Grace Under Fire, produced by Carsey-Werner, was part of a wave of shows in the late 1980s and 1990s that were built around a comedian (and in some cases, closely based on his or her comedy routine). Many of Carsey-Werner's shows were based on nontraditional,
non-nuclear families.
Grace Under Fire followed a similar formula, set in the small fictitious town of Victory,
Missouri; Butler starred as Grace Kelly, a divorced
single mother and recovering
alcoholic. The show begins after the main character divorces her
abusive alcoholic husband of eight years in an attempt to start life anew and prevent her children from making the same mistakes she did. The show revolved around Grace; her children, mischievous Quentin (
Noah Segan, pilot;
Jon Paul Steuer, seasons 1–3; Sam Horrigan, seasons 4–5), happy-go-lucky Libby (Kaitlin Cullum), and infant Patrick (
Dylan and Cole Sprouse); her happily married best friends and neighbors, Nadine and Wade Swoboda (
Julie White and
Casey Sander); and the town's bachelor pharmacist, Russell Norton (
Dave Thomas). In the first three seasons, Grace operates pipelines at the local oil refinery, where she has a second family of fellow crew workers. Among them are Dougie Boudreau (
Walter Olkewicz), Vic (Dave Florek), and Carl (
Louis Mandylor). Their boss is Bill Davis (
Charles Hallahan). Both Bill and Carl were dropped after the first season, with John Shirley (
Paul Dooley) taking over as Grace's boss in the second season. Russell's friendship with Grace and their on-and-off dating rituals are a running theme in the series. Throughout their friendship, they often date other people; for a time, Grace dates Ryan Sparks (
William Fichtner), a quirky chemist who works in the oil refinery's labs. In season three, Grace enters into a relationship with suave plant executive Rick Bradshaw (
Alan Autry). As with Ryan, the affair between Grace and Rick occurs despite their radically different places in the company ladder. They break up at the end of season three, although Rick later returns to see if their romance can be rekindled. In season four, Grace begins taking college classes at night, paid for by her workplace. When the plant stops funding her education, Grace quits the oil refinery and returns to school full-time, as she only needs a few months of concentrated classes to graduate. The remainder of season four features Grace as a full-time student, and she graduates near the end of the season. In the season finale, Grace takes an entry-level position with an ad agency. At the beginning of the fifth season, Grace quits the agency due to the commute and long working hours, and began working in the administrative end of a construction company owned by D.C. (
Don "D.C." Curry). Russell finds romantic interest in Dottie (
Lauren Tom), a gossiping hairstylist who is also friends with Grace. After giving birth, Nadine leaves Wade with her child and moves to Colorado. Throughout the entire series, Grace's ex-husband Jimmy Kelly (
Geoff Pierson) often reappears, sometimes causing problems and at other times clean and sober, trying to win Grace back. The pair never reunite, but they settle into a good friendship for the sake of the kids. In the midst of Jimmy's attempts to become a better person, his father Emmett (
Bryan Clark) is revealed to be gay, after Grace and Rick inadvertently run into him in a
gay bar; following Emmett's sudden death, his sexuality and secret same-sex affair is revealed to the rest of his family during his funeral. At this time, Jimmy's mother Jean (
Peggy Rea), Grace's disapproving and moralizing former mother-in-law, offers to move in and help Grace raise the kids. Russell reconciles with his estranged father Floyd (
Tom Poston), who moves in with him and joins him at the pharmacy. Grace's sister Faith (
Valri Bromfield) appears in the first two seasons as well as a regular source of support. In one episode, Grace is contacted by her first child, Matthew (guest star
Tom Everett Scott), whom she gave up for adoption in high school; Matthew also meets his biological father (guest star
Barry Bostwick). In later seasons, Dot replaces Nadine in the role of friend and confidant, and in turn is replaced by Bev Henderson (
Julia Duffy), an old friend who returns to town. Grace and Bev's personal reunion is the last major storyline of the series; the show was canceled shortly after the character's introduction. ==Cast==