Tattingers
Encyclopedia
Tattingers is a comedy-drama
aired by the NBC
television network
as part of its 1988 fall lineup
. After failing in the Nielsen ratings
as an hour-long program, the plot and characters were briefly revived in the spring of 1989 as the half-hour situation comedy
Nick & Hillary.
Tattingers is the story of a couple, Nick and Hillary Tattinger (Stephen Collins and Blythe Danner
), who had co-owned a posh Manhattan
restaurant
. They had divorced, but remained partners in the restaurant until Nick was shot by a drug dealer and decided to sell the restaurant and leave Manhattan for Paris. However, his successors proved incapable of running the restaurant properly, so Nick reclaimed the restaurant from them and decided to give it another go. Real-life Manhattan celebrities often appeared in cameo roles as themselves, Nick's exclusive clientele.
This program was a ratings failure and was cancelled in January 1989. However, NBC was apparently unwilling to give up totally on the characters or the concept, and the program was revamped into a half-hour sitcom, Nick & Hillary. This new series premiered on April 20, 1989. However, it was cancelled again after only two episodes in this format had aired. The opening titles were done with still photographs, and thought to be the best TV show opening of 1988. Still photographs by Robert L.Grant of Local Color.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
aired by the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
as part of its 1988 fall lineup
1988-89 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all four networks for the fall season beginning in September 1988. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.New series highlighted in blue....
. After failing in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
as an hour-long program, the plot and characters were briefly revived in the spring of 1989 as the half-hour situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Nick & Hillary.
Tattingers is the story of a couple, Nick and Hillary Tattinger (Stephen Collins and Blythe Danner
Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
), who had co-owned a posh Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
. They had divorced, but remained partners in the restaurant until Nick was shot by a drug dealer and decided to sell the restaurant and leave Manhattan for Paris. However, his successors proved incapable of running the restaurant properly, so Nick reclaimed the restaurant from them and decided to give it another go. Real-life Manhattan celebrities often appeared in cameo roles as themselves, Nick's exclusive clientele.
This program was a ratings failure and was cancelled in January 1989. However, NBC was apparently unwilling to give up totally on the characters or the concept, and the program was revamped into a half-hour sitcom, Nick & Hillary. This new series premiered on April 20, 1989. However, it was cancelled again after only two episodes in this format had aired. The opening titles were done with still photographs, and thought to be the best TV show opening of 1988. Still photographs by Robert L.Grant of Local Color.