The Powers That Be (TV series)
| The Powers That Be | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
David Crane Marta Kauffman |
| Directed by | Hal Cooper Art Wolff |
| Starring |
John Forsythe Holland Taylor Eve Gordon Peter MacNicol Valerie Mahaffey Elizabeth Berridge David Hyde Pierce Joseph Gordon-Levitt Robin Bartlett |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 21 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Norman Lear |
| Producer(s) | Ron Burla Patricia Fass Palmer |
| Cinematography | Dan Kuleto |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24 mins. |
| Production company(s) |
Act III Television ELP Communications Castle Rock Entertainment Columbia Pictures Television |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | March 7, 1992 – January 16, 1993 |
The Powers That Be is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from March 7, 1992 to January 16, 1993. The series was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and Norman Lear served as executive producer.
At the center of the series is U.S. Senator William Powers, a parody of the political establishment in Washington, D.C. Margaret, the senator's status-hungry wife, treats Charlotte, their maid, with comedic disdain. Caitlyn, the senator's daughter, has an eating disorder and is married to Representative Theodore Van Horne, who is suicidal; their son, Pierce, is mature beyond his years from having to care for his unbalanced parents. Sophie Lipkin, the senator's illegitimate daughter, is a loud, crass New Jerseyan who surprises the family when she moves to Washington and begins to bond with her father. The senator's staff includes an intelligent and beautiful aide, Jordan Miller — who is also Powers' mistress — and the feckless aide Bradley Grist.
Although the program was short lived, several of the principals subsequently became involved in long-running and popular sitcoms created after the show's demise. Series creators Crane and Kauffman went on to develop Friends, which lasted 10 years. Among the actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt took a role in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Robin Bartlett played a recurring part on Mad About You, Peter MacNicol would soon reach fame with a similar eccentric character (as John Cage) in Ally McBeal, and David Hyde Pierce was chosen for his role as Niles Crane in the series Frasier partly on the basis of his work in this program. Holland Taylor also went on to greater sitcom stardom later in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men.
...
Wikipedia