Evening Shade is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series stars Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long losing streak. Reynolds personally requested to use the Steelers as his former team because he is a fan. The general theme of the show is the appeal of small town life. Episodes ended with a closing narration by Ossie Davis summing up the events of the episode, always closing with "... in a place called Evening Shade." The show's final episode saw the guest appearances of Willie Nelson and Buzz Aldrin as escaped convicts on the run from authorities, the final scene being a spectacular shoot-out reminiscent of the final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The opening segment included clips from around Arkansas, including the famous McClard's Bar-be-que, which is situated on Albert Pike Blvd. and South Patterson St. in Hot Springs National Park.
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Burt Reynolds
Wood Newton
Marilu Henner
Ava Evans Newton
Hal Holbrook
Evan Evans
Charles Durning
Harlan Elldridge
Ann Wedgeworth
Merleen Elldridge
Michael Jeter
Herman Stiles
Jay R. Ferguson
Taylor Newton
Ossie Davis
Ponder Blue
Candace Hutson
Molly Newton
Elizabeth Ashley
Freida Evans
All 3 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
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24 episodes • 1990Avg: 7.0Valley of Despair
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Day in the Life of Wood Newton | Sep 21, 1990 | 7.0 |
| 2 | There Once Was A Boy Named Wood | Sep 28, 1990 | 7.0 |
| 3 | Whatever Happened to Clutch Newton? | Oct 5, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Sadie Hawkins Dance | Oct 16, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Fast Women | Oct 29, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 6 | The Moustache Show | Oct 2, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 7 | All for Charity | Nov 9, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Something to Hold Onto | Nov 19, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Mr. Mom | Nov 26, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Hooray for Wood | Dec 10, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 11 | The Wood Who Stole Christmas | Dec 17, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Wood and Ava and Gil and Madeline | Jan 7, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Wood's Thirtieth Reunion | Jan 21, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Vote Early and Vote Often | Jan 28, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 15 | Chip Off the Old Brick | Feb 4, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 16 | The Trials of Wood Newton | Feb 11, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 17 | Into the Woods | Feb 18, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 18 | Nothing to Fear But Harvey Lujack | Feb 21, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 19 | Gambler Anonymous | Mar 4, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Sex Education | Mar 24, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 21 | I am Wood, Hear Me Roar | Apr 1, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 22 | Herman and Margaret Sitting in a Tree | Apr 8, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 23 | Far from the Madden Crowd | Apr 29, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 24 | The Baby Show | May 6, 1991 | 0.0 |
25 episodes • 1991Avg: 8.0Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Three Naked Men (Part 1) | Sep 16, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 2 | Three Naked Men (Part 2) | Sep 23, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 3 | I'm With Stupid | Sep 30, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Tying the Knot | Oct 7, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Miss Emily's Wild Ride | Oct 14, 1991 | 8.0 |
| 6 | The Road Trip | Oct 21, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Winning Isn't Everything | Oct 28, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Where's My Watch? | Nov 11, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 9 | I Do, I Don't | Nov 18, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 10 | The Thanksgiving Show | Nov 25, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Busted | Dec 9, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Rear Window | Dec 16, 1991 | 0.0 |
| 13 | The Getaway | Jan 6, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Herman In Charge | Jan 13, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 15 | The Au Pair Affair | Jan 27, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Goin' To the Chapel (Part 1) | Feb 3, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 17 | Goin' To the Chapel (Part 2) | Feb 24, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 18 | Goin' to the Chapel (Part 3) | Mar 2, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 19 | Play Herman For Me | Mar 9, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Callous Hearts of Rage | Mar 23, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Taylor Buys A Car | Apr 6, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 22 | Hasta la vista, Baby | May 4, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 23 | Cousin Readith | May 11, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 24 | No Pain, No Gain | May 18, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 25 | The Perfect Birthday Party, Sort Of | May 18, 1992 | 0.0 |
25 episodes • 1992
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Heroes | Sep 21, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 2 | The Diary of Molly Newton | Sep 28, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 3 | You Scratch My Back, I'll Arrest You | Oct 5, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 4 | What A Night | Oct 12, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Father-Child Campout | Oct 19, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 6 | The Hole Story | Oct 26, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Harlan Deals A Meal | Nov 9, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 8 | The Resurrection of Wood Newton | Nov 16, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 9 | The NFL on CBS | Nov 23, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 10 | The Really Odd Couple | Dec 7, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Carl the Mule | Dec 14, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 12 | I'll Be Home For Christmas | Dec 21, 1992 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Freida and the Preacher | Jan 4, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Private School | Jan 18, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 15 | Ava Takes a Shower (1) | Feb 1, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Ava Takes a Shower (2) | Feb 8, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 17 | They Can't Take That Away From Me (1) | Feb 15, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 18 | They Can't Take That Away from Me (2) | Feb 15, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 19 | She What?! | Mar 1, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Another Baby Shower | Mar 15, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Cousins Behind Bars | Mar 22, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 22 | Mommy Goes AWOL | Apr 12, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 23 | Teaching Is A Good Thing | May 3, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 24 | Saint Bobby | May 10, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 25 | The Graduation | May 17, 1993 | 0.0 |
26 episodes • 1993
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Four Naked Women | Sep 20, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 2 | One Down, Three to Go | Sep 27, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 3 | One Hot Game | Oct 4, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Witness for the Prosecution | Oct 11, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Kiss of the Ice Cream Woman | Oct 18, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 6 | Night of the Living Newtons | Oct 25, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 7 | The Dance | Nov 1, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Wood and Evan's Excellent Adventure | Nov 8, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Small Town Girl | Nov 15, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Where There's Smoke | Nov 22, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Chain of Fools | Nov 29, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Sleepless in Arkansas | Dec 13, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 13 | The Proof is in the Pudding | Dec 20, 1993 | 0.0 |
| 14 | The People's Choice | Jan 3, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 15 | Educating Calvin | Jan 10, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Paint the Town Nude | Jan 17, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 17 | The Perfect Woman | Jan 31, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 18 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Wood | Feb 7, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 19 | The Fabulous Frazier Girls | Feb 28, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 20 | I Did, I Did | Mar 7, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Mr. Newton Goes to Hot Springs | Mar 14, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 22 | Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wood? | Mar 28, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 23 | Wood Climbs to New Heights | Apr 11, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 24 | Mama Knows Best | May 9, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 25 | The Odder Couple | May 16, 1994 | 0.0 |
| 26 | I Left My Ring in Evening Shade | May 23, 1994 | 0.0 |
