The Nanny (TV series)

The Nanny was an American sitcom that first aired on November 3, 1993 on CBS. It starred Fran Drescher as "the nanny named Fran" (as Ann Hampton Callaway sang in the theme she wrote). Six seasons were aired; the show ended its run in 1999.

The plot

The plot revolved around nasal-voiced Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) who, fresh out of her job as a bridal consultant in her boyfriend's shop, first appeared on the Manhattan doorstep of wealthy and widowed Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (played by former Days of our Lives star Charles Shaughnessy) peddling cosmetics. When he mistakenly believed she was there in response to his classified ad, she quickly seized upon the opportunity to become the nanny for his three children. But soon Fran, with her off-beat nurturing and no-nonsense honesty, touched Maxwell as well as the kids. It was a situation of blue collar meets blue blood, as Fran gave the prim-and-proper Maxwell and his children a dose of "Queens logic," helping them become a healthy, happy family.

Related Topics:
Fran Drescher - Manhattan - Broadway - Days of our Lives - Charles Shaughnessy - Blue collar - Blue blood - Queens

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Proudly running the Sheffield household was the butler, Niles (Daniel Davis), who watched all events with a bemused eye and leveled problems with his quick wit. Niles quickly recognized Fran's gift at bringing warmth back to the family and did his best to undermine Maxwell's socialite business partner, C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), in their ongoing game of one-upmanship. C.C. viewed Fran with a mixture of skepticism and jealousy, as she had designs on the very available Sheffield herself.

Related Topics:
Butler - Daniel Davis - Socialite - Lauren Lane

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From the outset, Mr. Sheffield clearly was smitten with Fran, even if he was too shy to admit it, and Fran was equally taken with Mr. Sheffield. For the first few years, the writers teased viewers with a series of '"will they or won't they?" situations. At the end of the fifth season, the two wed, and in the sixth - and final - year, the two welcomed twins into the family. Far more unexpected was the pairing of Niles and C.C., whose antagonism towards each other apparently had masked their true feelings.

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Perpetually hovering close by were Fran's typically obsessive and food loving "Jewish mother" Sylvia (who would often when hungry steal the food off the children if she deemed it "too big for them"), her cigarette-addicted senile grandmother Yetta, dispensing nonsensical advice while plotting to get the pair to the altar (when not erroneously believing Sheffield to already be her husband and his children be hers as well, a belief she did not keep to herself), and her dim-witted best friend Val, keeping her company to her perpetual quest for a husband and being a constant reminder that things can always get worse (as Val is much more unlucky than Fran).

Related Topics:
Jewish mother - Cigarette - Senile

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