It Had to Be You (TV series)

It Had to Be You is an American sitcom starring Faye Dunaway and Robert Urich. The series premiered September 19, 1993 on CBS and ended on October 15, 1993, before being cancelled upon the low ratings.[1] It centered on Dunaway's character, a Network-like businesswoman, who hires blue-collar Urich (a single father of three boys) to do some carpentry work at her Boston office, and their ensuing romance.

It Had to Be You
GenreSitcom
Created byAndrew Nicholls
Darrell Vickers
John Steven Owen
StarringFaye Dunaway
Robert Urich
Robin Bartlett
Justin Jon Ross
Will Estes
Composer(s)Stephen James Taylor
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9 (5 unaired)
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production company(s)Highest Common Denominator Productions
Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original networkCBS
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Original releaseSeptember 19 (1993-09-19) –
October 15, 1993 (1993-10-15)

The theme song was the 1924 hit "It Had to Be You" written by Isham Jones. Music by Stephen James Taylor.

Cast

Production

Four episodes were aired before the show went into hiatus. Faye Dunaway was pulled from the series, and a new pilot was ordered with the focus being on Robert Urich's character coping with life as a single father. Robin Bartlett, who had played an assistant to Dunaway's character, would also continue in the series, being moved up from supporting character to co-lead. However, her character would not be a romantic partner for Urich.[2] Although a new pilot was shot, the revised version of the series never aired. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television.[3]

The show premiered eleven days after the cancellation of The Trouble with Larry, another series co-created by Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers (and which lasted only three episodes). When It Had To Be You was cancelled after four episodes, it gave Nicholls and Vickers the unusual distinction of overseeing two of the earliest-to-be-cancelled new shows of the same TV season.

Episodes

Nine episodes are registered with the United States Copyright Office.

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pilot"David Steinberg(T) John Steven Owen and Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers (S) John Steven OwenSeptember 19, 1993 (1993-09-19)
Laura is a high-powered book publisher who has put her personal life on hold for professional success. But when sparks fly with Mitch, the hunky carpenter she hires to build a bookshelf in her office, she realizes it may be time for a change.
2"Long Date's Journey Into Night"David SteinbergJenny BicksSeptember 24, 1993 (1993-09-24)
Mitch asks Laura out on their first date, which she has her assistant cancel after a million-dollar mistake at work. Mitch doesn't get the message and gets angry for being stood up, so he shows up at Laura's house to confront her.
3"Let's Spend Termite Together"David SteinbergRick CunninghamOctober 1, 1993 (1993-10-01)
Mitch's home is being fumigated for termites and his hotel reservations fall through. So Laura invites him and his three kids to stay at her impeccably decorated apartment.
4"All About Dave"David SteinbergLindsay HarrisonOctober 15, 1993 (1993-10-15)
When Mitch's son David loses his job as a carwash mascot, Laura hires him as the office errand boy and refuses to see that he is completely unqualified and failing miserably.
5"Truth or Dare"TBATBAUNAIRED
6"London Calling"TBATBAUNAIRED
7"Shrink Resistant"TBATBAUNAIRED
8"Wheel of Laura"TBATBAUNAIRED
9"Just Hold"TBATBAUNAIRED

Reception

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly rated the series a C+ and called it "one of the season's vaguest, most ambivalent new sitcoms". Tucker described the casting of "odd-couple lovers" Urich and Dunaway as "almost perversely capricious".[4] Tony Scott, reviewing the pilot in Variety, criticized the "thin script" and "lumpy badinage". Noting that the show would premiere with a special "preview glimpse" in the slot after 60 Minutes, Scott concluded that "a glimpse should be enough".[5] David Hiltbrand of People magazine gave It Had to Be You a grade of C-. He praised supporting actor Bartlett's performance, but felt Dunaway "seems quite uncomfortable doing comedy", and found the way her character was written to be "repulsive". Overall, Hiltbrand characterized the show as "brittle, artificial, tiresome and devoid of romantic chemistry."[6]

CBS cancelled It Had to Be You in October 1993 after four episodes due to low ratings.

References
  1. Scott, Tony (September 17, 1993). "It Had to Be You". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  2. Archerd, Army (December 20, 1993). "Three film offers on Stern's table". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  3. Lowry, Brian (May 21, 1993). "CBS cooks up short orders". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  4. Tucker, Ken (October 8, 1993). "A Touch of Clash". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  5. Scott, Tony (September 17, 1993). "It Had to Be You". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  6. Hiltbrand, David (October 25, 1993). "Picks and Pans Review: It Had to Be You". People. Retrieved 2018-04-02.


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