Grand (TV Series) - Production Notes

Production Notes

The series at one time was being considered as a one-hour comedy series given the size of its cast.

By the time production began on the last episode of the first season, NBC had still not committed to a second season. But, being a production of the network's leading producers Carsey, Werner and Bill Cosby, the series was renewed and given the prized Thursday 9:30pm slot. Believing the show would be cancelled, the final episode of the season was titled "Blow Off," an apparent stab at NBC's indecision regarding the show. The episode concluded with the town of Grand being devastated by a tornado and the disappearance of the entire cast, save for Wayne.

However the show's ratings (finishing 15th among mid-season shows) proved to be high enough for NBC to finally order a second half-season (13 episodes). Unfortunately, by the time the network made up their mind, at least two cast members and several members of the production staff had already committed to other projects. The second season wrote out the character of Tom Smithson as an illegal alien who had stolen $50,000 from a Texas Savings and Loan and used the tornado as a means to disappear when the FBI began to close in on him. The character of Wayne Kazmurski and all the recurring characters and their story lines with the exception of Eddie Pasetti were dropped with no explanation.

The reduction in cast and the sudden change in production staff and writers took the show in a dramatically opposite direction from Season 1. The first episode of the second season dealt with what became of Janice's trailer, rather than answering questions about the characters who had disappeared, and the second episode wrapped up Tom Smithson's storyline. The premise of the show then changed from that of a complex comedy of manners to a simple situation comedy, indistinguishable from other sit-coms of the day. The series format abandoned the soap-opera style and half of the second season were standard, stand-alone situation comedy episodes. The result was a major decline in the overall quality of the series. Ratings steadily declined throughout the second season, the decline bolstered by the fact that it was run against ABC's freshman series and media darling Twin Peaks.

The final four episodes of Grand returned the show to its soap-opera format, however instead of featuring identifiable, believable story arcs about the foibles of three economic classes, the arcs were outrageous, improbable stories featuring witchcraft, gangsters, a possible corporate takeover of the piano works, and Carol Ann's decision to adopt a teenager who was raised by wolves.

The series was cancelled after its 25th episode. A 26th episode was filmed, but has never aired.

Because Grand began its first season as a mid-season replacement and ended its second season without airing its final episode, it stands as one of the rare instances of a two-season series having aired its entire run within a single calendar year.