Frank's Place
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| Frank's Place | |
|---|---|
 Tim Reid (center) in Frank's Place |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Creator(s) | Tim Reid, Hugh Wilson |
| Starring | Tim Reid Daphne Maxwell Reid Tony Burton Virginia Capers Robert Harper Lincoln Kilpatrick Charles Lampkin |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 0:30 (per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | September 14, 1987 – March 22, 1988 |
Frank's Place was a CBS "dramedy" (comedy-drama hybrid) series which aired for 22 episodes in 1987 and 1988. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive-produced by Wilson and star Tim Reid.
Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicled the life of Frank Parrish (Tim Reid), a well-to-do Boston college professor who inherits a restaurant, Chez Louisiane. In the premiere, Frank travels to New Orleans intending to sell the restaurant. But when Frank returns to Boston, the life he's known there suddenly goes inexplicably haywire. The viewers know the reason: Miss Marie (Frances E. Williams), a waitress at Chez Louisiane, has put a voodoo curse on Frank ensuring that he will come back to carry on his family's business. Feeling he has no choice, Frank returns to New Orleans and makes many discoveries about working class black culture, the differences between northern and southern lifestyles, and himself.
Unlike most sitcom productions which are videotaped, Frank's Place was filmed with a single camera and used no laugh track.
Daphne Maxwell Reid (Tim Reid's real-life wife) played Hanna Griffin, Frank's love interest. Tony Burton, Virginia Capers, Robert Harper, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Charles Lampkin, Francesca Roberts, Don Yesso, and William Thomas Jr. rounded out the cast.
Frank's Place received the Television Critics Association award for outstanding comedy series in 1987. In 1988 it won an Emmy for best writing in a comedy series. The show was praised for its realistic portrayal of southern black culture. It used Louis Armstrong's classic "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" as its theme song. The look of the restaurant and Tim Reid's character was inspired by Austin Leslie's Chez Helene restaurant in New Orleans.
