This half-hour ABC sitcom revolved around three diverse married couples who lived in a New York City brownstone at 862 Central Park North (at 73rd Street). The house was actually located in Harlem, but the neighbourhood had been renamed ‘Central Park North’ to attract upscale tenants.
The long-married owners of the property were Nick and Olivia Williams (Ray Aranha and Barbara Montgomery), a black couple in their fifties. They lived on the first floor in Apartment 1.
Nick operated a store called ‘Nick’s Fruit and Vegetables’ which he had owned for 23 years.
The second-floor tenants (Apartment 2) were yuppies Russell (Jay Thomas) and Elizabeth (Bess Armstrong) Myers. Elizabeth worked as an attorney for the Wall Street law firm of Michaelson and Michaelson (she was later made a partner).
Russell, a stay-at-home freelance writer, had penned articles for TV Guide and the New Yorker magazine. He later had a monthly column for Manhattan Life magazine called “The Worst of New York” (reviewing ten worst things each month; for example, worst landlords, worst diners etc).
When the series began, Elizabeth was already pregnant. She later gave birth to a son she and Russell named Max.
On the top floor (in Apartment 3) lived the newlywed Campbells: Cindy (Megan Gallivan) – a waitress at the East Side Diner – and Allen (Chris Young) – a freshman at Columbia University. The young couple came from Mineral Wells, Indiana, and moved to New York so Allen could attend Columbia.
The series was created by Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser.
Nick Williams
Ray Aranha Olivia Williams
Barbara Montgomery Russell Meyers
Jay Thomas Elizabeth Meyers
Bess Armstrong Cindy Campbell
Megan Gallivan Allen Campbell
Chris Young
The long-married owners of the property were Nick and Olivia Williams (Ray Aranha and Barbara Montgomery), a black couple in their fifties. They lived on the first floor in Apartment 1.
