Marco Pennette

Union Square is a 1997 television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for one season. It follows the story of a lawyer-turned-playwright in New York City, who attempts to gain inspiration from a host of characters populating the fictitious Union Square cafe in Manhattan, obviously inspired by the New York area of the same name.

The show was originally supposed to be a vehicle for Cuban-American actress Mel Gorham. But after poor test screenings for the pilot, the producers decided to retool the show and replace Gorham with Constance Marie.

The program replaced Fired Up on NBC’s “Must See TV” night of programming; it was given an 8:30pm timeslot on Thursday evenings, a highly coveted spot due to its location between popular sitcoms Friends and Seinfeld. Like The Single Guy, Union Square attempted to capitalize on attractive singles in their 20s and 30s enjoying New York City life, which both Seinfeld and Friends had turned into successes. The show also featured guest appearances from actor David Krumholtz, who appeared on two episodes, as did actress Rhea Perlman.