Perfect Strangers was a popular American sitcom during the late 80s to early 90s. It aired on the ABC television network and ran from March 25, 1986, to August 6, 1993. It was created by Dale McRaven and produced by Tom Miller and Robert Boyett.
It ran for eight wonderful seasons, telling the stories of cousins Balki and Larry and their life in Chicago. Its short first season with six episodes aired on Tuesdays in the spring of 1986. Then, in the fall of 1988, it moved its airing to Wednesdays until March 1988 when it was moved to Fridays, making it part of the TGIF line-up.
If you used to be a fan of this television show and you miss it, or you want to know more about it
Here are some fun facts about Perfect Strangers. Enjoy reminiscing!
- Perfect Strangers was one of the favorite shows of the legendary comedienne Lucille Ball. She once told the press how much she loved the show. At the time Perfect Strangers was airing, Lucille Ball is trying to regain her career after her show Life with Lucy got canceled after one season.
- Bronson Pinchot almost became the host of the American version of the famous game show The Weakest Link. He was close to getting the role but he chose to pursue a career in theater instead.
- Before becoming a famous director, Joel Zwick was the director of Perfect Strangers. The show had a total of 150 episodes and Joel Zwick directed 99 episodes of it.
- At the end of the series, Balki and Mary Ann had a son and they decided to name him Robespierre BoinkiBartokomous. On the other hand, Larry and Jennifer decided to simply name their son Tucker.
- A genius fan created a Perfect Strangers video game where the player uses Balki to try and navigate America.
- The show was set in Chicago but the in seasons one and two, the establishing shot of the exterior of the apartment was the Santa Rita hotel in downtown Los Angeles. But on the show’s third season, they had a new exterior shot where the apartment was actually located in Chicago.
- Only two seasons of the show had the chance to be officially released on DVD. This was because the characters often sang famous songs on the show in acapella and Warner Bros. could not pay for all the song rights for the DVDs.
- One of Larry’s boss on the show was played by Ernie Sabella, the same guy who did the voice of Pumba in the famous Disney animated movie, The Lion King.
- Even if it was not aired on TV, Bronson Pinchot and the producers of Perfect Strangers decided that the national anthem of Mypos, Balki’s home country, would be Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”.
- Bronson Pinchot, the actor who played BalkiBartokomous, once admitted in an interview that he never wore a pair of underwear whenever he was playing the role. He said that this was because he wanted to give a new meaning to the “Dance of Joy”.
- Dale McRaven, the creator of the show, said that the idea for Perfect Strangers came to him after the 1984 Summer Olympics. He thought that American people would want to see a show that celebrates their new sense of patriotism.
- The show was turned down by three networks before it was accepted by the TV network ABC.
- Harriete and Carl Winslow first appeared on the show, before getting their own spin-off show entitled Family Matters. But the two shows never had a cross over episode.
- Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker both went to Yale. Pinchot studied painting and literature while Baker attended Yale Drama School. But the two never crossed paths in the university.’
- The show’s theme song entitled “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now” was performed by David Pomeranz, an American singer who was popular in the Philippines. His album entitled “Born For You-His Best and More” is one of the best-selling albums in the Philippines.
- Larry’s girlfriend was portrayed by Melanie Wilson, the daughter of Dick Wilson, the guy who is famously known as Mr. Whippie from the Charmin toilet paper commercials.
Those are the fun facts we gathered for you about Perfect Strangers. Which one is your favorite?