Step by Step (1991)

Step by Step is an American television sitcom created by William Bickley and Michael Warren for ABC's TGIF Friday-night lineup. Set in Port Washington, Wisconsin, it follows single parents Frank Lambert and Carol Foster (Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers), each with three children, who marry and form a blended family in spite of their children's mutual resentment. It aired on ABC from September 20, 1991 to August 15, 1997, and then on CBS from September 19, 1997 to June 26, 1998, with a total of 160 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons.

Among its co-stars are Staci Keanan, Angela Watson, and Christopher Castile as Carol's children Dana, Karen, and Mark, Brandon Call, Christine Lakin, and Josh Byrne as Frank's children J.T., Al, and Brendan, and Sasha Mitchell as Frank's nephew Cody.

The series was often described as a copy of The Brady Bunch because of its similar premise, and was otherwise ignored by critics after the pilot episode, which met with a consistently negative reception. The series was initially cancelled by ABC in May 1997 due to declining ratings; however, CBS acquired the series along with Family Matters for their own Friday-night comedy lineup, but only lasted for another season before it was officially cancelled in June 1998.

Premise

Frank Lambert, a divorced contractor whose wife left him, has three children: John Thomas (J.T.), Alicia (Al), and Brendan. Carol Foster, a widow and a salon owner, also has three children: Dana, Karen, and Mark. Both families live in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Frank and Carol marry while vacationing in Jamaica after a whirlwind courtship. They planned to keep their marriage a secret, but Frank accidentally reveals to J.T. that they are married during a barbecue he and Carol hold to introduce all the children, leaving them surprised and angry at first.

Each episode depicts typical situations for a new blended family. Family members' differences cause arguments and resentments, but over time they grow to tolerate and become loyal to one another.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Patrick Duffy as Frank Lambert: Carol's second husband and J.T., Alicia and Brendan's divorced father

Suzanne Somers as Carol Foster: Frank's second wife and Dana, Karen and Mark's widowed mother

Staci Keanan as Dana Foster: Carol's first daughter and Frank's stepdaughter

Brandon Call as John Thomas "J.T." Lambert: Frank's first son and Carol's stepson

Angela Watson as Karen Foster: Carol's second daughter and Frank's stepdaughter

Christine Lakin as Alicia "Al" Lambert: Frank's daughter and Carol's stepdaughter

Patrika Darbo as Penny Baker Williams: Carol's sister and Dana, Karen and Mark's maternal aunt (season 1)

Christopher Castile as Mark Foster: Carol's son and Frank's stepson

Josh Byrne as Brendan Lambert: Frank's second son and Carol's stepson (seasons 1–6)

Peggy Rea as Ivy Baker Williams: Carol's mother and Dana, Karen and Mark's maternal grandmother (season 1)

Sasha Mitchell as Cody Lambert: Frank's nephew and J.T., Alicia and Brendan's paternal cousin (seasons 1–5, guest in season 7)

Emily Mae Young as Lily Foster-Lambert: Frank and Carol's daughter and Dana, J.T., Karen, Alicia, Brendan and Mark's younger half-sister (seasons 6–7; originally portrayed by Lauren Meyering and Kristina Meyering in seasons 4–5)

Jason Marsden as Rich Halke: J.T.'s best friend and, eventually, Dana's love interest (seasons 5–7)

Bronson Pinchot as Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux: Carol's business partner (season 6)

Recurring

Jeff Juday as Jake "Flash" Gordon (season 5, appearing in four episodes)

Alexandra Adi as Samantha Milano (seasons 6–7)

Episodes

Production

The series was created and executive produced by William Bickley and Michael Warren, and developed and executive produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett. It was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions, Miller-Boyett Productions and Lorimar Television.

The opening sequence depicts the Foster-Lambert family at a lakeside amusement park in Port Washington. It was filmed at the inland Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, with a coastline digitally superimposed onto its parking lot in aerial shots. Prominently depicted in the sequence is Magic Mountain's since-defunct Colossus wooden roller coaster.

ABC chose to delay the series' sixth season to the 1996–1997 mid-season (premiering in March 1997), in order to make room on that season's fall schedule for freshman sitcoms Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Clueless, which joined established series Family Matters and Boy Meets World on the TGIF lineup; the network canceled it after six seasons in May 1997, due to declining ratings. CBS concurrently reached a deal with Miller-Boyett Productions to acquire the rights to it and Family Matters from ABC, as that network attempted to build its own Friday night lineup of family-friendly situation comedies for the fall of 1997, called the "CBS Block Party".

Ratings continued to decline despite the network change, and the show ended its run in June 1998 without an official series finale. According to Staci Keanan and Christine Lakin, the series was supposed to end with Dana and Rich's wedding at the house, and elaborate preparations were underway for it prior to the series' abrupt end.

Syndication

In September 1995, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution began distributing the series for broadcast in off-network syndication.

The series previously aired reruns on ABC Family (on what was then known as Fox Family), Hub Network and TruTV.

In Australia, Step by Step aired on the Seven Network from 1991 to 1995 and on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2000. In 2011, Step by Step was acquired by 7TWO. In 2015, 111 Greats started airing the whole series.

In the U.K., Seasons 1 and 2 of Step by Step aired sporadically on ITV weekday mornings at 10 throughout parts of the spring and summer in 1994 and 1995. Episodes were also shown to a lesser extent during 1996 and 1997.

On September 29, 2017, Hulu acquired the streaming rights to Step by Step along with fellow Warner Bros. TV properties Family Matters, Full House, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Perfect Strangers, in addition to fellow ABC programs Boy Meets World, Dinosaurs and Home Improvement. The series expired on Hulu on September 30, 2021.

Step by Step moved to HBO Max on October 1, 2021 until the show was removed from the service on September 30, 2025.

Home media

Warner Home Video originally released a six-episode Television Favorites collection on DVD on June 27, 2006 until September 26, 2023 when the complete series set was finally released for the first time. Warner Archive Collection has released individual seasons on DVD in Region 1. These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases, available from Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

Critical reception

According to Entertainment Weekly writer Ken Tucker, Step by Step was generally regarded as a copy of The Brady Bunch and otherwise ignored by critics.

Reviews of the pilot episode were consistently negative, with Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times calling it "plain awful" and Matt Roush of USA Today describing it as "demonically slick junk food"; other critics declared it to be the "worst" new show of the season. It was frequently compared to Brooklyn Bridge, a critically acclaimed CBS series which premiered the same day, as representing the "worst" and "best" of television, respectively. Variety's Jean Rosenbluth was more positive, calling it a "modestly amusing, occasionally heartwarming show" despite its "utter lack of originality", and argued that while it wasn't comparable to Shakespeare, "neither was The Brady Bunch".

Of the acting performances, Somers and Keanan received praise, even in otherwise negative reviews. Somers was singled out for praise by Rosenbluth and Roush. Rosenbluth described the children as a "well-cast lot", in particular singling out Keanan as the "most amusing"; her "wisecracking timing" was commended by Ray Richmond of Knight-Ridder News Service, who in addition forwarded the actress as the "best thing" about the series, a sentiment echoed by Ron Weiskind of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who found her to be the only one who "shows any talent" out of the cast.

Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz later said that at one point he considered filing a lawsuit over Step by Step, claiming that they "stole my show" and likening its advertising as a "Brady Bunch for the 1990s" to "intrusion or certainly riding on coattails."

References

External links

Step by Step at IMDb

Step by Step at epguides.com