Unhappily Ever After (often shortened to
Unhappily... in promotional advertisements) is an
American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on
The WB network from January 11, 1995 to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons. "
Hit the Road Jack" by
Ray Charles was the show's
theme song starting with episode 6. The series was produced by
Touchstone Television.
Series history
In the beginning, the show was actually developed as a starring vehicle for Stephanie Hodge, whose character of Jennie was the focus of the first few episodes. However, the series concept was soon re-worked. The character of Jack (who had been kicked out of the house and was living in an apartment) was brought back home, and began living in the basement. Soon, Geoff Pierson's weary, mentally-unbalanced but straight-talking character of Jack became the central character of the show, along with Mr. Floppy. Also in season one, Joyce Van Patten played Jennie's mother, Maureen Slattery, who despised Jack. When she left the show, she was killed off and buried (off-screen) in the backyard.