This fun and flirty television show caught my attention right off. Fran Drescher stars as Fran Fine, a rough-around-the-edges girl from Queens who’s been working in a bridal shop. Her boyfriend, owner of the shop, decides to break up with her and gives her job to someone else. Fran tries to get back on her feet selling cosmetics door-to-door, and while knocking in one particularly nice neighborhood, is mistaken for the new nanny sent over by the agency and is invited right in.
She’s in the home of Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessey). He’s a top-notch Broadway producer, widower, and father of three children: Maggie (Nicholle Tom), Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury) and Grace (Madeline Zima). Each suffering in different ways after their mother’s death and each acting out in different ways, the children need a firm hand and their father needs a nanny who can provide that hand.
Fran explains that she’s not really a nanny, but she’s willing to give it a try. She’s gotten a look at the house and at the father, and she likes what she sees. With her fresh outlook on life and her laid-back style of getting to the root of a problem, she’s an instant hit with the children, but Maxwell isn’t so sure. He’d been hoping for someone a little more strict, a little more disciplined, and a little more dowdy. What he got was a knockout in high heels.
I love the continuing banter between Niles, the butler, and CC Babcock, Maxwell’s assistant. You’d think it would get old after a while, but it didn’t—it just got better and better.
The show ran from 1993-1999. We see Maxwell soften toward Fran, and then we see them begin a romantic relationship. Toward the end of the series, they get married, and they balance each other perfectly. This show combines a great cast, clever writers, and a cute premise to deliver a sitcom I thoroughly enjoyed while it was on the air, and now in syndication on Lifetime, 8 am ET/PT.
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