June 15, 2023 – Perfect Strangers

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we’re spotlighting the year 1986. One of the TV shows that premiered that year was Perfect Strangers. It ran for 8 seasons on ABC, and centered on the rocky coexistence of midwesterner Larry Appleton (played by Mark Linn-Baker) and his distant cousin from Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous (played by Bronson Pinchot). The creators of the show were inspired by the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Watching all those international athletes experience American life got them thinking about exploring that kind of culture shock in a TV series. They pitched their idea to all the networks, but it was rejected. Until that is, they pitched Pinchot as the star of the show. He had gained some notoriety for his role in Beverly Hills Cop, playing Serge, an art gallery employee who had an unplaceable accent. Unfortunately, Pinchot had already signed on to do another show with NBC. But that show was eventually canceled, and he agreed to do Perfect Strangers. He even came up with the name Balki himself – it was his sister’s dogs name! Perfect Strangers  had a spin-off series, the highly rated and long-running Family Matters. Harriet Winslow was the elevator operator at the newspaper where Larry and Balki worked. She made regular appearances in the 3rd and 4th seasons, along with her police officer husband, Carl. There was never a direct crossover between the two shows, although Balki and Larry were originally meant to appear in the pilot episode before it was cut from the broadcast. If you’re interested watching Perfect Strangers, it’s streaming on Prime. Learn more here.