Homefront (American TV series)

Homefront is an American television drama series created by former Knots Landing producers Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick in association with Lorimar Television. The show is set in the late 1940s in the fictional city of River Run, Ohio, and aired on ABC from September 24, 1991, to April 26, 1993.^[1] The show's theme song, "Accentuate the Positive", was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and performed by Jack Sheldon.^[2]

Homefront
Genre	Drama
Created by	Lynn Marie Latham Bernard Lechowick
Starring	Kyle Chandler Sammi Davis Ken Jenkins Mimi Kennedy Tammy Lauren Sterling Macer Jr. David Newsom Harry O'Reilly Wendy Phillips Kelly Rutherford Giuliana Santini John Slattery Jessica Steen Dick Anthony Williams Alexandra Wilson Hattie Winston
Theme music composer	Harold Arlen Johnny Mercer
Opening theme	"Accentuate the Positive" performed by Jack Sheldon
Composer	Stewart Levin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	42 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	David Jacobs Lynn Marie Latham Bernard Lechowick
Producer	Christopher Chulack
Production companies	Roundelay Productions Latham-Lechowick Productions Lorimar Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24) – April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26)

Series overview

Homefront begins in September 1945 and focuses on three families from different backgrounds, the Sloan, Metcalf and Davis families. The Sloans, Mike Sr. and Ruth (Ken Jenkins and Mimi Kennedy), own a steel manufacturing factory initially responsible for making tank parts in the war. They are coming to grips with the death of their only son, Mike Jr., a soldier, and the arrival of his Italian war bride, Gina (Giuliana Santini), a Jewish Holocaust survivor. The Metcalfs include widow Anne (Wendy Phillips) and her three children, Hank (David Newsom), Linda (Jessica Steen) and Jeff (Kyle Chandler). Anne and Linda are dealing with being displaced from their job at the plant for returning GIs, while Hank, a returning soldier, and Jeff, a baseball player for the Cleveland Indians, are involved in a love triangle with college student Sarah Brewer (Alexandra Wilson). Meanwhile, Linda's friend, Ginger Szabo (Tammy Lauren) is shocked when her boyfriend Charlie Hailey (Harry O'Reilly) returns from the war with a British war-bride, Caroline (Sammi Davis).

Abe (Dick Anthony Williams) and Gloria Davis (Hattie Winston) are descendants from slaves and work for the Sloans as a chauffeur and housekeeper respectively. Their son Robert (Sterling Macer, Jr.) is a decorated veteran who served in Europe with the 761st Armored Battalion. He lands a job at Sloan Industries but is isolated and belittled by his racist co-workers. In the second season, he is joined by Perrette (Perrey Reeves), his white French war bride. Later cast members include Al Kahn (John Slattery), a Jewish union organiser and possible former Communist sympathiser who seduces Anne, and Judy Owens (Kelly Rutherford), a widow working as a bartender who has an affair with Mike Sr.

While the show received critical praise, it struggled in the ratings and was close to being cancelled after its first season. An April 11, 1992 issue of TV Guide ran a S.O.S (Save Our Shows) campaign to save five series from cancellation, which included Homefront, and two other period pieces (set in the 1950s), Brooklyn Bridge on CBS and I'll Fly Away on NBC. Of the five, Homefront received the most votes – 99,591 – and was subsequently renewed. Abigail Van Buren of Dear Abby also dedicated a column to the show, urging fans to write into the network to save it.^[3] However ratings did not improve in its second season, and after being moved around the schedule numerous times, the show was cancelled.

Cast and characters

• Kyle Chandler as Jeff Metcalf
• Sammi Davis-Voss as Caroline Hailey
• Ken Jenkins as Mike Sloan, Sr.
• Mimi Kennedy as Ruth Sloan
• Tammy Lauren as Ginger Szabo
• Sterling Macer, Jr. as Cpl. Robert Davis (season 1 & eps. 1–4 of season 2)
• David Newsom as Lt. Hank Metcalf (season 1)
• Harry O'Reilly as Sgt. Charlie Hailey
• Wendy Phillips as Anne Metcalf Kahn
• Giuliana Santini as Gina Sloan
• Jessica Steen as Linda Metcalf
• Dick Anthony Williams as Abe Davis
• Alexandra Wilson as Sarah Brewer (eps. 1–20)
• Hattie Winston as Gloria Davis
• John Slattery as Al Kahn (eps. 5+)
• Kelly Rutherford as Judy Owen (season 2; recurring season 1)

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	24		September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)	April 15, 1992 (1992-04-15)
2	18		September 17, 1992 (1992-09-17)	April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26)

Season 1 (1991–92)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	Viewers (millions)
1	1	"S.N.A.F.U."	Ron Lagomarsino[4]	Lynn Marie Latham & Bernard Lechowick	September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)	447151[4]	12.2[5]
2	2	"Take My Hand"	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Bernard Lechowick	July 13, 1992 (1992-07-13)[a]	447152	8.5
3	3	"Bedsprings"	David Carson	Lynn Marie Latham	October 1, 1991 (1991-10-01)	447153	11.5
4	4	"So All Alone"	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Bernard Lechowick	October 8, 1991 (1991-10-08)	447154	11.5
5	5	"Patriots"	Nicholas Sgarro	Bernard Lechowick	October 15, 1991 (1991-10-15)	447155	10.2
6	6	"Holier Than Thou, Too"	Bruce Seth Green	Bernard Lechowick	October 29, 1991 (1991-10-29)	447156	10.7
7	7	"Toledo"	Nicholas Sgarro	Lynn Marie Latham	November 12, 1991 (1991-11-12)	447157	12.2
8	8	"Kids"	Bruce Seth Green	Diane Messina Stanley	November 19, 1991 (1991-11-19)	447158	9.1
9	9	"Man, This Joint is Jumping"	Félix Enríquez Alcalá	Lynn Marie Latham	November 26, 1991 (1991-11-26)	447159	10.9
10	10	"Splitting Hairs"	Bruce Seth Green	Bernard Lechowick	December 3, 1991 (1991-12-03)	447160	11.0
11	11	"Szabo's Travels"	Félix Enríquez Alcalá	Lynn Marie Latham	December 10, 1991 (1991-12-10)	447161	9.4
12	12	"Sinners Reconciled"	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Bernard Lechowick	December 17, 1991 (1991-12-17)	447162	10.8
13	13	"All Theses Things Will I Give to Thee"	David Carson	Lynn Marie Latham	January 7, 1992 (1992-01-07)	447163	10.4
14	14	"When It Rains, It Pours"	Bruce Seth Green	Bernard Lechowick	January 14, 1992 (1992-01-14)	447164	10.9
15	15	"That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles"	Anita Addison	Lynn Marie Latham	January 28, 1992 (1992-01-28)	447165	8.8
16	16	"Bad Connection"	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Bernard Lechowick	February 4, 1992 (1992-02-04)	447166	11.0
17	17	"Getting to First Base"	Bruce Seth Green	Lynn Marie Latham & Bernard Lechowick	February 18, 1992 (1992-02-18)	447167	11.6
18	18	"No Man Loyal and Neutral"	David Carson	David Assael	March 4, 1992 (1992-03-04)	447168	10.3
19	19	"First Sign of Spring"	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Bernard Lechowick	March 11, 1992 (1992-03-11)	447169	9.5
20	20	"At Your Age"	David Carson	Bernard Lechowick	March 18, 1992 (1992-03-18)	447170	10.7
21	21	"Obstinacy or Constancy?"	Joseph L. Scanlan	Bernard Lechowick	March 25, 1992 (1992-03-25)	447171	9.0
22	22	"If You Want it Done Right..."	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Bernard Lechowick	April 1, 1992 (1992-04-01)	447172	10.3
23	23	"Spanish Moss"	Joseph L. Scanlan	Lynn Marie Latham & James Stanley	April 8, 1992 (1992-04-08)	447173	9.3
24	24	"Songs Unsung Are Sweetest"	Nicholas Sgarro	Bernard Lechowick	April 15, 1992 (1992-04-15)	447174	11.1

Note

1. This episode aired out-of-order after the show's initial run, as ABC felt it was "too depressing" for new viewers.

Season 2 (1992–93)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	Viewers (millions)
25	1	"By Popular Demand"	Joseph L. Scanlan	Bernard Lechowick	September 17, 1992 (1992-09-17)	447701	9.2
26	2	"The Lemo Tomato Juice Hour"	Sharron Miller	Lynn Marie Latham	September 24, 1992 (1992-09-24)	447702	8.3
27	3	"Can't Say No"	Roy Campanella II	Diane Messina Stanley	October 1, 1992 (1992-10-01)	447703	8.7
28	4	"Appleknocker to Wed Tomatohawker"	Joseph L. Scanlan	Bernard Lechowick	October 8, 1992 (1992-10-08)	447704	9.8
29	5	"A Nickel Plate Romance"	Mike Vejar	Lynn Marie Latham	October 22, 1992 (1992-10-22)	447705	8.1
30	6	"When the Stars Begin to Fall"	Sharron Miller	Bernard Lechowick	October 29, 1992 (1992-10-29)	447706	8.7
31	7	"The Traveling Lemo All-Stars"	Lorraine Senna Ferrara	Lynn Marie Latham	November 11, 1992 (1992-11-11)	447707	8.1
32	8	"First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage"	Sharron Miller	Bernard Lechowick	December 3, 1992 (1992-12-03)	447708	7.7
33	9	"Life Is Short"	Mike Vejar	Bernard Lechowick	December 17, 1992 (1992-12-17)	447709	7.2
34	10	"Signed, Crazy in Love"	Christopher Chulack	James Stanley	March 9, 1993 (1993-03-09)	447710	9.6
35	11	"On the Rebound"	Mike Vejar	Bernard Lechowick	April 23, 2000 (2000-04-23)[a]	447711	unaired
36	12	"Like Being There When You're Not"	Mike Vejar	Bernard Lechowick	March 16, 1993 (1993-03-16)	447713	9.4
37	13	"Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How"	Sharron Miller	Lynn Marie Latham	March 23, 1993 (1993-03-23)	447714	11.0
38	14	"Garfield Slept Here"	Mike Vejar	Lynn Marie Latham	March 30, 1993 (1993-03-30)	447715	10.0
39	15	"By Word or Act"	Sharron Miller	Bernard Lechowick	April 6, 1993 (1993-04-06)	447716	9.0
40	16	"The Lacemakers"	Sharron Miller	Bernard Lechowick	April 13, 1993 (1993-04-13)	447712	10.6
41	17	"Shabbat Shalom"	Mike Vejar	Diane Messina Stanley & James Stanley	April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26)	447717	8.8
42	18	"All Good Things"	Sharron Miller	Bernard Lechowick	April 26, 1993 (1993-04-26)	447718	8.8

Note

1. This episode was never aired by ABC during its initial run, and premiered on April 23, 2000 as part of a Homefront marathon on TV Land.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
1992	American Cinema Editors' Eddie Award	Best Edited Episode from a Television Series	Michael B. Hoggan and William B. Stich (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
	Casting Society of America's Artios Award	Best Casting for TV, Pilot	Irene Mariano	Nominated
		Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Episodic	Irene Mariano	Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Sammi Davis	Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Dramatic Series	Homefront	Won
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Christopher Chulack, David Jacobs, Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Ron Lagomarsino (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series	Jerry Gugliemotto and Barbara Ronci (For episode "Man, This Joint Is Jumping")	Won
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special	Jerry Gugliemotto and Georgina Williams (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
		Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single-Camera Production	Michael B. Hoggan and William B. Stich (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
		Outstanding Costuming for a Series	Chic Gennarelli and Lyn Paolo (For episode "At Your Age")	Won
		Outstanding Costuming for a Miniseries or a Special	Nanrose Buchman, Chic Gennarelli and Lyn Paolo (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
		Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special	Anne D. McCulley and Dean E. Mitzner (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Nominated
	Television Critics Association Award	Outstanding Achievement in Drama	Homefront	Nominated
1993	American Television Awards[6]	Best Dramatic Series	Homefront	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress, Dramatic Series	Mimi Kennedy	Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Best Television Series – Drama	Homefront	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series	Lynn Marie Latham, Bernard Lechowick, David Jacobs, Diane Messina Stanley, James Stanley and Christopher Chulack	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Bernard Lechowick (For episode "The Lacemakeres")	Nominated
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series	Jerry Gugliemotto and Georgina Williams (For episode "Life Is Short")	Nominated
		Outstanding Costuming for a Series	Chic Gennarelli and Lyn Paolo (For episode "Like Being There When You're Not")	Won
		Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special	Dean E. Mitzner and Tom Pedigo (For episode "The Traveling Lemo All-Stars")	Won
	Television Critics Association Award	Outstanding Achievement in Drama	Homefront	Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series	Mimi Kennedy	Nominated
		Founder's Award	Lynn Marie Latham, Bernard Lechowick, David Jacobs, Diane Messina Stanley, James Stanley and Christopher Chulack	Won
	Writers Guild of America Award	Original Long Form	Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick (For episode "S.N.A.F.U.")	Won