Amen (TV series)

Amen
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Ed. Weinberger
Starring	Sherman Hemsley Clifton Davis Anna Maria Horsford Roz Ryan Jester Hairston Barbara Montgomery (1986–90) Rosetta LeNoire (1987–89) Bumper Robinson (1990–91) Elsa Raven (1988–90) Tony T. Johnson (1988–91) Montrose Hagins (1989–91)
Theme music composer	Andraé Crouch
Opening theme	"Shine on Me" by Vanessa Bell Armstrong
Composer(s)	Bruce Miller
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	110 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	James R. Stein Bob Illes Lloyd David Arthur Julian Ed. Weinberger
Producer(s)	Jim Geoghan Marilynn Loncar Peter Noah Bob Peete
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	24 minutes
Production company(s)	Carson Productions Stein & Illes Productions (1990-1991) (season 5)
Distributor	MCA TV (1990-1992) NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 27, 1986 (1986-09-27) – May 11, 1991 (1991-05-11)

Amen is an American sitcom produced by Carson Productions that aired on NBC from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen stars Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s and early 1990s which featured predominantly black casts – others included The Cosby Show, A Different World, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and 227.^[1]

Premise

The series revolves around Ernest Frye, a widower deacon of the First Community Church of Philadelphia, who also works as a lawyer. He is often dishonest and frequently gets into trouble with his many harebrained schemes. Frye has a single daughter named Thelma. Reuben Gregory is the new, young pastor of the church, and also the object of Thelma's affection. The two get married during season four, despite the fact that Gregory and Frye often butt heads.^[2] In the series finale, Thelma gives birth to the couple's first child.^[3]

Cast and characters

• Sherman Hemsley as Ernest Frye
• Anna Maria Horsford as Thelma Frye Gregory
• Clifton Davis as Reuben Gregory
• Jester Hairston as Rolly Forbes, the high-spirited and lively senior citizen, who often acts as the voice of reason
• Roz Ryan as Amelia Hetebrink, one of the chattering sisters at the church
• Barbara Montgomery as Casietta Hetebrink (1986–90), the other sister
• Elsa Raven as Inga (1988–90), the Swedish housekeeper
• Rosetta LeNoire as Leola Henderson Forbes (1987–89), Rolly's love interest and eventual wife
• Montrose Hagins as Leola Henderson Forbes (1989–91)
• Bumper Robinson as Clarence (1990–91), a young street kid and protégé of Deacon Frye's

Themes

The show often addresses issues of family and community in a humorous manner. Storylines include guest characters dealing with alcoholism, teenage pregnancy, suicide prevention, sexism, jealousy and other issues. These issues are dealt with in a non-preachy manner. Frye's legal career is the subject of many jokes and storylines. A few episodes deal with Frye defending the church or other main characters in legal battles.

Exterior shot location

During the 1980's, the beautiful stone Gothic walls of Mount Pisgah African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia appeared on prime time television as the fictional "First Community Church". Consequently, the Church became known to the nation as the "Amen Church".^[4]

Ratings

• 1986–1987: #13^[5]
• 1987–1988: #15^[6]
• 1988–1989: #25^[7]
• 1989–1990: #54
• 1990–1991: #60

Syndication

Amen was sold into syndication shortly after finishing its run on NBC and Universal Pictures' MCA Television unit was awarded the syndication rights. Those rights are now in the hands of Comcast through its NBCUniversal Television Distribution division.

The series has aired on BET, TVOne, Centric, TBS, Gospel Music Channel and local stations over the years.

Reruns currently air on Starz Encore Black.

References

External links

• Amen on IMDb
• Amen at TV.com