when it was on, and then repeatedly when it used to be in reruns. The interesting thing about this show is that it really was a forerunner for shows dealing with "new" families. Jane Curtin and Susan St. James were superb in their roles and the supporting cast of child/teen actors complemented them so well. The episodes were filled with not only comedy but with life lessons too--it is a shame that this show is not yet on DVD---a whole new generation needs to see this!moreless

  • "Kate & Allie" IS the quintessential New York sitcom! No other sitcom--not even "Seinfeld"--can define life in the Big Apple as brilliantly as this gem.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By BatJane, Feb 19, 2011
    As a college student at Ball State University, I wanted to enter the screenwriting field as a staff writer for "Kate & Allie". I entered a spec script in BSU's David Letterman screenplay competition--one in which Kate and Allie were to fly to Los Angeles to appear on a "Let's Make a Deal"-type game show. Unfortunately, the ladies trade in a coffee pot that contained $5000 for 500 cans of tuna; and Kate gets arrested for public intoxication after having had too much champagne on the flight out west, leaving Allie to use their leftover funds to bail Kate out of jail. As it might be expected, I lost the competition, but I had the brief honor of having written for what has been a truly memorable show with quality acting and writing.moreless

  • Absolutely, positively, outrageously, BORING!

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By DarkNinja1994, Feb 19, 2011
    Oh my, this show is just terrible! You see, my mom and I have become Dharma and Greg fanatics, and this happens to be on after said show. I said, "Hey, this looks interesting." Mom said, "What is it?" "Kate and Allie." My poor mother's eyes grew wide and she began to shake and said, "NO! Anything but that!" So I didn't listen to my mother and I watched it anyway. It's so FAKE! The acting is horrible and they laugh at jokes that aren't even funny! I don't know how anyone could bare to watch it! Anime is soooooooo much better. Trust me.moreless

  • A great sitcom.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ironical08, Jun 02, 2008
    So I started watching this in reruns one day (I wasn't alive during it's original airings) purely for Jane Curtin. Despite my general dislike of Susan St. James, I really, really love this show! It's funny, but not "stupid" humor. Also, it's completely quotable, with such great lines as "You are a wanton trollop and a compulsive liar." Classic! I also love the dynamic between Kate and Allie. They balance each other out with their respective neuroses but at the heart of it really love each other and would do anything for one another. Even after Allie married Bob, I think the show still survived. I need to go out and get the DVD sets!moreless

  • I am bummed that I never knew about this show before now!

    8.4
    "Great"
    By sunshyn256, Mar 04, 2008
    Did anyone notice that the guy who played BOB BARSKEY also played two other characters? He first played a politician that Allie volenteered for and then when Kate decides to take cookie lessons from a woman in her apartment he played the womans ex husband who wants her to act in a movie. I just wanted to be sure that everyone knew that little tid bit. I started watching this show purely by accident one day as it comes on after dharma and greg. After just one episode I am hooked and have been watching it religeously for at least a year. I do hate it though some days they replace the schedule and get back to normal a few days later. There is something about this show that is more than just a comedy or drama about real life and perhaps thats it, it is about real life.moreless
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