So The Golden Palace found its home at CBS, where the producers were promised more creative freedom and the opportunity to cultivate for the show a new identity, part of which involved the casting of both Marin and Cheadle, which in addition to masculinity, introduced some diversity to the series. The veteran producers appealed to NBC to counter with a better offer, but the network refused to make a larger episodic commitment, as a result of declining ratings (and, probably, a lack of faith in the new show’s premise).

CBS, looking to bolster its comedic presence, offered to pick up the spin-off for a full season. The network agreed to order 13 episodes for the ’92-’93 season. The Golden Palace was, of course, pitched in early ’92 by executive producers Witt-Thomas-Harris (the latter of whom, Susan Harris, again served as the series’ creator) to NBC, which was the home of the trio’s soon-to-end The Golden Girls.

The reason for the the child’s presence - something my regular readers already know I think was a bad creative decision - is easily explained. SULLIVAN), a foster child for whom the staff cared - until his quick departure after only eight episodes, which were aired out of sequence. The hotel also hosted a permanent resident, young Oliver Webb (BILLY L. Of course, at the time of purchase, the ladies had no idea it was indeed struggling and had only two regular employees, sharp manager Roland Wilson (DON CHEADLE) and plucky chef Chuy Castillo (CHEECH MARIN), thus forcing all three women to pitch in and help with the day-to-day operations. Here is a list of the episodes I would highlight as the best, if I were picking today.)Īn extension of The Golden Girls, much in the same way that Archie Bunker’s Place was an extension of All In The Family, the new series began with three Miami roommates, naive Rose Nylund (BETTY WHITE), lusty Blanche Devereaux (RUE McCLANAHAN), and spunky Sophia Petrillo (ESTELLE GETTY), now down their tallest companion, selling their home and buying a struggling hotel. In celebration, I rewatched the entire series - over five years after first writing this post.

(January 2022 UPDATE: The Golden Palace is finally available to stream on Hulu. Don’t let the snarky title fool you - I actually like this series much more than many of the others you’ve seen on Wednesdays this year!

Welcome to another Wildcard Wednesday! As mentioned in yesterday’s final post in our series on the best of The Golden Girls (1985-1992, NBC), today’s entry looks at the spin-off series, The Golden Palace (1992-1993, CBS).

The golden palace first episode