Thea (TV series)

Thea
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Bernie Kukoff
Written by	Bill Bryan Lenore G. Bunt Dan Cohen Elias Davis Tom Devanney Michelle Jones Bernie Kukoff David Kukoff David Pollack F.J. Pratt Donald Seigel Terri Schaffer Hicks Chris Sheridan Latrice Williams
Directed by	John Bowab Linda Day Paul Kreppel Jay Sandrich Tony Singletary Chuck Vinson
Starring	Thea Vidale Adam Jeffries Brandy Norwood Jason Weaver Brenden Jefferson Cleavant Derricks Yvette Wilson
Theme music composer	Freddie Washington Benjamin Wright
Composer(s)	Kurt Farquhar
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	19
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bernie Kukoff Andrew Susskind
Producer(s)	Tom Devanney Mary Ellen Jones
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Castle Rock Entertainment Columbia Pictures Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 3, 1993 (1993-09-03) – February 14, 1994 (1994-02-14)

Thea is an American sitcom that premiered September 3, 1993 on ABC, and last aired on February 14, 1994, for a total of 19 episodes. Starring comedienne Thea Vidale, the series marked the first time an African American female comedienne was the star of a series named after her.^[1]

Synopsis

Thea Vidale starred as the sassy Thea Turrell (known for her trademark one-liner of "See ya!"), a widowed mother of 4 who works in a Houston, Texas supermarket by day and runs a 1-chair beauty salon on the corner of her porch in the evenings.

The show was the first to feature Brandy Norwood, who later went on to become a Grammy-winning singer and the star of her own sitcom, Moesha, (with Yvette Wilson as a member of the supporting cast).

Although the show garnered high ratings at first, ratings declined steadily over the course of the season, and the series was canceled after 19 episodes. It ended the season in 43rd place.

Cast

Thea Vidale — Thea Armstrong-Turrell, the show's title role; the no-nonsense widow and matriarch of four children
Adam Jeffries — Jarvis Turrell, Jr.
Brandy Norwood — Danesha Turrell
Jason Weaver — Jerome Turrell
Brenden Jefferson — James Turrell
Yvette Wilson — Lynette Armstrong-Russell
Cleavant Derricks — Charles Russell

Supporting cast

Kenny Ford, Jr. — Leonard, Danesha's boyfriend
Miguel A. Nunez Jr. — Rickey, Thea's supervisor
Arvie Lowe, Jr. — Otis
Venus DeMilo Thomas — Desiree
Blake Clark — Roy Bennett, Thea's boss at Mickey's Barbecue
Dennis Burkley — Walt Henderson, regular customer at Mickey's
Scotch Byerley — Claude Cooper, regular at Mickey's
Marcus T. Paulk — Cedric
Countess Vaughn — Charlene
Wendy Raquel Robinson — Patrice Washington, Thea and Lynette's "baby sister"; an attorney

Episodes

#	Title	Original air date
1	"Pilot"	September 3, 1993 (1993-09-03)
Thea has a hectic routine, working at the supermarket checkout by day, dressing hair by night, and supervising her four demanding children. Jarvis gives his mother $25 which he earned delivering sandwiches during his school lunch hour, but she insists that he keep the money and eat his own lunch in the cafeteria. Danesha returns from taking James shopping for clothes, and James blabs that he had to keep trying on ill-fitting clothes while she talked on the phone to her new boyfriend Leonard, whom she's meeting at the library later. Thea insists that Leonard pick Danesha up at home so she can inspect him. Meanwhile, Jerome is supposedly at a friend's house doing a geography assignment, but Thea finds his geography book and knows that he has been at the video arcade instead, and grounds him before she leaves to attend a memorial service. It's the night of a big video-game competition, and Jerome sneaks out despite Jarvis' attempts to keep him at home, then must face Thea's wrath.
2	"Jerome Makes the Grade"	September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10)
Jerome is failing English because of his desperate attempts to make the school basketball team. When Thea forces him to finish his book report on "To Kill a Mockingbird", he doesn't make the team but gets an A on his report. Meanwhile, Danesha attempts to submit a video to America's Funniest Home Videos.
3	"Dirty Laundry"	September 22, 1993 (1993-09-22)
The washing machine breaks down, which means endless trips to the laundromat. Meanwhile, Danesha's boyfriend is in hot water after he kisses another girl. Thea puts him through the wringer before he can come clean with Danesha.
4	"How I Got Over"	September 25, 1993 (1993-09-25)
Thea gets a chance to train for manager, but Jerome plans a boxing match party while Thea is at her night-school class.
5	"To Tell the Truth"	October 6, 1993 (1993-10-06)
Jarvis lets his younger brother drive and they get into an accident, but the boys don't tell their mother who was behind the wheel. To punish them, Thea cooks up a scheme with Lynette, who pretends to have lost her wedding ring in her trash, now at the bottom of a very fragrant dumpster.
6	"Artie's Party"	October 13, 1993 (1993-10-13)
Conflict brews when Arthur plans his bachelor party and invites Jerome, who Thea thinks is too young to attend.
7	"Here Comes Mr. Gordon"	October 15, 1993 (1993-10-15)
Thea acquires an unwanted admirer.
8	"Birthday Girl"	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)
On her birthday, Thea's treasured gift of tickets to a Motown reunion concert go unused when her boss calls her in to work a replacement shift.
9	"Danesha Loooves Leonard"	November 17, 1993 (1993-11-17)
When Danesha's romance with Leonard disrupts the household, Jarvis and Jerome hatch a plan to split them up.
10	"Mama, I'm Full"	November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24)
Thea must work at the market on Thanksgiving, so she entrusts Danesha with the cooking of the family feast.
11	"Good Stock"	December 1, 1993 (1993-12-01)
Jerome finds he has a knack with stocks, which leads Thea to lend him a real investment stake.
12	"A Christmas Story"	December 15, 1993 (1993-12-15)
Jarvis procrastinates putting up the Christmas lights because he's afraid of heights.
13	"Danesha Project"	December 22, 1993 (1993-12-22)
Danesha has to write a social studies project on single parents. She teams up with Cliff Croverd, the most popular guy in school.
14	"Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"	January 12, 1994 (1994-01-12)
Thea finds herself in a hairy situation when she can't afford mandated improvements to her in-home salon and an inspector wants to close it down.
15	"Who's Zoomin' Who"	January 16, 1994 (1994-01-16)
Marcella uses Jerome to make her boyfriend Dwayne jealous, while Jerome uses the relationship to meet his own needs. Meanwhile, Thea decides to fix her own plumbing after Charles can't make time to do it for her.
16	"Of Fish and Men"	January 29, 1994 (1994-01-29)
Danesha is paired with a basketball star for a school project, but he tries to pass all the work off on her.
17	"Call Me Thea"	February 4, 1994 (1994-02-04)
Thea takes a day off, leaving the kids to do the household chores. She visits her favorite barbecue joint, Mickey's, but Mickey has died and new owner Roy's cooking doesn't come close, so Thea joins the restaurant as the head chef.
18	"T.C.B."	February 11, 1994 (1994-02-11)
Barbecue sauce chef Thea is offered a restaurant partnership.
19	"The Pie Queen and the Loan Duck"	February 19, 1994 (1994-02-19)
Jarvis needs space and privacy to study for his college SATs. Meanwhile, Thea is outraged when she learns that Mitch Mallard, the banker who holds the mortgage on the diner, eats there for free.

Syndication

Reruns of the show returned on BET in May 2008 on Mother's Day. However, a few months later the reruns ceased to air.

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1994	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series	Brandy Norwood, Jason Weaver, Brenden Jefferson and Adam Jeffries

References

↑ Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 252. ISBN 1-55783-680-9.