Our House: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Our House is an American television drama series that aired on NBC for two seasons from September 11, 1986 to May 8, 1988. The series centers on the Witherspoon family and the challenges they face adjusting to life with three generations living in the same house. After his son John dies, retired widower Gus Witherspoon (played by Wilford Brimley) invites his daughter-in-law Jessica 'Jessie' Witherspoon (played by Deidre Hall) and her three children to move to California to live with him until they can get back on their feet financially.

Despite protests from her children, Jessie, along with 15-year-old daughter Kris (played by Shannen Doherty), 12-year-old son David (played by Chad Allen), eight-year-old daughter Molly (played by Keri Houlihan), and their basset hound named Arthur leave Fort Wayne, Indiana, to start their new lives in California. As they settle into life with Gus, they realize that he can be difficult to live with. A major part of the plot each week was centered on the conflict that can arise when extended family tries to live together in the same house. As the man of the house, Gus imposed rules on the three grandchildren the same way he raised his own children but later learned ways to convey his lessons to the kids without being gruff. Jessie and the kids learn that beneath Gus' stern facade is a man who is wise about the ways of the world and cares about them very much.

In a feature reminiscent of the 1960s T.V. series The Wild Wild West, each of the five acts of the episode before commercial ended with a freeze-frame shot, which then occupied one of the rooms in an abstract rendering of a house figure. As the episode unfolded, more rooms were filled until finally, when the dilemma had been resolved, the final piece was put in place, completing the house.

John Witherspoon (played by Patrick Duffy) was seen in one episode and in the occasional flashback.

Series details

• Title: Our House
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 1986-09-11
• Final broadcast date listed: 1988-05-08
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: NBC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 7638
• IMDb ID: tt0090496
• TVDB ID: 77766

Cast and credited roles

• Wilford Brimley — Gus Witherspoon
• Shannen Doherty — Kris Witherspoon
• Chad Allen — David Witherspoon
• Gerald S. O'Loughlin — Joe Kaplan
• Deidre Hall — Jesse Witherspoon
• Keri Houlihan — Molly Witherspoon
• Nicole Dubuc — Bertha
• Anne Haney — Virginia Taft

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1986-09-11; final listed air date 1987-05-03; episode order: 24.
• Season 2: premiered 1987-09-13; final listed air date 1988-05-08; episode order: 22.

Source and licence

Adapted from Our House on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.