Dear John is a sitcom that aired on NBC from 1988 to 1992. The series was originally based on the British sitcom of the same name. Dear John starred Judd Hirsch as easy-going high school teacher John Lacey who is dumped by his wife, Wendy, via a Dear John letter. Wendy ends up with everything in the divorce settlement, including custody of the couple's son, forcing John to move into an apartment in Queens.

Dear John Cast John soon joins the One Two One Club, a self help group for divorced, widowed or lonely people. The group is led by Louise (Jane Carr), a sex obsessed British woman. Other members of the group include Kate McCarron (Isabella Hofmann), a sweet divorcée, Kirk Morris (Jere Burns), a cocky ladies' man, Ralph Drang (Harry Groener), a shy and neurotic tollbooth collector, and Margie Philbert (Billie Bird), a feisty senior citizen.

Cast & Characters
  • Judd Hirsch as John Lacey
  • Isabella Hofmann as Kate McCarron
  • Jere Burns as Kirk Morris
  • Billie Bird as Mrs. Margie Philbert
  • Harry Groener as Ralph Drang (1988-1991)
  • Jane Carr as Louise Mercer
  • Susan Walters as Mary Beth Sutton (1990-1992)
  • William O'Leary as Ben (1991-1992)
  • Olivia Brown as Denise (1990-1991)
  • Ben Savage as Matthew Lacey (1988-1990)
  • Billy Cohen as Matthew Lacey (1990)
  • Carlene Watkins as Wendy Lacey (1988-1989)
  • Deborah Harmon as Wendy Lacey (1990-1991)
  • Marietta DePrima as Annie Marino (1991-1992)

Broadcast History

 First Telecast: October 6, 1988
Last Telecast: July 22, 1992
Original Network:  NBC
Number of Seasons: 4
Number of Episodes: 90
Original Primetime TV Schedule:
  • October 1988, NBC, Thursday 9:00-9:30
  • October 1988- January 1990, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
  • January 1990- March 1990, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
  • May 1990- October 1990, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
  • October 1990- December 1990, NBC, Wednesday 9:00-9:30pm
  • December 1990- March 1991, NBC, Saturday 10:30-11:00pm
  • March 1991- June 1991, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
  • July 1991, NBC, Saturday 10:00-10:30pm
  • August 1991- September 1991, NBC, Saturday 9:30-10:00
  • September 1991- October 1991, NBC, Friday 9:30-10:00
  • October 1991- January 1992, NBC, Friday 9:30-10:00
  • April 1992, NBC, Saturday 10:00-10:30pm
  • July 1992, NBC, Saturday 10:00-10:30pm

Theme Song Lyrics & Opening Credits

 Theme by John Sullivan and performed by Wendy Talbot

Dear John. Dear John.
By the time you read these lines I'll be gone.
Life goes on, right or wrong
Now the sun is dead and gone. Dear John.
Since we've sung love's last song. Dear John.
Since we've sung love's last song. Poor John.
Since we've sung love's last song. Dear John

Watch opening intro:


Listen to theme song:

Dear John Trivia

 Dear John was based on a British sitcom of the same name. The U.S. version was also broadcast in the United Kingdom after being retitled, "Dear John USA".

There were eight episodes of Dear John that were produced but were not broadcast due to early cancellation of the series. Their titles were: "Who's Who", "Poor John - Part 1", "Poor John - Part 2", "The Write Stuff", "Heartburn and Heartache", "Adult Education", "Freddy's Back", and "The Nightmare Continues".

Dear John won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and an ASCAP Film and Television Music Award. It was also nominated for another Golden Globe in the "Best Performance in a TV Series - Comedy or Musical" category but Judd Hirsch lost that one to "Ted Danson" for his performance on "Cheers".

The series title, "Dear John" refers to the "letter" his wife Wendy left for him when she took off with their son and her new love interest who just happened to be John's best friend! Wow, that's gotta hurt! As if that's not bad enough, Wendy got virtually all of their assets in the divorce too, leaving poor John alone in a small apartment in Queens!

The support group that John belonged to was called, "The One Two One Club" and was located in "Rego Park, Queens".

Judd Hirsch is probably better known for his role as "Alex Reiger" on the series, "Taxi". At the time of this writing, Judd is starring on the series, "Numb3rs" which is about a math genius who helps his F.B.I. agent brother solve crimes using statistical analysis. Judd plays the father of the brothers, "Alan Eppes".

During its four years on the air, Dear John's time slot was changed a whopping ten times! It's amazing that the series lasted four seasons with that many changes!

At one point, in the beginning of 1990, Dear John followed the series, "Night Court" on Wednesday nights. During that time, Jere Burns (who played Kirk Morris on Dear John) and John Larroquette (who played the obnoxious Lawyer Dan Feilding on Night Court) appeared together on a network promo for both series.