The Good Life (1994 TV series)

1994 American sitcom

The Good Life is an American sitcom television series created by Jeff Martin, Kevin Curran and Suzanne Martin, which aired on NBC from January 3 to April 12, 1994. It starred John Caponera and Drew Carey. Other members of the cast included Eve Gordon, Jake Patellis, Shay Astar, Justin Berfield and Monty Hoffman. It focuses on the personal and working life of John Bowman (Caponera) and his family.

The show revolved around John Bowman, and featured both his home life and the lock distribution warehouse where he serves as a middle manager. It was set in Chicago.

Caponera originally created the character of John Bowman for his stand up routine. He based John on the man he would have become if he had "married young and never finished college." When executives from Disney saw Caponera perform the character during one of his shows, they offered him the chance to star in his own sitcom. The show premiered on January 3, before moving to its regular Tuesday timeslot the following day. The fifth episode, broadcast on January 30, 1994, aired following NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XXVIII.

John J. O'Connor of The New York Times gave the show a positive review, writing "Another sitcom. Another show with a goofy dad, a wry mom and three troublesome but wonderful kids. Television marches on. Groan. But then, against all odds, the tired formula works." He thought John's co workers were "brought to a wonderful level of lunacy by Drew Carey and Monty Hoffman" and he praised the younger actors, calling their characters "appealing." He believed that the cast were "having a genuinely good time" and that came across in their performances, adding "that's a good sign. Mr. Caponera is onto something."