It Had to Be You
GenreSitcom
Created by
  • Andrew Nicholls
  • Darrell Vickers
  • John Steven Owen
Starring
ComposerStephen James Taylor
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9 (5 unaired)
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 19 (1993-09-19) –
October 15, 1993 (1993-10-15)

It Had to Be You is an American sitcom starring Faye Dunaway and Robert Urich. It premiered on CBS on September 19, 1993,[1] and last aired on October 15, 1993, before being pulled from the air and put on hiatus. The series centered on Dunaway's character, Laura, a Network-like businesswoman, who hires blue-collar Mitch, a single father of three boys played by Urich, to do some carpentry work at her Boston office, and their ensuing romance.

Cast

Production

The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television. The theme song was the 1924 hit "It Had to Be You" written by Isham Jones, with music by Stephen James Taylor. Four episodes were aired before the show was put on hiatus.

Faye Dunaway was subsequently 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.[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 American television season.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code [4]
1"Pilot"David Steinberg[5]Story by : John Steven Owen
Teleplay by : John Steven Owen and Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers		September 19, 1993 (1993-09-19)[5]N/A
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)455605
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)455602
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)455604
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"TBDTBDUnaired455601
6"London Calling"TBDTBDUnaired455603
7"Shrink Resistant"TBDTBDUnaired455606
8"Wheel of Laura"TBDTBDUnaired455607
9"Just Hold"TBDTBDUnaired455608

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".[6] 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".[1] 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."[7]

CBS put It Had to Be You on "permanent hiatus" after four episodes had aired.[8][9]

References

  1. 1 2 Scott, Tony (September 17, 1993). "It Had to Be You". Variety. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  2. ↑ Archerd, Army (December 20, 1993). "Three film offers on Stern's table". Variety. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  3. ↑ Lowry, Brian (May 21, 1993). "CBS cooks up short orders". Variety. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  4. ↑ From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "It Had to Be You : no."]". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  5. 1 2 From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "It had to be you / directed by David Steinberg". United States Copyright Office. September 19, 1993. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  6. ↑ Tucker, Ken (October 8, 1993). "It Had To Be You". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  7. ↑ Hiltbrand, David (October 25, 1993). "Picks and Pans Review: It Had to Be You". People. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  8. ↑ Zurawik, David (November 12, 1993). "TV season to date: Good, going, gone". The Baltimore Sun. p. 4E.
  9. ↑ Stevenson, Jennifer L. (November 17, 1993). "The season of cancellations". Tampa Bay Times. p. 6B.
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