Ed Flanders

St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at a lightly-regarded Boston hospital who gave 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; both series were often compared to each other for their use of ensemble casts and overlapping serialized storylines. St. Elsewhere was filmed at CBS/MTM Studios, which was known as CBS/Fox Studios when the show began; coincidentally, 20th Century Fox wound up acquiring the rights to the series when it bought MTM Enterprises in the 1990s.

Known for its combination of gritty, realistic drama and moments of black comedy, St. Elsewhere gained a small yet loyal following over its 6-season, 137-episode run; 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 are eager to reach. The series also earned critical acclaim during its run, earning 13 Emmy Awards for its writing, acting, and directing. St. Elsewhere was ranked #20 on TV Guide’s 2002 list of “The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.”, with the magazine also selecting it as the best drama series of the 1980s in a 1993 issue.