Terminally perky white divorcee Cathy Hale (Cindy Williams ) and earthy black widow Dolores Dixon (Telma Hopkins) were social workers for the Chicago Department of Social Services who shared an office in this ABC sitcom.
Cathy and Dolores were both single mothers struggling to make ends meet, so they decided to split the mortgage on a new home in suburban Oak Park, Illinois, and live there with both their families.
Eyeing each other warily were their kids: blossoming 16-year-old Nikki (Nicki Vannice) and optimistic nine-year-old Julie (Ashleigh Blair Sterling) on Cathy’s side and girl-chasing 15-year-old schemer Marcus (Merlin Santana) and trusting 14-year-old Darren (Deon Richmond) on Dolores’s.
The laugh track roared as these opposites mixed and as cynical Dolores tried to teach her Goody Two-shoes best friend the ways of the real world.
The second season saw Getting By move to NBC, paired with Saved by the Bell: The College Years on Tuesday nights. ABC had wanted to move the series to Saturday night, and the series creators believed – based on what had happened to Perfect Strangers – that moving the show to Saturday would only kill it.
Unfortunately, the ratings tanked, leading to NBC moving the series to Saturday night anyway. Whoops.
Cathy Hale
Cindy Williams Nikki Hale
Nicki Vannice Julie Hale
Ashleigh Blair Sterling Dolores Dixon
Telma Hopkins Marcus Dixon
Merlin Santana Darren Dixon
Deon Richmond
Eyeing each other warily were their kids: blossoming 16-year-old Nikki (Nicki Vannice) and optimistic nine-year-old Julie (Ashleigh Blair Sterling) on Cathy’s side and girl-chasing 15-year-old schemer Marcus (Merlin Santana) and trusting 14-year-old Darren (Deon Richmond) on Dolores’s.
