Events in the lives of a group of blue-collar working men and women living in Hoboken, New Jersey. Stories focussed in particular on members of the Debeau and Coltrera families.
Tom Debeau (Tom Signorelli) was a widower and the father of three sons, Harry, Denis and Eric.
Middle son Denis (Dale Midkiff, pictured below left) was forced to take over his father’s refrigeration company when Tom suffered a stroke. He also married Marianne McKinney (Jo Anderson, pictured below right), an elementary school teacher and pool shark.
Oldest son Harry (Peter Frechette), divorced from Marsha (Wendy Makkena), was a perpetual dreamer looking for a way to easy street and had never taken on any responsibility – “You’re my son and I love you,” his father tells him from his hospital bed, “But you screw up”.
Defiant but good-hearted teenager Eric (David Barry Gray), the youngest, was dating Joann Dunning (Cara Buono).
Denis’s lifelong best friend Joey Coltrera (Thomas Calabro, pictured below left) was the only child of Carmella (Kelly Bishop) and Anthony (Victor Argo) Coltrera. He was dating Joni Goldstein (Cecil Hoffman, pictured below right), a divorcee with a young son called Cody (Brian McElroy) and had also recently entered his father’s rather seedy business as a debt collector – the Coltrera’s were lower-level mafioso – in the hopes it would afford him power and wealth.
Unknown to either Denis or Joey, the mob had been collecting $200 a week from the Debeau business “since forever”, and it would now become Joey’s job to collect . . . from Denis.
Although strongly acted and filled with believable characters, the NBC drama – from the creators of Thirtysomething– did not fare well and was cancelled after only six episodes.
Denis Debeau
Dale Midkiff Harry Debeau
Peter Frechette Eric Debeau
David Barry Gray Pete Debeau
Tom Signorelli Thomas Debeau
Tom Signorelli Joey Coltrera
Thomas Calabro Joni Goldstein
Cecil Hoffman Marianne Debeau/McKinney
Jo Anderson Anthony Coltrera
Victor Argo Carmella Coltrera
Kelly Bishop Lillian Debeau
Debra Mooney Marsha Debeau
Wendy Makkena Joann Dunning
Cara Buono Cody Goldstein
Brian McElroy Mari
Mia Korf Kara
Christine Moore
