History Series / Newhart

The first season aired to solid if unsensational ratings, but at first reviewers didn't think the show had much going for it aside from Newhart himself. Newhart and series creator/executive producer Barry Kemp weren't completely happy either, so when ''Newhart'' was renewed for a second season, it was {{retool}}ed somewhat: the show switched from harsh videotape to a warmer film production; Leslie was replaced as maid with her bitchy, self-absorbed cousin Stephanie (Creator/JuliaDuffy); and, toward the end of Season 2, Dick was persuaded to host a local TV talk show, ''Vermont Today''. Dick's involvement with the show and its producer, the vapid but manic Michael Harris (Creator/PeterScolari), became a whole new source of humor, as did Michael's budding romance with Stephanie. Adding to the fun was a trio of zany backwoods brothers who purchased the Minuteman Café from Kirk: Larry (Creator/William Sanderson), his brother Darryl (Tony Papenfuss), and his [[SignificantNameOverlap other brother Darryl]] (John Voldstad); Larry did all of the talking, because neither of the Darryls [[TheVoiceless ever spoke]].[[note]]At least [[SuddenlySpeaking until the series finale]].[[/note]]

The first season aired to solid if unsensational ratings, but at first reviewers didn't think the show had much going for it aside from Newhart himself. Newhart and series creator/executive producer Barry Kemp weren't completely happy either, so when ''Newhart'' was renewed for a second season, it was {{retool}}ed somewhat: the show switched from harsh videotape to a warmer film production; Leslie was replaced as maid with her bitchy, self-absorbed cousin Stephanie (Creator/JuliaDuffy); and, toward the end of Season 2, Dick was persuaded to host a local TV talk show, ''Vermont Today''. Dick's involvement with the show and its producer, the vapid but manic Michael Harris (Creator/PeterScolari), became a whole new source of humor, as did Michael's budding romance with Stephanie. Adding to the fun was a trio of zany backwoods brothers who purchased the Minuteman Café from Kirk: Larry (Creato/William Sanderson), his brother Darryl (Tony Papenfuss), and his [[SignificantNameOverlap other brother Darryl]] (John Voldstad); Larry did all of the talking, because neither of the Darryls [[TheVoiceless ever spoke]].[[note]]At least [[SuddenlySpeaking until the series finale]].[[/note]]

The first season aired to solid if unsensational ratings, but at first reviewers didn't think the show had much going for it aside from Newhart himself. Newhart and series creator/executive producer Barry Kemp weren't completely happy either, so when ''Newhart'' was renewed for a second season, it was {{retool}}ed somewhat: the show switched from harsh videotape to a warmer film production; Leslie was replaced as maid with her bitchy, self-absorbed cousin Stephanie (Creator/JuliaDuffy); and, toward the end of Season 2, Dick was persuaded to host a local TV talk show, ''Vermont Today''. Dick's involvement with the show and its producer, the vapid but manic Michael Harris (Creator/PeterScolari), became a whole new source of humor, as did Michael's budding romance with Stephanie. Adding to the fun was a trio of zany backwoods brothers who purchased the Minuteman Café from Kirk: Larry (William Sanderson), his brother Darryl (Tony Papenfuss), and his [[SignificantNameOverlap other brother Darryl]] (John Voldstad); Larry did all of the talking, because neither of the Darryls [[TheVoiceless ever spoke]].[[note]]At least [[SuddenlySpeaking until the series finale]].[[/note]]

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Cast members from ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' frequently appeared, most notably Creator/SuzannePleshette reprising her role as Emily Hartley in the finale.

* SweaterGirl: Joanna. Lampshaded in the AllJustADream finale noted above, when Bob says to his "real" wife Emily, "You know, you really should wear more sweaters."

* TheyDo: Stephanie and Michael marry and have a kid.

** Averted in "Send Her, Ella", after Stephanie gets stuck watching the Inn while the rest of the staff participates in Maple Syrup Day, wanting to participate in the beauty pageant, Stephanie goes anyway, dressed in a brunette wig and disguising her voice so she won't be recognized, but Dick instantly figures out that it's her.

'''Dick''': It's because I'm not a moron!

* MistakenForDying: Subversion. In one episode, Dick and Stephanie star in a pilot for a sitcom where Stephanie plays a pair of twins. In the pilot, they overhear the father (Dick) talk about how he is going to dye - his hair, but they leave before he mentions he will dye his hair and think he is going to die soon.

In addition to being a consistently solid ratings performer (spending its first six seasons in the Nielsen Top 30, four of those in the Top 20, peaking at #12 in its first and fifth seasons), ''Newhart'' earned plenty of critical acclaim and a number of UsefulNotes/EmmyAward nominations. And the show will be forever remembered for the ending of its final episode, which revealed its entire eight-year run to have been an extended nightmare dreamt by Dr. Bob Hartley of ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' (to which this series might therefore be retroactively viewed as a kind of StealthSequel). Some have also seen ''Newhart'', with its premise of a straitlaced, citified protagonist finding himself a FishOutOfWater in an often-absurdist version of rural America, as an '80s answer to ''Series/GreenAcres''.

In addition to being a consistently solid ratings performer (spending its first six seasons in the Nielsen Top 30, four of those in the Top 20, peaking at #12 in its first and fifth seasons), ''Newhart'' earned plenty of critical acclaim and a number of UsefulNotes/EmmyAward nominations. And the show will be forever remembered for the ending of its final episode, which revealed its entire eight-year run to have been an extended nightmare dreamt by Dr. Bob Hartley of ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' (to which this series might therefore be retroactively viewed as a kind of StealthSequel). Some have also seen ''Newhart'', with its premise of a straitlaced urban protagonist finding himself a FishOutOfWater in an often-absurdist version of rural America, as an '80s answer to ''Series/GreenAcres''.

[[quoteright:323:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/newhart02.jpg]]

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Cast members from ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' frequently appeared, most notably Suzanne Pleshette reprising her role as Emily Hartley in the finale.

* CityWithNoName: It's never actually revealed what Vermont town the Stratford Inn is located in. According to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, some sources indicate it may be [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich,_Vermont Norwich]], while the building used for establishing shots of the inn is in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waybury_Inn Middlebury.]] In "The Way We Thought We Were", from season 1, Dick mentions that Montpelier is "59 miles from here," placing the town farther away than Norwich (or Middlebury) is from there in real life.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Widely considered to be one to ''Series/GreenAcres''.

%%* {{Arcadia}}

* BrokenAce: Larry. Despite Dick's rather dim opinion of him, he and the Darryls bail the Loudons out of trouble more times than can be counted.

%%* CannotTellAJoke: Dick, in at least one episode.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
** After Season 1, Leslie Vanderkellen leaves for England to continue her education at Oxford, and from Season 2 onwards, she is never mentioned again.
** After Season 2, Kirk Devane is written out of the series, marrying Cindy and selling the Minuteman Café, which is bought by Larry and the two Darryls.

%%* CloserToEarth

%%* ComedySeries

%%* DeadpanSnarker: Dick, frequently.

%%* DropInCharacter: Larry and the Darryls.

%%* EccentricTownsfolk: The show runs on this trope.

%%* HollywoodNewEngland
%%* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine

%%* OnlySaneMan: Dick. Joanna could arguably qualify, too, but she has a fair amount of moments of crazy.

* PutOnABus: After season 1, Leslie returns to England to study at another college.
** Kirk and Cindy leave after season two, as Cindy had gotten a job in France.
%%* QuirkyTown

%%* ReunionShow: Subversion.
%%* RichBitch: Stephanie.

%%* TheSmartGuy: Dick, somewhat.
%%* SpoiledBrat: Stephanie, with a little ServileSnarker thrown in.
%%** The finale reveals that her and Michael's daughter has become one as well.

* VillainyFreeVillain: The critic in "Pressence of Malice" who constantly gives ''Vermont Today'', and Dick Loudon in general, negative reviews because he's "paid to hate", and the show opens up amounts of hate for him that he hadn't previously known he had. While Dick has a right to be unhappy, it is the critics job to voice his opinion, good or bad, and Dick does point this out a few times. However, the critic becomes interested in continuing to give the show harmful reviews until it's canceled, and later draws the line when realizing the town is full of idiots and considers doing a regular feature where he insults the town. [[spoiler: Too bad when he announces this that he didn't realize he was in the same room as the mayor and enough city council members....]]

Creator/BobNewhart's second classic sitcom (following ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow''), which aired on Creator/{{CBS}} from 1982–90.

The first season aired to solid but not sensational ratings, but at first reviewers didn't think the show had much going for it outside of Newhart himself. Newhart and creator and executive producer Barry Kemp weren't completely happy either, so when the show was renewed, it was {{retool}}ed somewhat: the show switched from harsh videotape to a warmer film production; Leslie was replaced as maid with her bitchy, self-absorbed cousin Stephanie (Creator/JuliaDuffy); and, toward the end of Season 2, Dick was persuaded to host a local TV talk show, ''Vermont Today''. Dick's involvement with the show and its producer, the vapid but manic Michael Harris (Creator/PeterScolari), became a whole new source of humor, as did Michael's budding romance with Stephanie. Adding to the fun was a trio of zany backwoods brothers who purchased the Minuteman Café from Kirk: Larry (William Sanderson), his brother Darryl (Tony Papenfuss), and his [[SignificantNameOverlap other brother Darryl]] (John Voldstad); Larry did all of the talking, because neither of the Darryls [[TheVoiceless ever spoke]].[[note]]At least [[SuddenlySpeaking until the series finale]].[[/note]]

!!''Newhart'' provides examples of:

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Newhart starred as Dick Loudon, a successful author of do-it-yourself and travel books, who along with his wife Joanna (Creator/MaryFrann) decided to move from New York City to a small town in Vermont, where they purchased and ran the 200-year-old Stratford Inn. The bulk of the comedy stemmed from OnlySaneMan Dick's interactions with various EccentricTownsfolk, including George Utley (Creator/TomPoston), the inn's addle-headed handyman; Kirk Devane (Creator/StevenKampmann), a compulsive liar and the owner of the nearby Minuteman Café; and Leslie Vanderkellen (Creator/JenniferHolmes), a wealthy heiress and Dartmouth student who worked as a maid for the inn.