Raising Miranda

Raising Miranda is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1988 as part of its fall lineup. Starring James Naughton and Royana Black, it depicted the struggles of a father and his teenage daughter to adjust to their circumstances after their wife and mother abandons their family.

Premise
Donald Marshak, a building contractor in Racine, Wisconsin, suddenly finds himself a single parent when his wife Bonnie attends a self-improvement class and abruptly abandons him and their smart, sensitive 15-year-old daughter Miranda, in order to go "find herself." The un-domestic Donald is forced to serve as both father and mother to a distressed teenage girl.

Marcine Lundquist is Miranda's lifelong best friend and confidante and Jack Miller is a new transfer student Miranda has befriended at school. Joan and Bob Hoodenpyle are the Marshaks' noodly neighbors and friends. Miranda's wacky, unemployed Uncle Russell is Donald's brother-in-law and buddy and lives in a van permanently parked in the Marshaks' driveway.

Cast

 * James Naughton as Donald Marshack
 * Royana Black as Miranda Marshack
 * Miriam Flynn as Joan Hoodenpyle
 * Steve Vinovich as Bob Hoodenpyle
 * Amy Lynne as Marcine Lundquist
 * Michael Manasseri as Jack Miller
 * Bryan Cranston as Russell

Production
Despite its rather grim premise — a wife and mother abandoning her family — the show was billed as a situation comedy, the humor being derived from Donald Marshak's challenges in parenting after the departure of his wife.

Portraying Donald's brother-in-law and Miranda's uncle Russell, Bryan Cranston appeared in his first regular primetime television role in Raising Miranda.

Reception
Raising Miranda received generally poor reviews from critics.

Broadcast history
Raising Miranda aired on CBS on Saturday nights at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, up against NBC's hit sitcom Amen. It premiered on November 5, 1988. After seven episodes averaged a poor 6.0 rating, CBS cancelled the series. Its last episode was broadcast on December 31, 1988, leaving two of its nine episodes unaired.

Episodes
SOURCES

General
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows