St. Elsewhere | |
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![]() Title card for Season 1 | |
Genre | |
Created by | |
Developed by | |
Starring |
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Theme music composer | Dave Grusin |
Composers | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 137 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | |
Producers |
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Production locations | CBS Studio Center Studio City, Los Angeles, California |
Running time | 45–48 minutes |
Production company | MTM Enterprises |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | October 26, 1982 May 25, 1988 | –
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) |
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as teaching doctors at an aging, rundown Boston hospital who give interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises, which had success with a similar NBC series, the police drama Hill Street Blues, during that same time. The series were often compared to each other for their use of ensemble casts and overlapping serialized storylines (an original ad for St. Elsewhere quoted a critic that called the series "Hill Street Blues in a hospital").
Recognized for its gritty, realistic drama, St. Elsewhere gained a small yet loyal following (the series never ranked higher than 47th place in the yearly Nielsen ratings) over its six-season, 137-episode run; however, the series also found a strong audience in Nielsen's 18–49 age demographic, a young demo later known for a young, affluent audience that TV advertisers were eager to reach.[1] The series also earned critical acclaim during its run, earning 13 Emmy Awards for its writing, acting, and directing and is widely regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time.[2][3][4][5]
Shows like St. Elsewhere, which pulled in a solid number of younger viewers—indeed, a larger number of younger viewers than some shows in the top 30—could be monetized in that fashion. Advertisers who wanted to reach younger viewers would advertise on St. Elsewhere.