Bonnie (originally titled The Bonnie Hunt Show) is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 1995 to April 7, 1996. Bonnie Hunt plays Bonnie Kelly, a television reporter who moves from Wisconsin to take a job with a Chicago television station where she encounters an eclectic group of coworkers.[1]
In addition to the stories concerning Bonnie's life inside and out of the station, each episode includes one of Bonnie's television news features, in which Hunt would improvise interviews with real people attending or involved in current real local events.
The series premiered as The Bonnie Hunt Show in September 1995 and aired under that title for the first six episodes before being placed on hiatus in November. Upon returning to the air in March, the show was retitled Bonnie and ran for an additional five episodes in a new Sunday-night timeslot.[2] Despite improved ratings, the show was canceled, and the last two episodes were never aired.[citation needed]
As with Bonnie Hunt's previous short-run 1993 sitcom The Building, The Bonnie exhibited a theatrical sensibility and minor mistakes, accidents and forgotten lines were often preserved in the aired episodes.[citation needed] Cast members Hunt, Don Lake, Tom Virtue and Holly Wortell had all starred in The Building, which was also set in Chicago, produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company and directed by John Bowab.[3] Hunt created Bonnie with Rob Burnett and wrote most of the episodes.[citation needed]
Hunt's next sitcom Life With Bonnie, created by Hunt and Lake, also featured Hunt, Derwin and Wortell, and it also focused on a Chicago news personality. Virtue had a recurring role on the show and Bowab directed several episodes.[citation needed]
Episodes
No.
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
1
"First Day"
Unknown
Rob Burnett and Bonnie Hunt
September 22, 1995 (1995-09-22)
2
"Another Day at the Office"
Unknown
Bonnie Hunt
September 29, 1995 (1995-09-29)
3
"The Phone Call"
Unknown
Steve Faber and Bob Fisher
October 6, 1995 (1995-10-06)
4
"True Lies"
Unknown
Michael Short
October 13, 1995 (1995-10-13)
5
"Better Offer"
John Bowab
Bonnie Hunt (as Alice Jatczak)
October 20, 1995 (1995-10-20)
6
"Here's a Little Halloween Twist"
Unknown
Elaine Arata
October 27, 1995 (1995-10-27)
7
"Up All Night"
John Bowab
Bonnie Hunt, Elaine Arata, Steve Faber and Bob Fisher
March 10, 1996 (1996-03-10)
8
"On the Streets Where You Live"
John Bowab
Bonnie Hunt
March 17, 1996 (1996-03-17)
9
"Hair Today, Gone Merlot"
Unknown
Bonnie Hunt
March 24, 1996 (1996-03-24)
10
"To See or Not to See"
Unknown
Elaine Arata
March 31, 1996 (1996-03-31)
11
"Beginning of the Beginning"
Unknown
Bonnie Hunt and Elaine Arata
April 7, 1996 (1996-04-07)
12
"Queen of Hearts"
TBD
TBD
Unaired
13
"The Bermuda Triangle"
TBD
TBD
Unaired
Reception
Kirk Nicewonger called the show "daring" in his review for United Feature Syndicate, he stated the show "has the nerve to shrug off the joke-every-seven-seconds sitcom straitjacket, and it recreates the way people really speak". He noted how the characters "interrupt each other, and step on one another's lines, creating a naturalistic, almost improvisational atmosphere that works brilliantly".[1] Frazier Moore wrote for the Associated Press that the show is about "friends, faith and cutting the other guy a little slack", and as a result, the show is a "charming sitcom free of sarcasm, breast jokes, insults, gags, meanness and goofballs pretending to be people".[3]
