Brewster Place
title: "Brewster Place" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1990s-american-drama-television-series", "1990-american-television-series-debuts", "1990-american-television-series-endings", "american-television-spinoffs", "television-series-set-in-the-1960s", "television-series-set-in-1967", "american-english-language-television-shows", "historical-television-series", "television-shows-set-in-chicago", "american-broadcasting-company-television-dramas"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster_Place" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| based_on | |
| genre | Drama |
| writer | Maya Angelou |
| Paul W. Cooper | |
| Earl Hamner, Jr. | |
| Dianne Houston | |
| Don Sipes | |
| director | Ivan Dixon |
| Jan Eliasberg | |
| Bill Duke | |
| Helaine Head | |
| starring | Oprah Winfrey |
| Brenda Pressley | |
| Olivia Cole | |
| Rachael Crawford | |
| Kelly Neal | |
| John Cothran Jr. | |
| Oscar Brown Jr. | |
| John Speredakos | |
| Jason Weaver | |
| theme_music_composer | David Shire |
| opentheme | Performed by Take 6 |
| composer | David Shire |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| num_seasons | 1 |
| num_episodes | 12 (2 unaired) |
| camera | Single-camera |
| executive_producer | Earl Hamner, Jr. |
| Don Sipes | |
| Oprah Winfrey | |
| producer | Reuben Cannon |
| Stan Kallis | |
| editor | Dann Cahn |
| Quinnie Martin, Jr. | |
| Joe Morrisey | |
| runtime | 22 minutes |
| channel | ABC |
| company | Amanda Productions |
| The Don Sipes Organization | |
| Harpo Productions | |
| Hearst Entertainment | |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| related | {{Plainlist |
| :: |
|image = |caption = |based_on = |developer = |genre = Drama |writer = Maya Angelou Paul W. Cooper Earl Hamner, Jr. Dianne Houston Don Sipes |director = Ivan Dixon Jan Eliasberg Bill Duke Helaine Head |starring = Oprah Winfrey Brenda Pressley Olivia Cole Rachael Crawford Kelly Neal John Cothran Jr. Oscar Brown Jr. John Speredakos Jason Weaver |theme_music_composer = David Shire |opentheme = Performed by Take 6 |composer = David Shire |country = United States |language = English |num_seasons = 1 |num_episodes = 12 (2 unaired) |list_episodes = |camera = Single-camera |executive_producer = Earl Hamner, Jr. Don Sipes Oprah Winfrey |producer = Reuben Cannon Stan Kallis |editor = Dann Cahn Quinnie Martin, Jr. Joe Morrisey |runtime = 22 minutes |channel = ABC |company = Amanda Productions The Don Sipes Organization Harpo Productions Hearst Entertainment |first_aired = |last_aired = |related = {{Plainlist|
- The Women of Brewster Place Brewster Place is an American drama series which aired on ABC in May 1990. The series was a spinoff of the 1989 miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, which was based upon Gloria Naylor's novel of the same name. The series starred talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who also served as co-executive producer.
Plot
Set in 1967, the series begin with events following the end of the 1989 miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place. Mattie Michael (Oprah Winfrey) is fired from her job as a beautician, and agrees to purchase a neighborhood restaurant with her best friend Etta Mae (Brenda Pressley). Kiswana (Rachel Crawford), Abshu (Kelly Neal), and Miss Sophie (Olivia Cole) are still residents of Brewster Place, and various other individuals move onto the block as the series progresses.
The series was filmed entirely in Chicago, on the lot of Winfrey's Harpo Productions. It failed to capture the audience and critical acclaim of the miniseries, and was cancelled after a month. However, the full season of 12 episodes has since been released on both VHS and DVD.
Cast
- Oprah Winfrey as Mattie Michael
- Rachael Crawford as Melanie "Kiswana" Browne
- Brenda Pressley as Etta Mae Johnson
- Olivia Cole as Miss Sophie
- Kelly Neal as Abshu Kamau
- John Cothran as Ralph Thomas
- Oscar Brown Jr. as Jessie
- John Speredakos as Mickey Adriano
- Jason Weaver as Matthew Thomas
Episodes
| EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = Pilot | DirectedBy = Bill Duke | WrittenBy = Earl Hamner Jr. & Don Sipes | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = Open for Business | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Paul W. Cooper | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = One Small Step at a Time | DirectedBy = Ivan Dixon | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = Spring Fever | DirectedBy = Ivan Dixon | WrittenBy = Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = Whatever Happened to Patience Jones? | DirectedBy = Ivan Dixon | WrittenBy = Andrew Sipes | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = Gone Fishing | DirectedBy = Lesli Linka Glatter | WrittenBy = Paul W. Cooper | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 7 | Title = Bernice Sands Comes Home | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 8 | Title = The Poet | DirectedBy = Jan Eliasberg | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 9 | Title = Family Album | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Johnny Dawkins | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 10 | Title = Say It Loud | DirectedBy = Roy Campanella, II | WrittenBy = Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 11 | Title = Partners | DirectedBy = | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = UNAIRED | ShortSummary = | LineColor = | EpisodeNumber = 12 | Title = County General | DirectedBy = Helaine Head | WrittenBy = Kathy McCormick & Dianne Houston | OriginalAirDate = UNAIRED | ShortSummary = | LineColor =
Ratings
- Episode 1: 15.3 rating/21.9 million viewers
- Episode 2: 13.2 rating
- Episode 3: 9.7 rating
- Episode 4: 10.1
- Episode 5: 9
- Episode 6: 7.6 rating/11.9 million viewers
Reception
Entertainment Weekly gave the series a grade of B−, and reviewed the show mildly favorably, stating, "There's something warm and comforting about Brewster Place, and something complacent and artificial as well."
References
References
- (11 May 1990). "Television reviews for week of May 11, 1990".
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