Together We Stand
title: "Together We Stand" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1986-american-television-series-debuts", "1987-american-television-series-endings", "1980s-american-sitcoms", "television-series-about-families", "television-series-by-universal-television", "television-series-created-by-michael-jacobs-(producer)", "television-shows-set-in-portland,-oregon", "cbs-sitcoms"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Together_We_Stand" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| genre | Sitcom |
| creator | Al Burton |
| Michael Jacobs | |
| Sherwood Schwartz | |
| writer | Stephen Sustarsic |
| director | Peter Bonerz |
| Andrew D. Weyman | |
| starring | Dee Wallace |
| Elliott Gould | |
| Scott Grimes | |
| Ke Huy Quan | |
| Julia Migenes | |
| Natasha Bobo | |
| Katie O'Neill | |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| num_seasons | 1 |
| num_episodes | 19 (6 unaired) |
| executive_producer | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Al Burton | |
| runtime | 30 minutes |
| channel | CBS |
| company | Al Burton Productions |
| The Sherwood Schwartz Company | |
| Universal Television | |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| :: |
| image = | caption = | genre = Sitcom | creator = Al Burton Michael Jacobs Sherwood Schwartz | writer = Stephen Sustarsic | director = Peter Bonerz Andrew D. Weyman | starring = Dee Wallace Elliott Gould Scott Grimes Ke Huy Quan Julia Migenes Natasha Bobo Katie O'Neill | composer = | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 19 (6 unaired) | list_episodes = | executive_producer = Sherwood Schwartz Al Burton | producer = | runtime = 30 minutes | channel = CBS | company = Al Burton Productions The Sherwood Schwartz Company Universal Television | first_aired = | last_aired =
Together We Stand, also known as Nothing Is Easy, is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 22, 1986 to April 24, 1987. It was written by Stephen Sustarsic and directed by Andrew D. Weyman.
Together We Stand is about a married couple, David (Elliott Gould) and Lori Randall (Dee Wallace), and their array of adopted children from all walks of life. According to producer Sherwood Schwartz, the plot for this show was originally written as a spin-off of The Brady Bunch called Kelly's Kids. In the January 4, 1974, episode of The Brady Bunch, also titled "Kelly's Kids" (season 5, episode 14), which served as a backdoor pilot, the Bradys' neighbors plan to adopt one child but end up adopting three boys of different ethnicities.
Summary
David Randall (Elliott Gould) and his wife Lori (Dee Wallace) had two kids, adopted daughter Amy (Katie O'Neill) and biological son Jack (Scott Grimes). After seeing how well the Randall family did with an adopted child and a biological child, a pushy social worker (Edie McClurg) gives them two more children: an Asian-American boy named Sam (Ke Huy Quan) and a little African-American girl named Sally (Natasha Bobo). The story lines centered on the cultural differences and adjustments that had to be made by all: Sam and Sally having parents for the first time, and Jack and Amy competing with the new arrivals for their parents' time and affection. After six episodes, Gould's character was killed off, and the series focused on Lori's struggles as a single mother.
Cast
- Elliott Gould as David Randall (in Together We Stand only)
- Dee Wallace as Lori Randall
- Scott Grimes as Jack Randall
- Katie O'Neill as Amy Randall
- Ke Huy Quan as Sam Randall
- Natasha Bobo as Sally Randall
- Julia Migenes as Marion Simmons (in Nothing Is Easy only)
Episodes
''Together We Stand'' (1986)
| EpisodeNumber = 1 | EpisodeNumber2 = 1 | Title = Pilot | DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie | WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 2 | EpisodeNumber2 = 2 | Title = Oh, Brother! | DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie | WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 3 | EpisodeNumber2 = 3 | Title = It Happened One Night | DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie | WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits | s = Mark Miller | t = Michael Jacobs | slabel = S | tlabel = T | order=t | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 4 | EpisodeNumber2 = 4 | Title = Betrothal | DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie | WrittenBy = Sam Greenbaum | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 5 | EpisodeNumber2 = 5 | Title = Socks and Bonds | DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie | WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 6 | EpisodeNumber2 = 6 | Title = A Chicken in Every Wok | DirectedBy = Will Mackenzie | WrittenBy = Mark Miller | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F
''Nothing Is Easy'' (1987)
| EpisodeNumber = 7 | EpisodeNumber2 = 1 | Title = We're a Family | DirectedBy = Michael Zinberg | WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits | s = Pat Shea & Harriet Weiss | t = Paul Haggis | slabel = S | tlabel = T | order=t | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 8 | EpisodeNumber2 = 2 | Title = I Never Dance with Mother | DirectedBy = Andrew D. Weyman | WrittenBy = David Lerner | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 9 | EpisodeNumber2 = 3 | Title = A Kiss Is Just a Kiss | DirectedBy = Jack Shea | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 10 | EpisodeNumber2 = 4 | Title = Double Date | DirectedBy = Joan Darling | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 11 | EpisodeNumber2 = 5 | Title = Mother, Can You Spare a Dime? | DirectedBy = Andrew D. Weyman | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 12 | EpisodeNumber2 = 6 | Title = That's What Friends Are For? | DirectedBy = John Bowab | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 13 | EpisodeNumber2 = 7 | Title = Sunday, Monday and Always | DirectedBy = Peter Bonerz | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 14 | EpisodeNumber2 = 8 | Title = Girls Night In | DirectedBy = Will Mckenzie | WrittenBy = Dennis Rinsler & Marc Warren | OriginalAirDate = N/A | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 15 | EpisodeNumber2 = 9 | Title = Little Miracle | DirectedBy = Alan Bergmann | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = N/A | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 16 | EpisodeNumber2 = 10 | Title = Jack's Alter Ego | DirectedBy = Dolores Farraro | WrittenBy = | OriginalAirDate = N/A | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 17 | EpisodeNumber2 = 11 | Title = Against All Odds | DirectedBy = Lee Miller | WrittenBy = Cindy Begel & Lesa Kite | OriginalAirDate = N/A | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 18 | EpisodeNumber2 = 12 | Title = Love Is in the Air | DirectedBy = Herbert Kenwith | WrittenBy = Michael Jacobs | OriginalAirDate = N/A | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F | EpisodeNumber = 19 | EpisodeNumber2 = 13 | Title = My Mentor | DirectedBy = Lee Miller | WrittenBy = Dennis Rinsler & Marc Warren | OriginalAirDate = N/A | ShortSummary = | LineColor = 2F4F4F
Network run
Premiering on Monday, September 22, 1986, at 8:30 PM ET after Kate & Allie where its ratings were initially strong, Together We Stand moved to Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET beginning on October 1 to make room for My Sister Sam, putting it up against ABC's Perfect Strangers and NBC's Highway to Heaven instead. When the show's ratings plunged, CBS pulled the series after six episodes had aired.
The show returned three months later with a new title – Nothing Is Easy – new opening credits, a new time slot (Sundays at 9:30 PM ET, after Designing Women and up against movies on the other two networks), a new theme song, and a new cast member – Julia Migenes as bitter divorced neighbor Marion Simmons. Elliott Gould did not appear in the revamped series – his character was killed off in an automobile accident, and Dee Wallace-Stone continued on as a single mother. After two weeks in that time slot, it went on hiatus again for a month only to resurface on Fridays at 8:00 PM beginning on March 27, competing with ABC's The Charmings and NBC's Roomies. The revamp lasted only for a total of seven episodes before CBS cancelled it for good. The remaining six unaired episodes are not known to have aired anywhere.
References
References
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