Muddling Through


Muddling Through is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from July 9, 1994, to September 7, 1994. The series starred Stephanie Hodge as an ex-convict trying to turn her life around.

History

Jennifer Aniston completed filming just before booking Rachel Green on NBC's fall sitcom Friends. Friends debuted just two weeks after Muddling Through aired its final episode, with one episode remaining unaired.
According to NBC program executive Preston Beckman, Aniston had booked Friends as her second position and next role if Muddling Through failed, though Warner Bros. casting had positioned her as their top choice to play Rachel Green. NBC Entertainment head Warren Littlefield, who was under pressure by Warner Bros. Television to have the network take on more financial liability to take Friends, did so.
NBC's programmers, including Beckman, then targeted the show's Saturday night timeslot with replays of the network's popular Moment of Truth and Danielle Steel telefilm series to starve the show's female demographic, in order to induce its eventual cancellation and allow Aniston to fully commit to Friends.
By its last three episodes, it was airing on Wednesdays and unable to overcome proven women-targeted shows on other networks, including repeats of Unsolved Mysteries and the season premiere of Beverly Hills 90210 on Fox, along with CBS's oncoming struggles with losing many of its prime affiliates due to the loss of NFL rights to Fox. Those affiliates had already begun to stop promoting CBS programming in the weeks before, including Muddling Through.

Plot

Connie Drego is an ex-con, paroled after serving three years in prison for shooting her cheating husband, Sonny, in the buttocks. Connie returns home to work at Drego's Oasis, the family's diner/motel in rural Michigan. Other characters include Madeline, Connie's oldest daughter who is married to Duane Cooper, the cop who arrested Connie and whose testimony led to her conviction, and Kerri, Connie's youngest daughter.

Cast

Starring

Recurring

Guest starring