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thirtysomething: The Complete First Season

Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Timothy Busfield

21 EPISODES, 1987--88

We can blame all our misery on thirtysomething--or, at least, all the hours of televised angst we've seen since then. When the seminal yuppie drama premiered in 1987, it took flak for its characters' constant whining over such trivial matters as babysitters and breakfast rooms. But in dramatizing the mundane, the show became emblematic of a generation, and an indelible influence on future programming from Party of Five to Grey's Anatomy. The generous EXTRAS (eight hours of cast commentaries, plus documentaries!) reflect this obsessive ethos. Still, the indulgence is well earned: Even current thirtysomethings will relate to the series' sentiments--if not the cast's suspenders and high-waisted pants. A

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

A look at the 'thirtysomething' cast twentysomething years later

TIMOTHY BUSFIELD

After playing adman (and philanderer) Elliot Weston, Busfield continued his TV success with a recurring role on The West Wing and as a producer of numerous shows, including NBC's Lipstick Jungle, Lifetime's Maneater, and CBS' Without a Trace.

POLLY DRAPER

Draper (a.k.a. career woman Ellyn Warren) went on to write and direct The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie, a mockumentary starring her real-life sons, and created the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band. She is now touring with the band.

MEL HARRIS

The show's chief matriarch (Hope Steadman) has remained a TV fixture, turning up on The West Wing, Dawson's Creek, Touched by an Angel, and House.

PETER HORTON

The man behind shaggy-haired Professor Gary Shepherd has been on multiple TV shows, including In Treatment and Brothers & Sisters, and he's also a respected TV director (Grey's Anatomy, The Shield, and The Philanthropist).

MELANIE MAYRON

After portraying successful photographer Melissa Steadman, Mayron directed films like The Baby Sitters Club, the TV movie Toothless starring Kirstie Alley, and such TV shows as Greek, In Treatment, Drop Dead Diva, and Draper's project The Naked Brothers Band.

KEN OLIN

Olin, who played Hope's husband, Michael Steadman, is married to costar Patricia Wettig, with whom he has two children. Olin currently appears on ABC's Brothers & Sisters alongside his wife.

PATRICIA WETTIG

Wettig went from stay-at-home mom Nancy Weston to CIA psychotherapist Dr. Judy Barnett on Alias (which Olin helped produce and direct), as well as Vice President Caroline Reynolds on Fox's Prison Break. She's now a series regular on Brothers & Sisters.