Spin City: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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Spin City: The Complete First Season (Bingo Will Not Be Forgotten)

Now Playing: Spin City: The Complete First Season (Bingo Will Not Be Forgotten)

Season Details & Credits

ABC | Season Premiere Date: September 17, 1996

Starring: Jennifer Esposito, Michael Boatman, Carla Gugino

Summary: A talented cast provide a sophisticated ensemble comedy, filmed entirely in New York City. Michael Flaherty (Michael J. Fox, Back To The Future), Deputy Mayor and right-hand man to Mayor Randall Winston (Barry Bostwick, I'll Take Manhattan), expertly keeps his co-workers and City Hall under complete control while his personal life oftenA talented cast provide a sophisticated ensemble comedy, filmed entirely in New York City. Michael Flaherty (Michael J. Fox, Back To The Future), Deputy Mayor and right-hand man to Mayor Randall Winston (Barry Bostwick, I'll Take Manhattan), expertly keeps his co-workers and City Hall under complete control while his personal life often spins completely out of control. With a staff of wildly diverse characters consisting of a neurotic press secretary, a gay activist in charge of minority affairs, a chauvinist chief of staff, a highly efficient accountant, an idealistic speechwriter and an intrepid Mayor's assistant, it's hard to believe anything gets done.

After four successful, and hilarious, years, Michael J. Fox left Spin City. And was replaced by Charlie Sheen who played Charlie Crawford (Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men), the new, charismatic deputy mayor of New York City. The show's final season was simulcast in HDTV.

Nielsen Ratings:
#17 in 1996-1997 Season
#47 in 1997-1998 Season
#25 in 1998-1999 Season
#33 in 1999-2000 Season
#56 in 2000-2001 Season
#66 in 2001-2002 Season… Expand

Creator: Bill Lawrence and Gary David Goldberg

Genre(s): Comedy

Season 1 Episodes

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S1:E24. Mayor Over Miami
Air Date: May 13, 1997
tbd
S1:E23. The Mayor Who Came to Dinner
Air Date: May 6, 1997
tbd
S1:E22. Bone Free
Air Date: April 29, 1997

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Matt Roush

Mar 17, 2013

As you watch the smart, sophisticated, sharply written and slickly directed Spin City strut its stuff, memories of Murphy Brown's early days may come to mind. Dominating a volatile, high-profile workplace and supported by a crackerjack cast, Fox demonstrates superb and crafty comic timing in a tailor-made role. [17 Sept 1996, p.1D]

100

Lon Grahnke

Mar 17, 2013

Reunited with "Family Ties" creator Gary David Goldberg, movie star Michael J. Fox scores a landslide victory in his terrific TV comeback. [16 Sept 1996, p.35]

Joanne Ostrow

Mar 17, 2013

Based on both content and time slot - between "Home Improvement" and "NYPD Blue" - Spin City is potentially the breakout hit of the season. [17 Sept 1996]

Robert Bianco

Mar 17, 2013

Everything about City does not spin with equal balance. The pilot's plot (the mayor stumbles into a gay rights controversy) is so hackneyed and out-of-touch, it makes you wonder if the writers have been to New York in the last decade. But the spin doctors at Spin City insist the plot's creakiness is an aberration - and so many other things in the show go well, I'm inclined to believe them. [17 Sept 1996, p.D-4]

Jonathan Storm

Mar 17, 2013

Just about everybody in this cast is superb. Maybe the production team, headed by Gary David Goldberg, who did Fox's "Family Ties" and the cuddly "Brooklyn Bridge", will fix all the first episode's flaws. Too many halfhearted gay and orgasm jokes bring to mind too many of last year's tired Friends imitators.[17 Sept 1996, p.D01]

Jeremy Gerard

Mar 17, 2013

While some of the humor scores, too much is of the red-herring variety one-liners that don't really have anything to do with anything. And anyone even mildly versed in Gotham politics will find Spin City low on the believability scale, which is probably a good thing, as you'd need a Robert Altman to find much humor in the real thing. [16 Sept 1996]

Miles Beller

Mar 17, 2013

Spin City doesn't yet spin into a totally satisfying comic groove, instead going for the obvious and the expected when it comes to the ways and means of politics. [17 Sept 1996]

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Seasons & Episodes

72

Series Overview
Season 6

tbd
- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: September 25, 2001
Season 5

tbd
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: October 18, 2000
Season 4

tbd
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: September 21, 1999
Season 3

tbd
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: September 22, 1998
Season 2

tbd
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: September 24, 1997
Season 1

71
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 17, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E24. Mayor Over Miami
  Air Date: May 13, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E23. The Mayor Who Came to Dinner
  Air Date: May 6, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E22. Bone Free
  Air Date: April 29, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E21. Hot in the City
  Air Date: April 1, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E20. Deaf Becomes Her
  Air Date: March 18, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E19. Striptease
  Air Date: March 4, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E18. Snowbound
  Air Date: February 25, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E17. An Affair to Remember
  Air Date: February 18, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E16. Kiss Me, Stupid
  Air Date: February 11, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E15. Gabby's Song
  Air Date: January 28, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E14. Starting Over
  Air Date: January 14, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E13. Bye Bye Love
  Air Date: January 7, 1997
- tbd
  S1:E12. Criss Cross
  Air Date: December 17, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E11. Dog Day Afternoon
  Air Date: December 10, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E10. The Competition
  Air Date: November 26, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E9. Meet Tommy Dugan
  Air Date: November 19, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E8. The High and the Mighty
  Air Date: November 12, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E7. Grand Illusion
  Air Date: October 29, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E6. A Star is Born
  Air Date: October 22, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E5. The Rivals
  Air Date: October 15, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E4. Pride and Prejudice
  Air Date: October 8, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E3. The Apartment
  Air Date: October 1, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E2. The Great Pretender
  Air Date: September 24, 1996
- tbd
  S1:E1. Pilot
  Air Date: September 17, 1996