The Nanny

The Nanny
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Fran Drescher Peter Marc Jacobson
Developed by	Prudence Fraser Robert Sternin
Starring	Fran Drescher Charles Shaughnessy Daniel Davis Lauren Lane Nicholle Tom Benjamin Salisbury Madeline Zima Renée Taylor Ann Guilbert Rachel Chagall
Theme music composer	Ann Hampton Callaway (Pilot episode: Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields)
Opening theme	"The Nanny Named Fran", written and performed by Ann Hampton Callaway (Pilot episode: "If My Friends Could See Me Now" by Gwen Verdon)
Composer(s)	Timothy Thompson
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English Yiddish (dubbed)
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	146 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Robert Sternin Prudence Fraser (seasons 1–4; consulting executive producers, seasons 5–6) Peter Marc Jacobson (seasons 2–6) Fran Drescher (seasons 4-6) Diane Wilk (seasons 5–6) Frank Lombardi Caryn Lucas (both; season 6)
Camera setup	Videotape; Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc. TriStar Television (both; entire run) Highschool Sweethearts (1996–1999)
Distributor	TriStar Television (1994–1999) Columbia TriStar Television (1997–2002; syndication) Sony Pictures Television (2002–present, reruns only)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Picture format	480i 4:3 (SDTV) 720p 1.33 : 1 (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo (NTSC)
Original run	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03) – June 23, 1999 (1999-06-23)[1]
Status	Ended
External links
Official website
Production website

The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc. and Highschool Sweethearts in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network. It first aired from November 3, 1993, to May 12, 1999, and starred Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish Queens native who casually becomes the nanny of three children from the New York/British upper class.

Created and executive produced by Drescher and her then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, The Nanny took much of its inspiration from Drescher's personal life, involving names and characteristics based on near relatives and friends. The show earned a Rose d'Or and one Emmy Award, out of a total of thirteen nominations, and Drescher was twice nominated for a Golden Globe as well as for an Emmy. Since the early 2000s the sitcom has also spawned several foreign adaptations, loosely inspired by the original scripts.

Plot

Fran, fresh out of her job as a bridal consultant in her ex-boyfriend's shop, first appears on the doorstep of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) peddling cosmetics, and quickly stumbles upon the opportunity to become the nanny for his three children. Soon Fran, with her off-beat nurturing and no-nonsense honesty, touches the whole family as she gives the prim-and-proper Maxwell and his children a dose of 'Queens logic,' helping them to become a healthy, happy family; a family that she soon fully joins when she becomes engaged and, later, married to Maxwell.

Other characters include sardonic butler Niles (Daniel Davis), and Maxwell's socialite business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), who views Fran with jealousy and skepticism.

Cast

Main cast

The Nanny maintained an ensemble cast, keeping the same set of characters for its entire six-season run. Numerous secondary characters and love interests for these characters appeared intermittently to complement storylines that generally revolved around this core group.

Guest stars

Although largely operating around the main ensemble cast, The Nanny featured an enormous number of guest stars over the years. Notable repeat guests included Lainie Kazan as Fran's paternal aunt Freida Fine, Steve Lawrence as Fran's never before seen father Morty Fine and (in one episode) as himself, Pamela Anderson as Fran's nemesis Heather Biblow, Ray Charles as Yetta's fiancé Sammy, Spalding Gray as Dr. Jack Miller, and Fred Stoller as Fred The Pharmacist. Some celebrities guested as characters in single episodes, such as John Astin, Roseanne as Fran's cousin Sheila, and Joan Collins as Maxwell's stepmother, Robert Vaughn as Maxwell's father. Others appeared as themselves, primarily in connection with Maxwell's business relations, such as Bob Barker, Chevy Chase, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lesley-Anne Down, Erik Estrada, Dan Aykroyd, Joe Lando, Richard Kline, Bette Midler, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Jane Seymour, Cloris Leachman, Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Jason Alexander, Lamb Chop (puppet) and Shari Lewis, Andrew Dice Clay, Lynn Redgrave, Hugh Grant, Margaret Cho, Eric Braeden and Hunter Tylo; media personalities Roger Clinton, Jr., Alicia Machado, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Donald Trump; and musicians Lisa Loeb, Brian Setzer, Celine Dion. Rapper Coolio, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Lawrence and Rosie O'Donnell guest starred as both characters and themselves in different episodes. Two-time "Survivor" Jonathan Penner appeared as Fran's former fiance, Danny Imperialli. James Marsden appeared as Maggie's boyfriend, Eddie, and Telma Hopkins appeared as Fran's "mother" in the episode Fran's Roots. Scott Baio made an appearance as a rookie doctor who was a former schoolmate of Fran's (Fran was his first patient...ever). Jon Stewart portrayed a Jewish love interest of Fran's until it was discovered at a family wedding that the two were cousins.

Marvin Hamlisch appeared as Fran's former high school music teacher, a Marvin Hamlisch look-alike. Fran Drescher also reprised her role of Bobbi Fleckman from the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap and made a cameo appearance as actor "Fran Drescher" in the third to last episode. Charles Shaughnessy had a double role as a foreign sultan in one episode. Drescher's real-life parents, Morty and Sylvia, initially appeared as a couple in the waiting room of Grace's therapist and made subsequent appearances as Fran's Uncle Stanley and Aunt Rose; her Pomeranian Chester appeared as C.C.'s pet in more than a dozen episodes. Renée Taylor's husband, actor Joseph Bologna, and their son Gabriel Bologna, had minor roles as doctors on the show. Ray Romano appeared as Fran's former high school classmate Ray Barone, linking The Nanny with his comedy Everybody Loves Raymond. Tom Bergeron appeared as himself, the host of Hollywood Squares, in an episode in which Maxwell appeared as a star on the show's board as a replacement for Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Episode overview

Ratings

Note: Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4's ratings are for household ratings, not viewership figures.

The Nanny: Reunion Special

Theme song and opening credits

7 East 75th Street on the Upper East Side served for the exterior shots of the house of the Sheffields

Theme song

The show's original theme was the song "If My Friends Could See Me Now", performed by Gwen Verdon from the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity ^[7], but this theme was scrapped after the pilot episode, and it was only heard in the pilot episode in the original CBS run (all syndicated airings of the episode removed the theme as well as any mention of it in the closing credits).

The second theme song, "The Nanny Named Fran", which was written and performed by Ann Hampton Callaway, would be the theme song for the remainder of the series (and would replace the former theme in syndicated reruns of the pilot episode). Two instrumental versions of the theme song were used in the closing credits, one that is a direct instrumental version of the theme (used only in a few season one episodes), and another that sounds slightly different from the theme song (although the end of the closing theme features an instrumental portion taken almost directly from the theme song).

Opening credits

The opening sequence for the pilot featured Fran in front of a white background, getting herself made up going to work as the nanny; at the end of the sequence, it shows Fran heading toward a stroller and a lipstick print appears to the above right.

Along with the change of the theme song from "If My Friends Could See Me Now" to "The Nanny Named Fran" came the change of the opening sequence, which like the theme, describes (with the main characters in animated form) the story of how Fran Fine went from being fired from the bridal shop by Danny Imperiali to becoming the nanny of the Sheffield children. The opening sequence remained the same despite Renée Taylor, Ann Guilbert and Rachel Chagall being now credited as "starring" in the in-show credits beginning in season five. The only change to the sequence was in season six when producer Kathy Landsberg was promoted to co-executive producer of the series as her producer credit was moved to the in-show credits, and the names of show creators Drescher and Jacobson, and developers Sternin and Fraser were added in its place.

Production

Development

It was not until 1991 – the same year Drescher decided to visit friend Twiggy Lawson and her family in London, England, that the pair came up with early drafts for The Nanny. Inspired by a culture-clash shopping tour with Lawson's teenage daughter which saw Drescher actually functioning in a less parental but "humorous [...] kind of Queens logic, self-serving advice" mode,^[8] she convinced her husband starting work of what she called "doing a spin on [the 1965 film] The Sound of Music."^[8] However, it was not until a transatlantic flight to Paris that Drescher persuaded fellow passenger Jeff Sagansky, at the time president of CBS Corporation, for whom she had starred in the short-lived TV series Princesses, to meet with her and Jacobson when Drescher returned to Los Angeles, California.

Back in Los Angeles, the pair pitched their idea to Tim Flack and Joe Voci, both in comedy development at CBS.^[8] Sagansky brought in experienced producers Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser,^[8] another husband-and-wife team with whom Drescher had worked before while guesting on Who's the Boss? in 1985 and 1986. Interested, both couples teamed up to write the script for the pilot together, creating a character with the intention to build off Drescher's image. "Our business strategy was to create a show that was going to complement our writing, complement me as a talent,"^[8] Drescher said in a 1997 interview with the Hollywood Reporter. As a result, the characters draw deeply on the Drescher family, including Fran Fine's parents, Sylvia and Morty, and grandmother Yetta, who all were named after their real-life counterparts.

Crew

Most of all early The Nanny episodes were shot in front of a live studio audience on Stage 6 at the Culver Studios generally on Friday nights. During later seasons the taping was no longer performed before an audience due to the complexities of the fantasy sequences, costume changes, etc. Scripts for a new episode were issued the Monday before for a read-through; Wednesday was rehearsal and network run-through day, and final scripts were issued on Thursday.^[9]

Nearly 100 crew members were involved in the shooting of a single episode.^[10] Although Drescher, Fraser, Jacobson and Sternin, the show's only executive producers for the first four seasons, coordinated "pretty much everything" at the beginning,^[10] according to Sternin, they eventually found their niche and in the following years, Drescher and Sternin decided to focus on writing story outlines, while Jacobson presided over the writing team, and Fraser observed the run-throughs.^[10] The four of them were later joined by Frank Lombardi, Caryn Lucas and Diane Wilk.

Humor

The comedy in The Nanny was formulated with many running gags, which contributed heavily to the success of the series. Much of this formula was character-based, with all major characters possessing a specific trait or quirks that provided a source of parody for other characters. The conflicting elements of each character's own comedy were often played off against one another (Fran and Maxwell, Niles and C.C., Maggie and Brighton). Occasionally the characters would break the fourth wall and comment on the situations themselves, or Fran would comment to the audience or look into the camera. Other running gags are the many references to Beatles songs and the musicals Fiddler On The Roof and My Fair Lady. Most of the humor Fran uses is aimed toward a Jewish audience. She makes references to Yiddish words and teaches the Sheffield children to be stereotypical Jews (to never pay retail price, to go after men like doctors, etc.) Most of this humor stems from scenes including her mother Sylvia.

At times, they would also make fun of the star's previous careers or real life off-screen time. This was noticeable when Yetta saw her reflection in the mirror and thought she was seeing Millie Helper from The Dick Van Dyke Show (which Guibert was a cast of), Maxwell remembering how he wanted to hire a former cast member from Days of Our Lives but thought he wasn't "British" enough (a reference to Charles Shaughnessy's former series), C.C. using props to hide Lauren Lane's real pregnant body at the time, and Fran meeting her idol—Fran Drescher—who gave her a hint on what she (the TV Fran) was going to do in the next scene in the second-to-last episode in the last season.

Other running gags include Fran constantly referring to eccentric family members (some never shown, most of them dying); Fran lying about her age—especially to men; Maxwell fighting through his rivalry with actual Broadway producer Andrew Lloyd Webber; Sylvia loving food in excess; Niles delivering sharp one-liners, often aimed at C.C.; C.C. cold-heartedly reacting to situations that are usually sentimental to others (i.e. the death of Bambi's mother); Gracie psychologically analyzing various situations; Niles getting fired because he embarrasses Maxwell or gives Fran ideas that Maxwell extremely dislikes (like the time when Niles suggested that Max, C.C. and Fran go to the Streisand house); Fran and Val lacking intelligence and obsessing over material possessions (i.e. clothes); Yetta making disconnected comments revealing her senility; Fran criticizing Maxwell's and Niles' reserved and inhibited British nature; Brighton morphing into a hopeless dork; Fran's attraction to Jewish males; Maxwell passing up the incredibly popular musical, Cats, then becoming upset when such an idiotic idea became a success; Niles' last name never being revealed; C.C. covering her long-unrevealed name (finally given as Chastity Claire in the series finale); C.C. failing to remember the names of the Sheffield children (even convinced by Niles in one episode that there was another child Sydney); Sylvia constantly nagging Fran to get married; Fran's dad, Morty often featured in the series but never actually seen (until portrayed by Steve Lawrence in later episodes); Morty's only physical trait being the fact that he is bald, which he is always comically losing his wig; Niles offering obvious hints to Maxwell and Fran about them realizing they should be together and hints from each other; C.C. pining over her unrequited romantic interest in Maxwell; and Fran obsessing with Barbra Streisand. There was also the occasional tryst between Niles and C.C., contrasting with their typical open disdain for each other, which was actually love. Season 4 featured a running gag where both Fran and Maxwell kept secret from the other household members "The Thing" (the fact that in the season 3 finale Maxwell tells Fran he loves her, but then in the Season 4 premiere he takes it back). It's also following "The Thing" that whenever Maxwell makes comments denying he has feelings for Fran, she is temporary "paralyzed" (she can't feel her arm, her entire left side shuts down, etc.).

In addition, there is also a great deal of physical comedy in The Nanny including exaggerated falls and chases. Drescher's facial expressions, when shocked or surprised, can also be seen as reminiscent of Lucille Ball's portrayals of Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael. The parallels were suggested in a few episodes, where an exasperated Mr. Sheffield refers to Fran as "Mrs Carmichael," and says in another: "Mr. Mooney fire you from the bank again?". Another Lucy reference (in which the family travels to Hollywood) is when he alludes to Fran and "Ethel" stealing John Wayne's footprints, and again when Maxwell says "Miss Fine, you got' some 'splaining to do!" like Ricky Ricardo often said to Lucy Ricardo. The episode that featured a visit from Elizabeth Taylor began with Maxwell and Niles trying to hide the visit from Fran ("Boys, boys, boys. Now do you think my mother gave birth to a dummy 25 years ago?") followed by her gripe "You never introduce me to any of the stars that you know; I've got a good mind to take Little Ricky and... oh. Never mind." Viewers for Quality Television calls The Nanny "the 90s version of I Love Lucy. It was well written and entertaining"^[11].

Reception

The show languished its first year. When it was nearly canceled, Sagansky stepped in as its champion. According to Jacobson: "At all those affiliate meetings, he used to say, 'Stick by The Nanny!' He knew it was something special."^[12] The sitcom was the first new show delivered to CBS for the 1993 season and the highest-tested pilot at the network in years.^[8] The series was also hugely successful internationally, especially in Australia,^[12] where it was one of the highest rated programs during the mid-late 1990s.

Although soon emerging as a favorite among the company, sponsors questioned whether the writers had ventured too far in terms of ethnicity and Drescher acted too obviously Jewish.^[8] The actress, however, declined to change Fran Fine into an Italian American: "On TV, you have to work fast, and the most real, the most rooted in reality to me is Jewish. I wanted to do it closest to what I knew."^[13] By contrast, the producers came to the conclusion that to oppose her should be a family of British origin, so "she wouldn't come across as Jewish so much as the American you were rooting for," Sternin explained. "The idea was to make her the American girl who happens to be Jewish rather than the Jewish girl working for the WASPs."^[8]

Syndication

The show began off-network syndication in September 1997, distributed by Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television) on various broadcast television networks in the U.S. The show had aired on Lifetime Television from 2000 until 2008. The show can be seen currently on Nick at Nite in the United States, The Hallmark Channel in the Philippines, Super RTL and VOX in Germany, and Go! and TV1 in Australia. On February 8, 2010, Fran Drescher hosted a week-long marathon of The Nanny, titled "Valentine Schmalentine", on Nick at Nite. On August 2, 2010, The Nanny began airing on TV Land, commencing with a week-long marathon. On January 1, 2011, The Nanny will begin airing on Antenna TV, a new digital broadcast network.

International syndication

Outside of North America, The Nanny is broadcast in various other countries and television networks, each with their own schedule for the series. In the United Kingdom, the entire series aired on the digital network Living.

Other countries where The Nanny airs include the following:

International syndication
Country / Region	Name	Television Network	Dubbing / Subtitles
Austria	Die Nanny (English: "The Nanny")	ORF1 (2005)[14], ATV (2006–2010)	German
Australia	The Nanny	Network Ten, Go!/GEM, TV1	None
Brazil	Nanny	Rede Record, Rede 21, SET	Portuguese dubbing
Catalonia	La Tata (English: "The Nanny")	TV3	Catalan dubbing
Croatia	Dadilja (English: "Nanny")	RTL Televizija[15]	Croatian subtitles
Czech Republic	Chůva k pohledání (English: "Nanny")	TV Prima[16]	Czech dubbing
Denmark	Alletiders barnepige (English: "Full time nanny")	TV3[17]	Danish subtitles
Estonia	Nanny	TV3	Estonian subtitles
Finland	Nanny	Nelonen	Finnish subtitles
France	Une nounou d'enfer (English: "A Wonderful Nanny")	M6,	French
Germany	Die Nanny (English: "The Nanny")[18]	VOX (2002–2010), Super RTL (2007–2010), RTL (1995–2002), FOX Germany (2010)	German dubbing
Greece	Ntanta amesou draseos (English: "Urgent nanny")	Mega, Alpha, Macedonia TV	Greek subtitles
Hungary	A dadus (English: "The Nanny")	TV2, RTL Klub, Cool TV	Hungarian
Israel	Nanny	Channel 3	Hebrew subtitles
Italy	La tata (English: "The Nanny")	Canale 5 (1995), Italia 1 (1996–2000)	Italian dubbing
Lithuania	Auklė (English: "Nanny")	TV3	Lithuanian dubbing
Malaysia	The Nanny	TV2, Astro	Bahasa Malaysia subtitles
Netherlands	The Nanny	RTL 5	Dutch subtitles
Portugal	Competente e Descarada (English: "Competent and shameless")	TVI	?
Romania	Dădaca (English: "Nanny")	Pro TV, Pro Cinema	?
Russia	Няня (English: "Nanny")	Domashny, ДТВ	Russian dubbing
Sweden	Nanny	TV3	Swedish subtitles
Switzerland	Die Nanny (English: "The Nanny")	SF2 (2006–2008)	German
Thailand	The Nanny	Hallamrk, TrueVisions	Thai
United Kingdom	The Nanny	Living TV	None

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released seasons 1, 2 & 3 of The Nanny on DVD in regions 1, 2 & 4. Season 3 was released on March 17, 2009 in Region 1, almost 3 years after the release of season 2. [1]

Awards

Foreign adaptations

Countries with local versions

The Nanny was shown in more than eighty countries worldwide. In addition, several local versions of the show have been produced in other countries. These shows follow the original scripts very closely, but with minor alterations in order to adapt to their respective country's culture. The remake in Russia was so popular that some original American writers were commissioned to write new scripts after all original episodes were remade.^[19]

See also

• List of television show franchises

References

External links

• The Nanny official website at Sony Pictures Television
• The Nanny at Lifetime Television
• The Nanny at the Internet Movie Database
• The Nanny at TV.com