The Nanny

For the 1965 film, see The Nanny (1965 film).

For other uses, see Nanny (disambiguation).

The Nanny
File:Nannylogo.PNG
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Peter Marc Jacobson Fran Drescher
Developed by	Robert Sternin Prudence Fraser
Starring	Fran Drescher Charles Shaughnessy Daniel Davis Lauren Lane Nicholle Tom Benjamin Salisbury Madeline Zima Renée Taylor Rachel Chagall Ann Morgan Guilbert
Theme music composer	Ann Hampton Callaway (Pilot episode: Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields)
Opening theme	"The Nanny Named Fran", written and performed by Ann Hampton Callaway (performed with Liz Callaway)
Ending theme	"The Nanny Named Fran" (instrumental)
Composer(s)	Timothy Thompson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	146 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Peter Marc Jacobson (pilot episode, seasons 2–6) Robert Sternin (seasons 1–4) Prudence Fraser (seasons 1–4) Fran Drescher (seasons 4–6) Diane Wilk (seasons 4–6) Frank Lombardi (season 6) Caryn Lucas (season 6)
Camera setup	Videotape; Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Sternin & Fraser Ink Inc. TriStar Television Highschool Sweethearts Productions (seasons 3–6, starting with "Dope Diamond")
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03) – June 23, 1999 (1999-06-23)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Nanny is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens who becomes the nanny of three children from an Anglo-American upper-class family in New York. The show was created and produced by Drescher and her then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, taking much of its inspiration from Drescher's personal life growing up, involving names and characteristics based on her relatives and friends. The show earned a Rose d'Or, and one Emmy Award, out of a total of twelve nominations; Drescher was twice nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. The sitcom has also spawned several foreign adaptations, loosely inspired by the original scripts.

Plot

Jewish-American Fran Fine turns up on the doorstep of British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) to sell cosmetics after being dumped and subsequently fired by her bridal-shop-owner boyfriend. Maxwell reluctantly hires her to be the nanny of his three children: Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie. In spite of Mr. Sheffield's misgivings, Fran turns out to be just what he and his family needed.

While Fran manages the children, acerbic butler Niles (Daniel Davis) manages the household and watches all the events that unfold with Fran as the new nanny. Niles, recognizing Fran's gift for bringing warmth back to the family (as Maxwell is a widower), does his best to undermine Maxwell's business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), who has her eye on the very available Maxwell. Niles is often seen making witty comments directed towards C.C., with C.C. often replying with a comment of her own in their ongoing game of one-upmanship.

As the series progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that Maxwell is smitten with Fran even though he will not admit it, and Fran is smitten with him. The show teases the viewers with their closeness and many "near misses" as well as with an engagement. In the later seasons, they finally marry and expand their family by having fraternal twins. Later in the series, it is also clear that Niles and C.C.'s constant sharp barbs are their own bizarre form of flirtation and affection; after a few false starts (including multiple impulsive and failed proposals from Niles), the pair marry in the series finale and subsequently discover they are expecting a child.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Nanny episodes

The Nanny is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS from 1993 to 1999. Created and produced by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson, the series starred Drescher as Fran Fine, a Queens native who is hired by widower Maxwell "Max" Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) to be the nanny of his three children Margaret (Nicholle Tom), Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury), and Grace (Madeline Zima). The series also starred Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Max's business associate, and Daniel Davis as Niles, the family's butler.

Ratings

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Nielsen ratings
			First aired	Last aired	Ranking	Est. viewers (in millions)
	1	22	November 3, 1993	May 16, 1994	No. 60	9.52
	2	26	September 12, 1994	May 22, 1995	No. 24	12.5
	3	27	September 11, 1995	May 20, 1996	No. 17	12.4
	4	26	September 18, 1996	May 21, 1997	No. 45	9.1
	5	23	October 1, 1997	May 13, 1998	No. 50	11.5
	6	22	September 30, 1998	June 23, 1999	No. 84	9.3

Episodes

Season 1 (1993–94)

Main article: The Nanny (season 1)

The Nanny season 1 episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers
1	1	"The Nanny"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Fran Dresher and Peter Marc Jacobson	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)	15.0
Fran Fine, newly single and recently fired from her previous job, goes door to door selling cosmetics when she rings the doorbell of Maxwell Sheffield, a wealthy widowed producer, and is misconstrued as applying for the job as his children's nanny. Despite his initial reluctance, Maxwell hired Fran on a trial basis. She oversteps her boundaries when she brings the children to an important event, but avoids peril when the strategy proves beneficial to Maxwell's business. Maggie, the oldest of the children, is caught kissing a boy and when Fran steps in to defend the kiss, Maxwell fires her. Realizing the error in judgment, Maxwell rehires Fran on the basis that they respect each other's boundaries.
2	2	"Smoke Gets in Your Lies"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Michael Rowe	November 10, 1993 (1993-11-10)	11.6
Brighton hears a story from Fran about a bad boy in her class who smoked cigarettes and decides to try it. He gets caught and uses Fran's story as leverage. When the truth is exposed, Brighton covers for Fran, who later confesses to Maxwell where the idea of smoking came from. She and Maxwell then devise a strategy to punish Brighton and convince him not to continue smoking, using Grandma Yetta as a medium.
3	3	"My Fair Nanny"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Andy Goodman	November 17, 1993 (1993-11-17)	12.7
CC proposes to enroll Maggie into the debutante society, an idea which Maggie objects to. Fran then takes it upon herself to plan a High Society Tea for mothers and daughters, but C.C fears that Fran's demeanor will ruin the party. Scared that she will embarrass Maggie, Fran seeks Maxwell and Niles's tutelage of how to be a socialite. At the tea, Fran manages to impress the ladies, but upsets Maggie in the process.
4	4	"The Nuchslep"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake	November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24)	11.5
Maggie gets asked out by Eddie, the boy she had her first kiss with at the backer's party. Fran convinces Maxwell to let Maggie go on her date, provided that she serves as Maggie's chaperone, or "nuchslep." Maggie struggles to get a word in during the date while Fran has no problem keeping the conversation going. When Eddie calls the next day asking for Fran, Maggie gets jealous and accuses her of stealing her boyfriend. Fran realizes that she needs to serve as Maggie's friend as opposed to her nanny, and decides to end things with Eddie, only to discover he just wanted to get his resume to Maxwell through her.
5	5	"Here Comes the Brood"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Diane Wilk	December 6, 1993 (1993-12-06)	20.3
C.C., jealous of Fran's increasing presence in the Sheffield's lives, asks to accompany Maxwell on the family trip to the zoo to spend more time with the children. On the day of the trip, however, Maxwell experiences extreme tooth pain and visits Fran's dentist relative. Fran, who is on her day off, insist that CC.. take the children by herself. After being irritated by the children during the trip, C.C. remarks that Fran only spends time with the children because she is paid to do so, which Grace takes to heart. She runs away to Fran, who takes her to her cousin's wedding while alerting Maxwell and C.C. of the situation.
6	6	"The Butler, The Husband, The Wife and Her Mother"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Howard Meyers	December 8, 1993 (1993-12-08)	13.7
Sylvia tells her brother-in-law (Zack Norman) and his daughter (Nancy Frangione) that Fran married Maxwell and invites them over to the Sheffield house while the family is at the museum celebrating Brighton's class presidential victory. Fran joins in on the ruse and brings Niles in on it. The situation becomes complicated when representatives from the Butler's Association come by to check Niles for evaluation and compounded even further when Maxwell and the kids return from the museum. Maxwell, at Fran and Niles's behest, plays along as Niles, but fails to maintain character when he learns that Brighton lost the race for class president. Fran comes clean to Jack and Marsha, who initially mock her, only to be defended by the children and even Sylvia. Meanwhile, C.C. exposes the truth about Niles, but when Maxwell points out that the family was willing to go to great lengths to cover for him, the Association decides to induct him.
7	7	"Imaginary Friend"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Pamela Eells and Sally Lapiduss	December 15, 1993 (1993-12-15)	11.9
Grace's imaginary friend Imogene begins to annoy the family, but Fran insists that they support her. However, things take a turn for the worse when Grace and Fran are baking cookies, only for Grace to accuse the nanny of eating and killing Imogene. The family holds a mock funeral as a way for her to deal with the death. After a session at the psychiatrist (Cristine Rose), Maxwell and Fran learn that Imogene came around the time of Sarah's death. Grace admits that she got tired of Imogene because she has a new friend to take care of her--Fran.
8	8	"Christmas Episode"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson	December 22, 1993 (1993-12-22)	14.6
Fran goes on a Christmas shopping spree, believing that she will receive a major bonus for the holidays. Meanwhile, Grace wallows as her father is about to miss another Christmas with the family. When Fran receives a vase as her bonus, she is forced to pawn some belongings to make her payments. However, when she discovers the meaning behind the vase, Fran buys it back with her grandfather's watch after learning the meaning behind the gift; Niles tells Maxwell about Fran's dilemma, which he solves by buying back the watch. He then sits on the vase and lands in the hospital, staying overnight for Christmas and granting Grace her Christmas present.
9	9	"Personal Business"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson	December 29, 1993 (1993-12-29)	14.8
Maxwell and C.C. court Brock Storm, a popular soap opera star, for their new production, but will only agree to do the show if he sets him up with Fran. Maxwell, initially setting a standard for Fran's personal and business affairs, asks Fran to be Brock's date and expresses doubts about the arrangement. Despite being ecstatic about dating her favorite soap opera star, Fran questions whether it tows the line between business and personal. She goes on her date only to find Brock vain and unoriginal.
10	10	"The Nanny-in-Law"	Paul Miller	Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake	January 12, 1994 (1994-01-12)	14.3
Maxwell's childhood nanny Clara Mueller (Cloris Leachman) comes for a visit and begins taking over the Sheffield household, irritating Fran. She critiques her parenting style and her demeanor while quashing Brighton's joke and taking Maggie's makeup. When she goes too far and causes Fran to make a dramatic change, Maxwell realizes that Clara has overstayed her welcomed. Fran confronts Clara and later gets her a job working as C.C.'s mother's caretaker. Meanwhile, Niles and Clara engage in an intense fling.
11	11	"A Plot for Nanny"	Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson	Sandy Krinski and Lisa Garrett	January 19, 1994 (1994-01-19)	16.5
Sylvia uses her birthday gift to Fran to arrange a meeting between her and an undertaker, Steve. Despite the initial awkwardness, the two begin bonding and connect after their first date. Maxwell and Brighton grow concerned with Fran's blossoming relationship, worrying that she might leave them if the relationship goes any further. Fran chooses to break it off when Steve decides to become a clown. Meanwhile, Maggie begins dating a boy in her class.
12	12	"The Show Must Go On"	Will Mackenzie	Dana Reston and Frank Lombardi	January 26, 1994 (1994-01-26)	11.2
Fran is made the director of Grace's school pageant and makes Grace the lead. Maxwell, concerned for Grace's well-being, takes over the play, much to the headmistress's delight while leaving Fran feeling left out. Grace, feeling pressure from her father, becomes scared and decides not to perform on opening night. Maxwell begs Fran to help, admitting that he was too hard on Grace; Fran then talks with the youngest Sheffield and helps her overcome her fears.
13	13	"Maggie the Model"	Will Mackenzie	Diane Wilk	February 2, 1994 (1994-02-02)	13.7
Maxwell's former flame and Fran's favorite model, Chloe Simpson, comes for a visit and takes a liking to Maggie. She recruits her as a model, prompting Fran to give Maggie pointers. Maxwell, while initially reluctant to let Maggie model, relents as he continues to fawn over Chloe. When Chloe interjects, Fran becomes jealous of her. The photos form Maggie's photoshoot don't turn out well, upsetting Maggie. Meanwhile, C.C. feels abandoned by Maxwell, who is still smitten with Chloe.
14	14	"The Family Plumbing"	Linda Day	Bill Lawrence	February 9, 1994 (1994-02-09)	16.0
Maxwell hires Fran's uncle to fix the plumbing at the house, but the job takes longer than expected. Fran tries to convince Maxwell to let Maggie go to her first boy-girl party. The problem is compounded when dozens of beautiful women arrive at the house to audition for a dancing role in Maxwell's latest play. Fran's cousin Tiffany, who accompanies her uncle, kisses Brighton in the shower. Maxwell rejoices when learning this, forcing Fran to challenge his double standard and get Maggie permission to attend the party.
15	15	"Deep Throat"	Linda Day	Pamela Eells and Sally Lapiduss	March 2, 1994 (1994-03-02)	11.5
Fran takes Grace to the doctor and, during the visit, is told to have her tonsils removed. Meanwhile, C.C. is going to her sorority reunion and asks Maxwell to be her escort. Fran is about to undergo surgery when Maxwell offers to stay behind and support her, forcing CC to go to her reunion alone. At the hospital, while under medication, Fran tells Maxwell that she loves him, leaving him bewildered.
16	16	"Schlepped Away"	Linda Day	Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson	March 9, 1994 (1994-03-09)	12.7
Fran, CC, and the Sheffields head for the airport during a snowstorm but get lost when taking a shortcut. They stop at Sylvia's apartment, where they learn that the airports and roads are closed. They decide to make the most out of their time there by having their own "vacation," which involves eating tongue and watching Wheel of Fortune. Later that night, Fran discovers her mother might be having an affair when she finds a love note in the meat. She confronts Sylvia about the note, which turns out to be innocent flirting between her and the butcher.
17	17	"Stop the Wedding, I Want to Get Off"	Gail Mancuso	Diane Wilk	March 16, 1994 (1994-03-16)	9.7
Maxwell's sister Jocelyn (Twiggy Lawson) comes for a visit and announces that she is engaged to Nigel (Lane Davies). Fran offers the Sheffield residence as a wedding venue and plans their wedding, but soon learns that Jocelyn may have unrequited feelings for her chauffeur. She tries telling Maxwell only for the message to fall on deaf ears. Fran then tells Lester to express his love to Jocelyn, which he does as the wedding is commencing. Jocelyn ends her engagement with Nigel and marries Lester. Meanwhile, Kenny avoids Maggie after seeing the lifestyle she lives.
18	18	"Sunday in the Park with Fran"	Gail Mancuso	Howard Meyer	March 23, 1994 (1994-03-23)	11.3
Fran is forced to take the son of a prominent Broadway reviewer, who Grace doesn't like, on a play date with Grace to help Maxwell and C.C. secure a good review of their last production. However, Fran strikes the boy with a baguette and has to answer to Maxwell and the boy's father. The meeting with the father doesn't go as planned, leaving the play's fate in uncertainty. On the night of the play, however, the critic is out with stomach poisoning, caused by the food from the Sheffield's broken refrigerator, and Fran gives the play a glowing review.
19	19	"Gym Teacher"	Gail Mancuso	Alan Eisenstock & Larry Mintz	April 6, 1994 (1994-04-06)	12.5
Maggie skips out on gym class to avoid her tough teacher using Fran's advice: fake medical notes. When she is caught, Fran steps in to defuse the situation, only to find that Maggie's gym teacher Mrs. Wilkovich (Rita Moreno) is the same teacher that Fran had in high school. Fran is able to arrange for a final physical test for Maggie, and helps her train; though both fail miserably, Fran performs the Heimlich maneuver on Mrs. Wilkovich and uses the good deed as leverage to get Maggie an A. Meanwhile, Maxwell also deals with a demon from his past when he hires a famous stage actor who he used to work for; with some help from Fran, he is eventually able to rein the actor in.
20	20	"Ode to Barbra Joan"	Gail Mancuso	Story by: David M. Matthews Teleplay by: Frank Lombardi& Dana Reston	April 13, 1994 (1994-04-13)	9.9
CC's father Stewart comes for a visit and surprises everyone by being a polar opposite of his daughter. At dinner, Stewart reveals that he will be attending a Barbra Streisand concert while in town, and invites C.C., who turns him down; an ecstatic Fran offers to go instead. Stewart and Fran begin spending a great deal of time together, which upsets C.C., though she refuses to admit it. Fran realizes C.C.'s troubles and encourages her to open up about her feelings; this reunites the Babcocks, and they go to the concert together (though Stewart arranges for Barbra to talk with Fran on the phone as thanks for her help). Meanwhile, Maxwell is invited to speak a theatre symposium on the same day he promised to take Brighton to a Mets game; inspired by Fran's example, he breaks the engagement to spend time with his son, only to discover that Brighton already made other plans.
21	21	"Frannie's Choice"	Paul Miller	Tracy Newman & Jonathan Stark	April 20, 1994 (1994-04-20)	9.9
Fran visits Danny at the bridal shop after learning he broke up with Heather Biblow. Danny asks her to forgive him and take him back, but Fran doesn't want to repeat her sad history with. Danny, determined to prove that he is a different man, proposes; Fran says yes after a talk with her mother. She tells the Sheffields of her engagement, leaving the children and Niles unhappy and C.C. overjoyed. As she moves her stuff out of the mansion, the family says their goodbyes until they reveal how much they will miss her, causing Fran to pull back from the engagement.
22	22	"I Don't Remember Mama"	Paul Miller	Howard Meyers and Diane Wilk	May 16, 1994 (1994-05-16)	19.1
With Mother's Day approaches, Maxwell arranges for the entire family to join a country club to deflect attention away from Sarah. Fran and Grace enter a mother-daughter pageant. During rehearsal for the pageant, a competitive mother alerts the heads of the pageant that Fran is not Grace's mother, causing Grace to break down and cry that her mother is dead. Fran and Maxwell comfort her and learn that the real problem is that Grace does not remember her mother. Fran and Grace perform in the pageant and get second place. The whole family then watches home movies featuring Sarah as a true Mother's Day celebration, during which Grace remembers a moment with her mother.

Season 2 (1994–95)

• S: = "Story by:"
• T: = "Teleplay by:"

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
23	1	"Fran-Lite"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Janis Hirsch	September 12, 1994 (1994-09-12)
The children are heading back to school, but Brighton refuses to go back because he feels "small" in middle school. Fran misconstrues this when Brighton tells her he was in the locker room at the time, to which Fran describes to Mr. Sheffield as being "gherkin". Mr. Sheffield exclaims "But he has such big feet!" such as in the myth of large features to conclude to a larger genital size. Maxwell starts dating a woman (guest star: Tracy Kolis) exactly like Fran.
24	2	"The Playwright"	Gail Mancuso	Lisa Medway	September 19, 1994 (1994-09-19)
In order to teach Brighton a lesson about rejecting girls, Fran goes on a date with a man (Richard Kind) that she had rejected back in high school. The man is now a playwright, and threatens to commit suicide unless Mr. Sheffield buys his piece and puts it on Broadway. At the end the whole cast does the hustle.
25	3	"Everybody Needs a Bubby"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Diane Wilk	September 26, 1994 (1994-09-26)
While the retirement home gets fumigated, Grandma Yetta comes to stay at the Sheffield mansion, but when she starts passing some of her "wisdom" among the children, Fran and Maxwell are concerned.
26	4	"Material Fran"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Eileen O'Hare	October 3, 1994 (1994-10-03)
One of Fran's old high school friends sets her up with her husband's business partner to see how she likes someone who is loaded. The idea would sound mighty fine if Fran's date (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) was not so old.
27	5	"Curse of the Grandmas"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Eric Cohen	October 10, 1994 (1994-10-10)
It is the first anniversary since Fran started working for the Sheffields, but Maxwell does not seem to recall this very important occasion. Also, Fran leads Gracie's girl scout troop to "adopt" their very own grandmas at Yetta's retirement home, but each of Gracie's grandmas die.
28	6	"The Nanny Napper"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Jayne Hamil, Rick Shaw	October 17, 1994 (1994-10-17)
During a mishap in the subway, Fran unknowingly "kidnaps" a foreign woman's baby, and CC is horrified when a prostitute recognises her as a former colleague.
29	7	"A Star is Unborn"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Pamela Eells, Sally Lapiduss	October 24, 1994 (1994-10-24)
Fran is hired by an amateur director to play Juliet in a reproduction of Romeo and Juliet. Unbeknownst to her, the director is hoping for the play to fail so that he can do better on his taxes. Meanwhile Maggie wants to go to The Hamptons, but Maxwell won't allow it. Fran tries to convince him otherwise. Maxwell and Fran also share their second kiss.
30	8	"Pishke Business"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland	October 31, 1994 (1994-10-31)
Sylvia and her canasta club want to invest their pishke in Maxwell's next play, but there may not be a play when C.C. assaults Maxwell's other investor (guest star Wallace Shawn). So, since the investor doesn't know what C.C. looks like, Fran pretends to be her and save the play.
31	9	"Stock Tip"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	David M. Matthews	November 7, 1994 (1994-11-07)
Fran meets a man, Glen, (Corbin Bernsen) at the supermarket and he tells her that he works on Wall Street and later convinces Maxwell into investing 100,000 dollars in stocks. Everything goes well at first but then Fran learns that Glen is a hot dog vendor and has to stop Maxwell from investing into 100,000 dollars by infiltrating a gentlemen's club dressed as a man.
32	10	"The Whine Cellar"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Eileen O'Hare	November 14, 1994 (1994-11-14)
It is Sylvia's "50th" birthday and Fran is the hostess. However, when she and C.C. accidentally lock themselves inside the wine cellar, the two must learn to tolerate each other.
33	11	"When You Pish Upon a Star"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Diane Wilk	November 21, 1994 (1994-11-21)
When Maxwell casts a major child star named Jack Walker into his reproduction of Oliver!, Fran is charged with taking care of this obnoxious kid. Things start to heat up when Fran convinces Jack to quit show business! Maxwell and Fran share their third kiss.
34	12	"Take Back Your Mink"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson	November 21, 1994 (1994-11-21)
Fran's great-aunt dies and leaves Fran her coveted mink coat. Maggie's obsessive belief in animal rights prompts Fran to reject the coat, pitting her against her mother.
35	13	"The Strike"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Janis Hirsch	November 28, 1994 (1994-11-28)
Maxwell and Fran attract unwanted press attention due to an incident on the opening night of Maxwell's latest play: Maxwell forces Fran to cross a picket line.
36	14	"I've Got a Secret"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Eric Cohen	December 12, 1994 (1994-12-12)
When Maxwell invites a high-profile actress to recover at his house from plastic surgery, Fran goes to great lengths to find out who she is. Eventually, she discovers that the mystery guest is Cher. She blabs to Val, who quickly spreads the rumor around. Thankfully, Fran manages to think of a way to scare off reporters, involving one of her cross-dressing cousins who dresses as Cher. In the end, it turns out that the press didn't learn about Cher from Val, but from a friend of Maxwell's whom he blabbed to. Meanwhile, Brighton borrows a parrot from a friend despite his reputation of forgetting to feed his pets.
37	15	"Kindervelt Days"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Frank Lombardi, Dana Reston	January 2, 1995 (1995-01-02)
Sylvia is turning the storage room into a den for Morty, so they go through Fran's old junk and find some remarkable things, including a "win a date with Erik Estrada" entry form. Meanwhile, Fran has to attend the reunion for her Kindervelt summer camp and tries to get Mr. Sheffield as her date to impress her camp friends. But the kids surprise Fran when they bring Erik Estrada himself to escort Fran. They go to the reunion, but Erik doesn't stay too long, after all it was all a publicity stunt. Luckily, Mr. Sheffield comes to rescue Fran and unmasks Fran's rivals date.
38	16	"Canasta Masta"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Frank Lombardi, Dana Reston	January 9, 1995 (1995-01-09)
Maxwell wants Brighton to play a sport, but he fails at all things athletic. He soon discovers that he has a talent for canasta, and joins Sylvia and Yetta's team. The family travels to Atlantic City for a championship, where Fran bumps into Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. Meanwhile, Niles, alone in the house and supposedly bored, parodies the dancing scene in Risky Business until C.C. returns.
39	17	"The Will"	Randy Bennett	Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson	January 16, 1995 (1995-01-16)
Mr. Sheffield is preparing his will and wants to include Fran in it. C.C. and Maxwell are having Doug Emerson (one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's former investors) for dinner, and his doctor sends in his special diet from the American Heart Association. When Fran finds it, she connects the dots and thinks Mr. Sheffield is going to die, so she tries by all means to keep him from eating fat food, and ends up sending Doug to the ER after giving him what he could not eat. Meanwhile, one of Gracie's friends has a crush on Brighton and Fran teaches them how to handle that.
40	18	"The Nanny Behind the Man"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Jerry Perzigian	January 23, 1995 (1995-01-23)
Maxwell wants to secure the rights to a legendary playwright's latest work, and prepares to wine and dine him. Fran helps out by offering a woman to woo the playwright: Yetta! The two hit it off, and Maxwell is thrilled-until complications begin to arise.
41	19	"A Fine Friendship"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Eileen O'Hare	February 6, 1995 (1995-02-06)
Gracie meets a new friend who has a male nanny. He and Fran hit it off, and become great friends-but only because Fran thinks that he is homosexual. Meanwhile, after overhearing Fran talking about a soap opera, Grace becomes convinced she is pregnant.
42	20	"Lamb Chop's On the Menu"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Frank Lombardi, Dana Reston	February 13, 1995 (1995-02-13)
Fran offers to take care of Chester while C.C. is having some work done in her apartment. Meanwhile, C.C. gets their first feature film rights for "Lamb Chop: The Movie". Mr. Sheffield invites guest star Shari Lewis to stay at his house, and of course Fran has to snoop around her stuff. She accidentally lets go of Chester, who eats Lamb Chop. Knowing she'll get in trouble, Fran makes a "Fran-Chop", a modified version of Lamb Chop, but Niles finds the real one in the laundry basket, and Lamb Chop decides to break the contract.
43	21	"Close Shave"	Dorothy Lyman	Elliot Stern	February 20, 1995 (1995-02-20)
Fran earns Maggie a job as a hospital candy striper. Meanwhile, Maxwell learns why he should not accept food from C.C. The two paths cross when Maxwell needs to have his appendix removed...on the same day Fran is covering for Maggie! Fran has to "shave" Maxwell for the surgery, prompting a hilarious scene.
44	22	"What the Butler Sang"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Diane Wilk	February 27, 1995 (1995-02-27)
Fran discovers that Niles has a beautiful singing voice and convinces him to audition for Mr. Sheffield's next play. Meanwhile, she asks her sister Nadine to come cook for them, and Nadine starts to hit on Mr. Sheffield since she recently left her husband. Nadine starts to get on Fran's nerves, so Fran calls her husband to come pick her up. They have a big fight that ruins Niles's audition, but is a success among the investors.
45	23	"A Kiss Is Just a Kiss"	Dorothy Lyman	Eileen O'Hare	May 1, 1995 (1995-05-01)
Fran encourages Maggie to enter Billy Ray Cyrus' kissing contest to be on the cover of his next album, but Fran wins by accident. Mr. Sheffield is convinced that her kissing abilities aren't what got her to win, so Fran proves him wrong in a very good way (They share their fourth kiss). When she meets Billy Ray, his manager tells her it's because she makes him look younger. Offended, Fran turns down the offer and returns home depressed about her age. Niles tells C.C., who can't wait to tell Maxwell. She tries to kiss him, but accidentally kisses Niles, and Mr. Sheffield comforts Fran.
46	24	"Strange Bedfellows"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi, Dana Reston	May 8, 1995 (1995-05-08)
Fran is having problems with what her role would be after the kids are grown up. Her friend Mona (Tyne Daly), who is also a nanny in a very similar situation with a very similar story, is retiring. Fran drawing the comparisons, seems to be troubled by the fact that Mona does not seem to have anywhere to go but back to her mother and grandmother, and with little prospects or opportunities. So Fran goes to the retirement party for Mona and gets a little drunk and into trouble. Meanwhile, it is CC's birthday and Niles will give her a very "interesting" present.
47	25	"The Chatterbox"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	S: Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson T: Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson, Prudence Fraser, Robert Sternin	May 15, 1995 (1995-05-15)
Maggie is invited to her first sweet sixteen party, so Fran takes her to "The Chatterbox", her favorite beauty parlor. Meanwhile, Mr. Sheffield is holding auditions for his next play, and a girl named Mary Ruth is rejected. She makes friends with Fran, who takes her to The Chatterbox to see if they can hire her as the new shampoo girl (a job also wanted by Sylvia). There, Mary Ruth soon noses herself into the personal life of the owner, Mr. Anthony, and his son, Mimo, who are trying to live without their wife and mother. In the parlor there is also Claude, the gay hairdresser, and Kim, the Chinese manicurist who can paint incredible things on her extra-long nails.
48	26	"Fran Gets Mugged"	Lee Shallat-Chemel	Jayne Hamil, Rick Shaw	May 22, 1995 (1995-05-22)
Mr. Sheffield plans to donate a rare piece of Shakespeare's original handwriting to a museum. When Fran accidentally places the list in her purse, followed by her being mugged and becoming paranoid, problems arise.

Season 3 (1995–96)

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
49	1	"Pen Pal"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil, Rick Shaw	September 11, 1995 (1995-09-11)
After many years of exchanging letters, Fran's pen pal Lenny wants to meet her. But Fran is worried because over the past years she exaggerated a little on the lies and now is concerned that Lenny won't like her for who she really is. But Mr. Sheffield pushes her to attend the date (more because he wants to see Lenny than because he wants Fran to meet him) and waits for him with her at the Russian Tea Room. But Lenny never shows up and leaves a note at the door saying he couldn't possibly compete with such a good looking guy she was with (Mr. Sheffield). Meanwhile, C.C. arranges to work late just to seduce Maxwell, and Niles plays with her. Bored, the two have a few drinks and have their first romantic kiss after calling each other names.
50	2	"Franny and the Professor"	Dorothy Lyman	Janis Hirsch	September 18, 1995 (1995-09-18)
C.C. makes a bet with her brother Noel (Michael McKean) that he cannot get Fran to play Jeopardy!. But Fran somehow enters the game and manages to win! Meanwhile, Mr. Sheffield is driving himself crazy for not being invited to the Renaissance Weekend held by Bill Clinton, and Fran gets him tickets with the new next door neighbor, Roger Clinton, Jr.. Guest stars Alex Trebek.
51	3	"Dope Diamond"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	September 25, 1995 (1995-09-25)
Fran's been going out with a rich, handsome Jewish doctor named Julius Kimble. After only 2 weeks, he asks her to marry him. Although having some doubts about it, Fran accepts after Sylvia pushes her into doing it. When they go out to buy Fran a ring, Julius disappears and takes the very expensive ring with him. Turns out he was just a thief and now Fran is left all alone. She blames her mother for the disaster and the Fine women end up going to a shrink to solve their problems. Back at home, both Mr. Sheffield and Fran complain about the lack of single attractive people for them to date.
52	4	"A Fine Family Feud"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	October 2, 1995 (1995-10-02)
Maggie's 16th birthday is approaching and Fran intervenes in her father's plans for her party. Instead of a boring party at the Guggenheim Museum, Fran convinces Mr. Sheffield to have it at her Aunt Frieda's club. While the place is not nearly as fancy as the museum, Fran has to solve a very important family feud before the party can happen: her mother and Frieda (Lainie Kazan) haven't spoken to each other since 1979. The two make peace, but when Frieda comes out of the bathroom, her butt is showing and she blames Sylvia for the same embarrassment when they first fought. They start a food fight which quickly spreads to the whole party in a huge food war. When Mr. Sheffield walks in, he is shocked to see that scene and just when he's about to twist Fran's neck, Maggie thanks him for the best party ever.
53	5	"Val's Apartment"	Dorothy Lyman	Pamela Eells, Sally Lapiduss	October 9, 1995 (1995-10-09)
Feeling that taking care of the kids has taken over her life and eliminated her personal life, Fran thinks about moving out of the mansion. But the real push is given by Mr. Sheffield who assures her she can't do it. So Fran and Val move in together to a very small apartment in a building full of gay men. Fran misses the mansion but doesn't want to give Mr. Sheffield the pleasure of being right. What she doesn't know is that he is also dying for her to come back. So they secretly ask for Sylvia's help, and Fran finally moves back to the mansion. Guest Star: David Lander as the landlord.
54	6	"Shopaholic"	Dorothy Lyman	Eric Cohen	October 16, 1995 (1995-10-16)
When Val announces that Fran's ex-finacee Danny is going to marry Heather Biblow, Fran claims she is not jealous. However, she shops like crazy to make up for her feelings of loneliness. She joins "Shoppers Anonymous", but it takes a little therapy from Max to fix her problems. When Maxwell finds Fran in the store he falls for her, and kisses her. (Their fifth kiss)
55	7	"Oy Vey, You're Gay"	Dorothy Lyman	Eileen O'Hare	October 23, 1995 (1995-10-23)
Fran tells Mr. Sheffield he should retire his wedding ring, and after C.C. points out that Andrew Lloyd Webber was featured in the paper's crossword puzzle, Maxwell decides to get a publicist to improve his image and make him more popular. He hires the gorgeous Sydney Mercer (guest star Catherine Oxenberg) and radically changes his image to a middle aged bad boy. He starts to fall for Sydney, causing both C.C. and Fran to get jealous. They set a date in the Rainbow Room but Fran discovers in the last minute that Sydney is gay, and more interested in her, so she rushes to meet Mr. Sheffield, but they end up getting stuck in the elevator.
56	8	"The Party's Over"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	November 6, 1995 (1995-11-06)
Mr. Sheffield and C.C. are going to Boston for the weekend, but what originally started as a romantic getaway plan for C.C. turned into family weekend thanks to Niles. Fran, Maggie and Niles have the house to themselves, and Fran and Val decides to throw a singles party at the house to fish an eligible bachelor. But the party is over when an undercovered cop shows up and arrests Fran for not having the required licenses. After spending the night in jail, Fran returns home and Mr. Sheffield almost fires her, if it wasn't for Maggie stepping in and taking the responsibility for the mess. Fran goes to court, but Mr. Sheffield shows up at the last minute to help her from her senile lawyer, Uncle Mannie. Guest starring Milton Berle as Uncle Mannie.
57	9	"The Two Mrs. Sheffields"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	November 13, 1995 (1995-11-13)
Fran fights with a woman over flowers at a store, but this woman turns out to be Mr. Sheffield's mother who's in town visiting! She annoys everyone in the house except for C.C., who right away tells her that Fran has her eye on Maxwell. Mrs. Sheffield tells his son to get rid of the nanny, but Maxwell proposes to Fran instead just to tease his mother. When Fran realizes the proposal isn't real, she decides to play with Mr. Sheffield and make him feel guilty for the fake proposal.
58	10	"Having His Baby"	Dorothy Lyman	Erik Mintz	November 20, 1995 (1995-11-20)
Fran considers a sperm bank in order to have a baby after learning that her ex-fiance Danny has fathered a child, much to Sylvia and Maxwell's distress. Donna Dixon guest stars as Monica Baker.
59	11	"The Unkindest Gift"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	November 27, 1995 (1995-11-27)
Sylvia hires Brighton to film the bris of a cousin of Fran's. Brighton has no idea what a bris is and passes out during the most important moment of the party. Fran sends his video to America's Wackiest Home Videos, and they are picked to go on the show. The entire family goes to Hollywood and tour around some filming lots. Fran gets lost while looking for a bathroom and ends up on the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman set. After being thrown out several times (and trying to get back in just as many times), they return to New York to discover that Mr. Sheffield's book is going to be published. Just another result of Fran's work (and the $2,500 she paid to have it published). Guest Stars: Jane Seymour and Joe Lando.
60	12	"The Kibbutz"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	December 4, 1995 (1995-12-04)
Mr. Sheffield decides to send Maggie off to a convent in Switzerland and wants Fran to tell her the news. Trying to smooth things, Fran tells Maggie about the time she went to a kibbutz in Israel with Val, which makes Maggie want to go to a kibbutz as well. While not happy with her decision, Mr. Sheffield eventually agrees. But Fran later remembers that she hated the kibbutz and it was there she lost her "hat". Now she has to convince Mr. Sheffield to go back on his decision, which results in the whole family going on the kibbutz. Meanwhile, Niles has the holidays for himself and C.C. teases him for being cheap. They both go on their ways but meet in the most strange place.
61	13	"An Offer She Can't Refuse"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil, Rick Shaw	December 11, 1995 (1995-12-11)
Fran gets a date with a guy named Tony Tattori, who later she discovers to be in the mob. Scared to death that her life might be in jeopardy, Fran doesn't have the guts to break up with him, and Mr. Sheffield decides to do it for her. C.C. accidentally dumps Whoopi Goldberg from their show and they need a tenor for their replacement show... Meanwhile, Brighton steals Maggie's diary and makes her his personal slave until Fran comes up with something that will get her out of that situation.
62	14	"Oy to the World"	Dorothy Lyman	Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson	December 18, 1995 (1995-12-18)
An animated Christmas fantasy in which Fran and Brighton are magically whisked to the North Pole, where they must protect Christmas against the wrath of ice princess "C.C. the Abominable Babcock". Guest Stars: Pamela Hayden and Maurice LaMarche.
63	15	"Fashion Show"	Dorothy Lyman	Eileen O'Hare	January 8, 1996 (1996-01-08)
When Maxwell insists that Fran rush out of the house to make a party on time, she accidentally grabs a purse that does not match with her outfit. This faux pas places her on a "Fashion Don'ts" list, much to her chagrin. To apologize, Maxwell lets Fran designs the costumes for a scene from Our Town that he is putting up in a revue. Everyone fears that her costumes will ruin the scene...but with help from her cousin Todd Oldham, she steals the show!
64	16	"Where's Fran?"	Dorothy Lyman	Sally Lapiduss	January 15, 1996 (1996-01-15)
When Fran catches Maggie smoking with her boyfriend, she pretends to smoke so Mr. Sheffield can teach her a lesson in front of Maggie, so she doesn't have to tell on Maggie and lose her trust. But Mr. Sheffield exceeds himself a little too much which results in Fran leaving the house. After a few hours of wondering where she is (and remembering all the unique situations they all have been since Fran entered the house), Mr. Sheffield finds her at Roger Clinton's, where Fran pretends to have an offer from Hillary just so Mr. Sheffield would beg her to come home.
65	17	"The Grandmas"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	January 22, 1996 (1996-01-22)
Fran feels like Mr. Sheffield's life is falling into a routine and convinces him to change. Meanwhile, she is terrified to learn that her mother kicked her father out of the house and goes to her grandmothers for help. When Gracie doesn't want Fran to go on her play dates anymore, Fran wants everything go back to the way it was. When Sylvia and Morty finally make up, Fran still has to convince Mr. Sheffield not to make big changes in his life.
66	18	"Val's Boyfriend"	Dorothy Lyman	Erik Mintz	February 5, 1996 (1996-02-05)
Val gets a new boyfriend and Fran goes through an unusual situation: her best friend has a date and she doesn't! When Val's boyfriend makes a move on Fran, she thinks it's just jealousy and goes out with C.C., but later Val's boyfriend goes a little too far. Meanwhile, C.C. asks for an equal partnership, and after Maxwell denies it, she quits. She pretends to have formed a new partnership with Marvin Hamlisch just to make Maxwell envy, and Fran gives her a little push to go back to Maxwell.
67	19	"Love is a Many Blundered Thing"	Dorothy Lyman	Dan Amernick, Jay Amernick	February 12, 1996 (1996-02-12)
Fran's upset because Valentine's day is approaching, but she quickly turns to happy when she scores a date with Jeff, the cop. She encourages Mr. Sheffield to get a date himself, and shortly after an anonymous valentine's card appears on Fran's purse. She automatically thinks it's from Mr. Sheffield and gets a huge billboard sign asking for Mr. Sheffield to be her valentine. When she discovers the card was from Brighton's friend, Fran and Val rush to Times Square to try to erase the billboard before Mr. Sheffield sees it. Due to an accident, Fran is left hanging from a rope and Mr. Sheffield's the one that comes for the rescue.
68	20	"Your Feet's Too Big"	Dorothy Lyman	Sally Lapiduss	February 19, 1996 (1996-02-19)
When Sylvia decides to have plastic surgery on her arms, the doctor (John Astin) tells her it's normal at a certain age for body parts to grow. Fran's feet modeling agency reunion is coming up, and Fran starts to freak out about her age and the fact that her feet have gone up a whole size. Luckily, she has Mr. Sheffield, who volunteers to escort her to the reunion.
69	21	"Where's the Pearls?"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	February 26, 1996 (1996-02-26)
Mr. Sheffield has Elizabeth Taylor over, and as with all celebrities, Fran can't control herself until she meets her. A very friendly Elizabeth asks Fran to take her black pearls necklace to a courier, but of course Fran has to do it in her own way. She takes a cab, and accidentally bumps her head against the window when the driver (Rosie O'Donnell) misses a red light. She is taken to the hospital and wakes up with amnesia. She thinks she's Mrs. Sheffield. After she looks at her photo album with her mother, she remembers what happened she finds herself in a lot of trouble when she realizes she lost Elizabeth Taylor's pearls.
70	22	"The Hockey Show"	Dorothy Lyman	Robbie Schwartz	March 4, 1996 (1996-03-04)
Fran starts to date Mike LaVoe (Anthony Addabbo), a famous hockey player for the NY Rangers. Mike is very superstitious and blames Fran for losing the game when she wears red shoes to the stadium. The entire city thinks she's a jinx and she decides to prove him wrong. But did the red shoes really jinx the game?
71	23	"That's Midlife"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	March 11, 1996 (1996-03-11)
After losing to Fran in tennis, Maxwell goes through a midlife crisis including dressing younger and buying a flashy sports car. Fran finally makes him realize his life is great, and the two of them go for one last hurrah in the sports car.
72	24	"The Cantor Show"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	April 29, 1996 (1996-04-29)
Fran goes out with the new temple cantor, Gary. When Mr. Sheffield listens to him singing, he hires him to be in his next play. He quickly promotes the cantor to the lead of the play after the original actor is run over by a bus, and Gary decides to quit the temple to dedicate his time to his Broadway career. Everyone blames Sylvia and Fran for it, and they start to be ignored at temple. Sylvia throws a curse on Fran and everything starts to backfire until Fran donates the $500 she got from the air company to temple.
73	25	"Green Card"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	May 6, 1996 (1996-05-06)
Brighton is failing French in school so Mr. Sheffield hires a tutor for him. His tutor is incredibly good looking and attractive, and Fran wastes no time in flirting with him. He quickly proposes to her, something Mr. Sheffield thinks is quite suspicious since he doesn't have a green card. But Fran doesn't listen to him until she finds out Philippe has made a pass at C.C. and only proposed to her to stay in the country. She dumps him and Mr. Sheffield takes Fran out to console her.
74	26	"Ship of Fran's"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	May 13, 1996 (1996-05-13)
Fran decides to go on a cruise to meet men with Val, but Mr. Sheffield quickly changes her plans and buys the entire family (his and hers) tickets to board the ship. While Niles and C.C. fight over who has to sleep in the same room with Yetta, Fran is excited to meet the single guy a psychic said she would meet. Sylvia introduces her to Steve, a fantastic man who is later thrown out of the ship for being a stowaway. Lucky Fran that Mr. Sheffield steps in as her mambo dancing partner and Fran gets her dance on water with the man of her dreams – even if she doesn't realize that!
75	27	"A Pup in Paris"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	May 20, 1996 (1996-05-20)
Mr. Sheffield is off to Paris. His mother wants him to talk to Nigel, his brother, who's spending his trust fund on a nightclub. He accidentally takes the bag with Chester instead of the one with his clothes to Paris, and Fran chases him into the plane. It's too late to get out, and now Fran and Maxwell are together in Paris. They go shopping and touring around the city, after Maxwell has a horrible fight with Nigel. Eventually, he realizes all he wants is to be like Nigel, so he takes the first flight back to NY. The plane goes through heavy turbulence, and upon the threat of a disaster Maxwell opens his heart and tells Fran he loves her.

Season 4 (1996–97)

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
76	1	"The Tart with Heart"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	September 18, 1996 (1996-09-18)
Fran and Maxwell return from their trip to Paris, and Fran couldn't be happier. Just as they are about to get home, Mr. Sheffield takes back saying "I love you" to Fran, and she is devastated. C.C. takes advantage of the fact that Fran is vulnerable and says Maxwell probably only hired her for her looks, which is accidentally confirmed by Max when he tries to compliment Fran. She decides to go to a singles bar with Val and meets a blind man, Jack (Jason Alexander). The idea of dating a blind man sounds nice to Fran, since it'll serve as a proof that she isn't just a pretty face. After she is dumped by the blind guy, she and Mr. Sheffield decide to remain just friends.
77	2	"The Cradle Robbers"	Dorothy Lyman	Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. Hodes	September 25, 1996 (1996-09-25)
Mr. Sheffield is furious when he finds out Maggie is seeing a 25-year-old man. He wants Fran to make it stop, but won't listen to her when she tells him to see a doctor for his hearing problem. Fran decides to chaperone Maggie on her (last) date with John, but she completely forgets Mr. Sheffield's orders when she meets John's gorgeous friend Mike, who is interested in Fran. Still, she has to fix Maggie's problem, so she decides to let it flow and wait until she gets tired of John, which doesn't take long to happen. Too bad it means that Fran will have to drop her 25-year-old as well. Meanwhile, C.C. misses an incredible opportunity of dinner with Max when she falls asleep (the result of a caffeine trick Niles pulled on her).
78	3	"The Bird's Nest"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	October 2, 1996 (1996-10-02)
Fran takes Gracie to the Loehmann's Semi Annual Red Star Clearance and has to fight over a green sweater with another woman. Back at the mansion, Brighton is having some problems with his science grade and Maxwell tells him he'll be sent to military school shall his grades not rise. He also tells Fran not to help him with his science project, but of course Fran doesn't listen to him. They decide to warm up a bird's eggs with lights and make a report on the birth, but Fran forgets to turn the lights off and the eggs hard boil. Now she has to ask Brighton's teacher for an extension, and what a surprise when she turns out to be the same lady from whom Fran stole the green sweater.
79	4	"The Rosie Show"	Dorothy Lyman	Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. Hodes	October 9, 1996 (1996-10-09)
Fran, Val and Gracie go to The Rosie O'Donnell Show and Fran is picked out of the audience to talk to Rosie. She's so natural and funny that Rosie asks her to come on the show as a regular guest to give parenting advice. C.C. jumps in as her agent, and Fran starts to have a taste of life as a celebrity. Maxwell gets scared of losing her and makes up a story about a dream he had where a ghost told him something horrible would happen to Fran if she didn't quit Rosie's show (a parody of the dream scene in Fiddler on the Roof). Fran gets fired and is replaced by a retired couple from Florida (the couple is played by Fran Drescher's parents.)
80	5	"Freida Needa Man"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	October 16, 1996 (1996-10-16)
Fran's Aunt Freida (Lainie Kazan) has gone broke and moves into the Sheffield residence. The only way Fran can turn this around is if she convinces Freida's rich boyfriend Fred (Donald O'Connor) to propose to her. Fred doesn't think of himself as an exciting man, so Fran decides to teach him dance lessons. He has a heart attack and falls on Fran, just as Freida walks in. After the situation is cleared, everything seems to be fine again until Fred tells Fran he's in love with her. She almost puts a stop to the wedding, if Mr. Sheffield hadn't interfered. Fred has another heart attack, but this time everything ends up just fine.
81	6	"Me and Mrs. Joan"	Dorothy Lyman	Peter Marc Jacobson	October 30, 1996 (1996-10-30)
Maxwell's father is in town and Fran decides to help end the Sheffield family feud inviting James Sheffield over for dinner. He brings Joan (guest star Joan Collins) with him, his old secretary for whom he left Maxwell's mother. Maxwell is outraged at his father's selfishness during dinner, while Fran keeps wondering why can't Maxwell act more like his father and marry the help.
82	7	"The Taxman Cometh"	Dorothy Lyman	Dan Amernick, Jay Amernick	November 6, 1996 (1996-11-06)
Jay Leno leaves his dog under the care of Mr. Sheffield. Meanwhile, Fran is being audited for her taxes, and not even flirting and champagne can help her out. She calls Mr. Sheffield for help, and they go to the IRS office to prove Fran's income taxes. The hearing doesn't go too well until Jay Leno shows up, making the appeals officer happy enough to dismiss the case.
83	8	"An Affair to Dismember"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	November 13, 1996 (1996-11-13)
Nigel Sheffield arrives in New York, but since Maxwell is too busy to spend time with him he has Fran show him around town. They go out to nightclubs and parties, and Fran starts acting very happy for finally having a social life – something she complained about not having since she started working at the house. Nigel surprises Fran when he proposes to her and asks her to leave with him aboard a luxurious boat. Doubtful, she thinks about her relationship with Maxwell, its past and its future. In one hand she has the man she really loves, who hasn't made a move in 3 years. In the other hand, a rich, good looking and single man, everything she always hoped for. She chooses to go with Nigel, but she misses the boat and has to go back home. Maxwell arrives and takes care of Fran, who twisted her ankle on her way back. Some things are just meant (not) to be.
84	9	"Tattoo"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	November 20, 1996 (1996-11-20)
Maggie wants a tattoo, Fran already has one and Mr. Sheffield is intrigued with the idea of finding out where Fran's tattoo is hidden.
85	10	"The Car Show"	Dorothy Lyman	Robbie Schwartz	December 11, 1996 (1996-12-11)
Maggie wants a new car, but since her father won't give her one she convinces Fran to enter a beauty pageant to win one for her. In the contest, Fran has to drive a stick shift car, which she doesn't know how to, so Mr. Sheffield takes her up to the country to teach her. But Fran gets traumatized after running over a bunny, which causes her to lose the contest. To cheer her up, Maxwell invites her to go with them to the charity dinner at Barbra Streisand's house. On their way there, Mr. Sheffield has a stomachache, forcing Fran to drive. Later she realizes it was all a plan of his to make her get over her trauma. Now she has to go to Barbra's again, but to return the boot and purse she stole from her.
86	11	"Hurricane Fran"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	December 18, 1996 (1996-12-18)
Fran decides to spend her holidays away with Val, but this time just the two of them, no Mr. Sheffield, no kids, nobody but the two single gals. A hurricane hits the island, making Fran's dream vacations a nightmare. She returns home early to find a lonely Maxwell, who later takes the entire family on a cruise around the Greek Islands.
87	12	"Danny's Dead and Who's Got the Will?"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	January 8, 1997 (1997-01-08)
Danny Imperiali, Fran's former fiance, is dead. At his funeral (while comforting Danny's widow, Heather Biblow, played by guest star Pamela Anderson), she meets a Jewish man who is ignored by his former lover's family and got nothing after he died. Afraid the same thing will happen to her, Fran stands up for herself and implores Mr. Sheffield to do something. Afraid his grandmother (who's in town visiting), might judge him and remove him from her will, Mr. Sheffield does nothing, so Fran quits. When he realizes he might have lost Fran forever, Mr. Sheffield goes after her and takes back taking back saying he loved her.
88	13	"Kissing Cousins"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	January 15, 1997 (1997-01-15)
Fran meets an incredible man (guest star Jon Stewart) at a singles bar. He's Jewish, he's a doctor, he's rich, he's everything Fran ever dreamed of in a man. But during her cousin's wedding - where she was a bridesmaid - Fran discovers that Mr. Perfect is her cousin! Seeing Fran devastated, Mr. Sheffield decides to send her to a therapist, and the therapist says Fran has an obsession about getting married. Fran decides to stop chasing men around, just to make Mr. Sheffield guilty.
89	14	"The Fifth Wheel"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	January 29, 1997 (1997-01-29)
Fran decides to stop chasing men like Dr. Miller told her. Sylvia doesn't like that at all and blames Mr. Sheffield for her daughter staying single forever. Fran, Val and C.C. decide to go out together on a "girls night", with no pressure to find a man, but after Val and C.C. get dates, Fran finds herself as a fifth wheel on their double date. Alone, embarrassed and depressed, Fran goes home trying to act as if she had a great time with them, but can't. Once again, Mr. Sheffield and Fran find themselves alone, comforting each other. Meanwhile, Dr. Miller tries hypnosis with Sylvia but that doesn't go too well.
90	15	"The Nose Knows"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	February 5, 1997 (1997-02-05)
Fran freaks out on Mr. Sheffield after he brings home a model and makes out with her in the living room. Dr. Miller says Fran is upset because she is thinking of Maxwell as her husband, not as her employer. At the movies, she runs into Dr. Miller, but is shocked to see him picking his nose. She is so disgusted that she thinks of never seeing him again. Mr. Sheffield worries about her and confronts Dr. Miller about his actions, but gets very embarrassed when he finds out the "inappropriate behavior" Sylvia told him about wasn't what he had in mind. Meanwhile, C.C. is dumped by her boyfriend and asks Niles to escort her to an awards show, and the two end up having a very pleasant night out.
91	16	"The Bank Robbery"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	February 12, 1997 (1997-02-12)
Yetta's got a new boyfriend, who's much younger than her (he's 60) and already proposed. Afraid he's after Yetta's money, Sylvia decides to go to the bank to make sure money can't be taken out of their joint accounts without both signatures. While waiting in line, a very bumbling bank robber takes over the bank and makes Sylvia and Fran hostages. The bank robber is so unprepared that he even forgets to put on the mask and accidentally reveals his name - Leslie Tilbett - and Fran ends up making friends with him. They chat, order some food, and the kidnapper even acts as mediator between Fran and Mr. Sheffield (who messed things up with Fran with a Valentine's Day faux pas). When Leslie decides to leave, Fran and Sylvia argue about the best way he should take to escape the cops and they both end up going with him. At the bank door, Mr. Sheffield apologizes for taking back saying he loved Fran, and they make up. Sylvia, though, is still taken as hostage, but the kidnapper is arrested after Sylvia makes him stop at a Mongolia Barbecue restaurant to get some food.
92	17	"Samson, He Denied Her"	Dorothy Lyman	Flo Cameron	February 19, 1997 (1997-02-19)
Mr. Sheffield calls from the limo saying he has to repair a mistake he made to Fran 6 months ago. She's very excited at the prospect of him coming forward, and telling her he loved her again. To her disappointment, he merely wants to pay her a little extra, with money he received from a tax claim. Tired of living on high expectations, Fran decides to take some time off the house and joins C.C. on jury duty. How surprised is Fran when the case is about a woman who chopped off her boss' hair just because he told her he loved her then took it back. Fran manages to convince the jury that the woman is not guilty, and finds out later that the man married the employee. Meanwhile, Sylvia takes over Fran's job as the nanny, and the entire family starts to feel hungry since Sylvia is an eating machine.
93	18	"The Facts of Lice"	Dorothy Lyman	Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. Hodes	March 5, 1997 (1997-03-05)
After Niles is depressed about his life as a butler, he begins to act strange and while he is cleaning, he drops a piece of paper containing a list of items that convinces Fran that Niles is possibly a murderer due to his recent strange behavior and the contents of his list. A search of his room confirms her suspicions. During a stormy night, Maxwell takes the children out for dinner leaving Fran and Niles alone. Niles approaches Fran and she thinks Niles is about to murder her. He confronts Fran about how she knows what he is up to when in fact he is simply writing a play.
94	19	"Fran's Roots"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	March 12, 1997 (1997-03-12)
A woman (Telma Hopkins) calls Fran saying she might be her mother due to a mix up that happened in the hospital the day she was born. Doubtful, Fran goes to Sylvia to ask her about the day she was born, and finds out the story might be true after Sylvia says she left her for a moment while chasing for food. Terrified that her whole life might have been a lie, Fran invites the strange woman to her house, and for her surprise, she turns out to be black. Still, after Fran pays a visit to Lila Baker's huge mansion, Fran insists that she might be her daughter, since her late husband was Jewish, but the DNA test proves not. Fran is really Sylvia's daughter, which is something Sylvia only gets after spending some time pleasuring herself with the wonderful food Lila has at her house. Meanwhile, Niles tries to convince Maxwell to sell one of his plays to CBS so C.C. has to move to LA.
95	20	"The Nanny and the Hunk Producer"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	April 2, 1997 (1997-04-02)
After winning the Tony Award for play of the year - for "The Widower", beating his longtime rival, Andrew Lloyd Webber - a tabloid starts to publish fake stories about Mr. Sheffield and Fran having an affair since Maxwell's honeymoon. Maggie is very upset about it, and won't believe it's not true. Fran's upset not by the fact that it's a fake story, but that the story said she was 40. Maxwell and Fran go to the tabloid to confront the journalist, but he assures them he won't print any more stories about them, since they were the lowest selling edition in 5 years! Meanwhile, Niles is upset because Maxwell didn't invite him to the cast party, and Dr. Miller convinces Mr. Sheffield to give him a "Butler of the Year" award.
96	21	"The Passed-Over Story"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	April 9, 1997 (1997-04-09)
As preparations are made for Passover, Fran is plagued by the fact that her old-school rival has been cast in the lead of Maxwell's new play
97	22	"No Muse Is Good Muse"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	April 23, 1997 (1997-04-23)
After watching a video by new female rock star Tasha (Ivana Miličević) on MTV, Fran decides to write lyrics of her own about her misery and suffering and make it big in showbiz. Discouraged by Mr. Sheffield, Fran decides to hand her lyrics to Tasha no matter what, and even passes herself as a hotel maid with Val just to meet Tasha. When she finally does, Tasha is so interested in reaching out and listening to what the people have to say that she actually hangs out with Fran. Fran's song is no good, but her misery is good enough for Tasha, who uses Fran as her muse – until Mr. Sheffield tells Fran he misses her and Fran turns happy, which makes Tasha turn to Val for inspiration (after all, Val lives with her parents, is over 30 and single).
98	23	"You Bette Your Life"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	April 30, 1997 (1997-04-30)
Fran offers herself for the charity auction Mr. Sheffield is putting together with Bette Midler. A gifted 10-year-old pianist, son of a big time investor, wins the auction and gets to have Fran as his babysitter for 5,000 dollars. Fran takes him to Yetta's retirement home and while entertaining the elderly with his piano skills, one senior collapses and dies in front of the kid. Shocked, he says he will never play again, and his father cancels the 5 million he promised to invest. Bette Midler goes to the mansion herself to teach Fran a lesson, but luckily Gracie picked up a few things from Fran over the past 4 years, which is enough to convince the kid to play again and his father not to back out on the investment.
99	24	"The Heather Biblow Story"	Dorothy Lyman	Ivan Menchell	May 7, 1997 (1997-05-07)
Fran is shocked to learn that her biggest rival, Heather Biblow (who stole her fiancé and her job) is starring on her favorite soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Heather invites Fran and Val over to her Malibu beach house, where she can rub it on their faces how successful she is. Fran and Val visit the studios, where they run across some of their favorite soap stars (Richard Kline, Jeanne Cooper, Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow, Melody Thomas Scott, Barbara Crampton, and Hunter Tylo). Heather has a really hard time memorizing the lines, and Fran doesn't think twice before jumping at the chance of finally stealing something from Heather: her daytime TV job. Fran is hired to replace her, and calls the mansion saying she won't return. C.C. is happy at first, but quickly realizes she needs Miss Fine back when Maxwell hires a new nanny: Heather Biblow. Fran is so distracted by the thought of Heather in the house that she is fired from the show and returns to NY to get her job back.
100	25	"The Boca Story"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	May 14, 1997 (1997-05-14)
Sylvia decides to invest in a condo in Boca Raton. This much anticipated fact that should come as a blessing for Fran upsets her deeply, and Dr. Miller says it's because deep down she doesn't want her mother to leave. While Mr. Sheffield is judging the Miss Universe competition nearby, he thinks if he takes Fran to see the condo she'll accept the idea, and just when Fran finally realized how much peace she'd get from that, they discover there isn't any condo, only a swamp. Fran is devastated (especially when Sylvia interrupts her fantasy from coming true), but at least she won't have to separate from her mother yet. Meanwhile, Niles feels bad for being the only one of his friends who's still single. Guest Stars: Alicia Machado.
101	26	"Fran's Gotta Have It"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	May 21, 1997 (1997-05-21)
Mr. Sheffield is going to London to convince Celine Dion into doing Broadway. Fran decides to go after him and take advantage of the romantic scenario to solve their situation once and for all. After a romantic afternoon together, Max and Fran go back to the hotel and almost sleep together, if it wasn't for him backing out in the last minute. Insulted, offended and tired of all the cat and mouse play, Fran decides to leave him before it's too late for her to marry anybody. But they receive a phone call from NY saying that Niles just suffered a heart attack. Fran decides to stay and help while Niles recovers, giving Mr. Sheffield another chance to make a commitment. While in the hospital room together, they both realize that they must "live each day as if it were their last." Meanwhile, C.C. is surprisingly sad after Niles' attack and even drops by at the hospital to bring him some flowers. She reveals to Fran that deep down she doesn't hate Niles as much as it seems.

Season 5 (1997–98)

• Lauren Lane was pregnant through half the season.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
102	1	"The Morning After"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	October 1, 1997 (1997-10-01)
While Niles is recovering from his heart attack, Mr. Sheffield asks Fran to redecorate the kitchen to distract her from what happened between them yesterday night at the hospital. Fran enlists her cousin Sheila (guest star Roseanne Barr) to help with redecorating, but becomes paranoid that they lead parallel lives when she finds out that Sheila has broken up with her employer. Meanwhile, Yetta is engaged to Sammy (guest star Ray Charles), her new fiancee.
103	2	"First Date"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	October 8, 1997 (1997-10-08)
Maxwell trusts Fran to go on a date with him to the screening of a new screenplay by Elton John (Elton John and David Furnish guest star). While the Sheffields, Fran, Niles, C.C., Sylvia and Yetta are viewing the movie, it is revealed that Fran accidentally angered Elton once in passing. In order to hide this from Mr. Sheffield and to not be revealed to Elton, she disguises herself as Yetta.
104	3	"The Bobbie Fleckman Story"	Dorothy Lyman	Diane Wilk	October 15, 1997 (1997-10-15)
Fran screwed up with Elton John, and Brighton won a radio contest and the prize is that a film crew is coming to his house for a new music video by the Brian Setzer Orchestra (Brian Setzer and Lisa Loeb guest star). When the film producers crew comes, a duplicate of Fran shows up (played by Fran Drescher, reprising her role from This Is Spinal Tap), and Fran thinks that Maxwell is starting to fall for her so she dresses up like Bobbie Fleckman and gets involved in a wacky plot to get Mr. Sheffield to become uninterested in Bobbie Fleckman.
105	4	"Fransom"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	October 22, 1997 (1997-10-22)
Fran is hosting a wedding shower for Yetta, and asks to walk C.C.'s dog, Chester. Fran gets tricked into thinking she was being hit on, but Chester gets dog-napped. When Fran and Val go to rescue Chester, they get kidnapped, and it's up to Maxwell to rescue them.
106	5	"The Ex-Niles"	Dorothy Lyman	Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. Hodes	October 29, 1997 (1997-10-29)
Niles demands a raise and gets denied, so he quits and is replaced by a sophisticated butler. He finds employment with Fran's paternal aunt, Frieda (recurring guest star Lainie Kazan). Soon he returns, agreeing to do anything but "clean windows". Meanwhile Fran and C.C. make an appointment with a professional woman, guest star Dr. Joyce Brothers, to decide to see which is the better woman for Mr. Sheffield.
107	6	"A Decent Proposal"	Dorothy Lyman	Ivan Menchell	November 5, 1997 (1997-11-05)
The Sheffields, Niles, Fran, and C.C. are going to Atlantic City for a project, and are staying at Trump Taj Mahal. Maxwell is jealous that guest star Chevy Chase asks Fran to be in his room. Meanwhile, Niles is addicted to gambling.
108	7	"Mommy and Mai"	Dorothy Lyman	Caryn Lucas	November 12, 1997 (1997-11-12)
Mai Ling, the Cambodian girl Fran and Val "adopted" in high school for 17 cents a day, is coming to NY to visit them. Sylvia doesn't like the girl, for whom Fran and Val fight over, resulting in a split up between the two best friends. Sylvia thinks Mai Ling will also come between Fran and Mr. Sheffield, but Fran finds out Mai Ling got engaged to Brighton to get a green card. Meanwhile, Maxwell thinks Niles is acting like Fran so he could get attention.
109	8	"Fair Weather Fran"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	November 19, 1997 (1997-11-19)
Upset about Yetta's upcoming wedding, Fran is advised by Dr. Miller to focus her energy on new life projects. She decides to pursue an old dream of becoming a weather girl, and thanks to Sammy (Ray Charles), who's Bryant Gumbel's uncle, Fran scores an audition for editorial commenter of Public Eye. Mr. Sheffield does not like the idea of Fran leaving the house, so he sets up a scheme with Gracie to convince Fran into quitting her new job. But they don't have to do that, because Fran ruins her audition by herself (by mistaking gene therapy with therapeutic jeans). Meanwhile, Sylvia has problems accepting her soon-to-be stepfather.
110	9	"Educating Fran"	Dorothy Lyman	Suzanne Gangursky	December 10, 1997 (1997-12-10)
Fran goes to Maggie's school to have a word with her philosophy teacher, and ends up developing a crush on him. After having to ask Maggie for her approval, Fran starts dating the gorgeous Jewish bachelor, which, of course, upsets Mr. Sheffield (who won't do anything regarding his true feelings towards Fran). Fran then lies about her age to Professor Steve, and later pays the price when his astrologist tells him he should be with a woman in her mid-thirties – C.C. Meanwhile, Niles and C.C. become addicted to Spanish soap operas.
111	10	"From Flushing with Love"	Dorothy Lyman	Dan Amernick, Jay Amernick	December 17, 1997 (1997-12-17)
Fran and Niles fight over who gets to ask Mr. Sheffield for the weekend off. Fran wins, and Niles accuses her of seducing Mr. Sheffield to get what she wants. He decides to get back at her, and allies with C.C. against Fran. Finally, Niles and Fran forgive each other, and he suggests Fran takes Mr. Sheffield with her to the Fine Family Reunion at Niagara Falls, the perfect place for him to propose, and a solution that will give them both the weekend off. Fran doesn't hear Mr. Sheffield's proposal because the roar of the waterfall is too loud. He slips and falls, with no recollection of what happened.
112	11	"Rash to Judgment"	Dorothy Lyman	Ivan Menchell	January 7, 1998 (1998-01-07)
Val has tickets to see Michael Bolton so Fran asks Mr. Sheffield on a date. Before the date, however, she develops a huge rash. While on the date, she and Maxwell go up to their hotel room where she stalls by distracting Maxwell with a call to Gracie. While he is on the phone, she goes to the hospital where she gets a shot for the rash. When she gets back to the hotel, she realizes that she is puffy because of a reaction to the shot, so her plans with Maxwell for the night are postponed. She finds out that the pumpkin tortilini soup Sylvia served her earlier started the rashes.
113	12	"One False Mole and You're Dead"	Dorothy Lyman	Frank Lombardi	January 14, 1998 (1998-01-14)
When Fran, Maxwell and C.C. find out that Margo Lang's (guest star Joan Van Ark) famous mole is a fake, Maxwell warns Fran that if she told a soul, it would ruin the play. But of course, Fran doesn't listen and tells her mother, not knowing that a famous gossip lady was listening in on their conversation. Once the gossip lady spreads the news, Maxwell orders Fran to apologize to Margo Lang and afterwards, comes up with a brilliant idea: to sell fake beauty marks on the internet. When Maxwell blabs and ruins Fran's chances at becoming famous he rashly proposes to Fran, who turns it down, although Max isn't sure he wanted her to.
114	13	"Call Me Fran"	Fran Drescher	Diane Wilk	January 21, 1998 (1998-01-21)
Fran decides to take her father to a basketball game, but he refuses to go, knowing the tickets came from Mr. Sheffield. Confused, Fran goes to Dr. Miller for advice, and he tells her she's always looking for men like her father – that will keep a distance between them. Fran decides then to make Mr. Sheffield change, and when that doesn't work, she decides to quit her job and change herself. Not wanting to let her go, Mr. Sheffield calls her Fran. Although they agree on not doing it in front of others yet, Max and Fran take their first step on the road of commitment.
115	14	"Not Without My Nanny"	Dorothy Lyman	Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. Hodes	January 28, 1998 (1998-01-28)
Gracie is invited by a school friend to fly to his palace in Koorestan (parody on Kurdistan). Fran tries to convince Maxwell to let Niles take her, so they can call each other by their first names all weekend, but Max needs Niles there, so he sends Fran instead. There, she is flattered by all the luxury, and by how much the Sultan looks like Mr. Sheffield. After the Sultan invites Fran to stay with him forever, she thinks he proposed, and says no. And when she decides to fly back to NY, she is surprised to see that her passport and clothes are missing, and there are guards at her door. Meanwhile, Niles tricks C.C. by saying that it's Mr. Sheffield's birthday, and she uses his gift to look good, but Niles had tickets to Koorestan instead. Mr. Sheffield goes to Koorestan to rescue her, but turns out the Sultan only wanted her to be his nanny. Mr. Sheffield says he loves Fran, and doesn't take it back!
116	15	"The Engagement"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	March 4, 1998 (1998-03-04)
Fran is thrilled to tell the family that Maxwell has told her he loved her, and this time he didn't take it back! Everybody is happy for her (except for C.C.) and congratulates Fran. Maxwell reveals to Niles that he bought an engagement ring and is going to propose to Fran tonight. He, of course, can't keep a secret and tells Fran, who tells Sylvia, in a chain reaction that results in virtually everybody knowing about it. Maxwell asks Fran to invite her family over, because they're having a very important dinner at the Rainbow Room, and they should all be there. All the Sheffield and Fine families gather and wait for Maxwell, who never shows up, for he is mugged by punks at the theater. Afraid something happened to him (because she was sure he wouldn't just leave her waiting), Fran goes after him, and finds a passed out Mr. Sheffield behind the theater. He was knocked out by burglars who stole his watch and Fran's ring. Nevertheless, he proposes to Fran.
117	16	"The Dinner Party"	Dorothy Lyman	Ivan Menchell	March 11, 1998 (1998-03-11)
Maxwell decides to shop for a new ring for Fran, and Sylvia asks them to go to their uncle Stanley's, because he is family. But once there, they change their minds and go to Cartier instead. Fran gets an astonishing ring and they are mentioned in the social column (and Fran's name is mistyped Fran Fone...). But Fran starts to see that she might not be very well accepted among Maxwell's rich friends: she, Sylvia and Val are mistaken by ordinary people at a fancy clothe store, and at a dinner party Fran finds out that everybody is making fun of her behind her back. Hurt and afraid she might not be good enough for Maxwell, she goes to the park and meets a homeless man. She offers him chicken and opens her heart for him, giving him her address and offering him to drop by at anytime he feels hungry. That man turned out to be one of the richest men in the city, and he ends up sponsoring Maxwell's new play. Meanwhile, Sylvia gets Maxwell and the kids to call her "ma" and "nana"; Niles has fun by showing C.C. the engagement ring.
118	17	"Homie-Work"	Dorothy Lyman	Jayne Hamil	March 18, 1998 (1998-03-18)
Fran decides that even though she's marrying Maxwell, she still wants to work. She decides to help him with his new play. They have to find a rapper and Fran gets Sammy's grandson (Coolio), who is a gift wrapper instead. In major trouble, Fran has to turn the nerdy gift wrapper, into a music rapper in less than 24 hours to prove to Mr. Sheffield that she isn't stupid. Meanwhile, C.C. feels left out and replaced by Fran, and Niles doesn't let the opportunity of teasing her go away, until she finally goes nuts and is taken to a mental hospital.
119	18	"The Reunion Show"	Dorothy Lyman	Suzanne Gangursky, Sean Hanley	March 25, 1998 (1998-03-25)
Fran attends her high school reunion and is surprised to see that all her old friends are getting divorced, while she is the only one getting engaged. Trying not to be affected by all the negativity, Fran discusses with Maxwell the little things of life as a couple - which side of the bed they sleep on, what to do on the weekends, and how many children they will have. That becomes an issue because Maxwell does not want anymore children, while Fran does. After realizing how much motherhood means to Fran, Maxwell says they will plan it in the future, leaving them plenty of time to practice. Meanwhile, Niles goes through depression without having Ms. Babcock around to tease on; and Gracie gets scared that she will be sent away to a boarding school after a friend tells her it happened after her dad married her stepmother.
120	19	"Immaculate Concepcion"	Dorothy Lyman	Fran Drescher, Robert Sternin	April 1, 1998 (1998-04-01)
Maxwell's father unexpectedly passes away, and in his will he leaves everything to Concepcion, a secret daughter he had with a flamenco dancer. C.C. is back from the sanatorium and doesn't miss the opportunity of terrifying Fran and trying to split Fran and Maxwell up. Afraid that the Sheffields are going bankrupt, Fran visits Concepcion trying to persuade her to share the money with her siblings, but can't. Knowing what it feels like being poor, Fran tells Maxwell that she will understand if he decides to marry a rich woman in order to keep his lifestyle. C.C. offers herself to marry Maxwell, but his love for Fran is beyond money. Then Maxwell's lawyer arrives with the news: Concepcion decided to share her money, all because Fran made her feel like family. Niles plays tricks on Miss Babcock, making her doubt her own sanity.
121	20	"The Pre-Nup"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Frank Lombardi	April 29, 1998 (1998-04-29)
Pressured by his family, Maxwell wants Fran to sign a pre-nup, which upsets her. She thinks he doesn't trust her and/or doesn't have faith their marriage will last forever. Unbelievably, Val is the one that opens her eyes to what's happening and how it is better for Fran to sign it. Brighton has a roller-skating accident and is taken to the hospital, and Fran is not allowed in because she is not his legal guardian. So she disguises herself as a nun (much like in guest Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act) in order to see him. In the hospital room, Fran tells Brighton, Maggie, and Gracie that she loves them like they were hers. After listening to that, Maxwell decides he does not want Fran to sign any pre-nup, but the adoption papers that will make Fran the kids' mother. Meanwhile, C.C. sends in a temporary substitute, who walks, talks and acts just like her, for Niles' desperation - until she reveals her taste for men.
122	21	"The Best Man"	Dorothy Lyman	Rick Shaw	May 6, 1998 (1998-05-06)
Maxwell's brother, Nigel, is back to throw him a bachelor party, and Fran is terrified because Maxwell doesn't know that she almost married Nigel a year and a half ago. She tries to keep it a secret, but after Nigel gets drunk at the party, he tells Maxwell, just as Fran comes out of the cake in a surprise for him (after Sylvia confessed that Morty cancelled his wedding and ran off with the cake girl - Sylvia!). Fran and Maxwell have a fight over it, and they end up calling the wedding off, until C.C. (under the influence of Prozac) tells Fran that "Maxwell didn't spend 5 years doing the one man show". So Fran gets Marla Maples, who had a quick fling with Maxwell a year and a half ago, and confronts Maxwell. They finally realize they love each other and call the wedding back on.
123	22	"The Wedding, Part I"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Caryn Lucas	May 13, 1998 (1998-05-13)
Fran is excited about the wedding and moves into her mother's apartment because it is tradition that the groom not see the bride 24 hrs before the wedding. On their way back from New Jersey where they went to pick up Fran's wedding night lingerie, Fran, Sylvia and Val get stuck in the middle of nowhere when Val's car gets a flat (She used the spare a few days earlier). Val's mom calls Mr. Sheffield and tells him that Fran and the ladies are missing. Guest Stars: Renee Taylor as Sylvia and Rachell Chagall as Val.
124	23	"The Wedding, Part II"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Caryn Lucas	May 13, 1998 (1998-05-13)
Fran spends her last night as a single woman at her mom's house, where Sylvia reads her a letter she wrote to Fran when Fran was born. Just a few moments before the wedding, Maxwell's sister Jocelyn tells Fran that the social differences between her and Maxwell will ruin their marriage as it did to hers. At the ceremony, Ms. Babcock tries to give it one last shot and pretends being the bride, but it doesn't work. Fran doesn't show up at the altar, leaving everybody apprehensive about what happened to her. Sylvia goes to her dressing room and finds Fran crying on the couch. Maxwell arrives and Fran tells him that their marriage will never work and decides it will be better if they cancelled it. Max tells Fran that what happened with his sister will not happen to them, because they love each other. The wedding proceeds (with Sylvia shooting a warning glare at C.C. and Jocelyn to silence whatever objections they would have had), and Fran and Maxwell finally marry.

Season 6 (1998–99)

• The opening sequence changed slightly in this season. Producer Kathy Landsburg was promoted to co-executive producer of the series as her producer credit was moved to the in-show credits, while the creator credits of Drescher and Jacobson, and the developer credits of Sternin and Fraser were added in its place.
• Beginning with this season, Renée Taylor, Ann Guilbert and Rachel Chagall are credited as "starring" during the in-show credits.
• During the show's original run this season, the show went on a hiatus after the episode "California Here We Come" with the two-part finale airing several weeks later in May. However, six further first-run episodes aired in June, disrupting the chronological continuance of the show. This was remedied in syndication when the 2-part finale was moved after the last aired episode from the first-run ("The Baby Shower")
• Rachel Chagall was pregnant through half the season.
• S: = "Story by:"
• T: = "Teleplay by:"

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
125	1	"The Honeymoon's Overboard"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Frank Lombardi	September 30, 1998 (1998-09-30)
Fran and Maxwell find themselves on a desert island after falling off their honeymoon yacht. Maxwell finds himself struck with ailment while Fran is left to care for the both of them. Somehow this leads to a hot and passionate moment in which they become intimate.
126	2	"Fran Gets Shushed"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Caryn Lucas	October 7, 1998 (1998-10-07)
While trying to learn to live together Fran agrees to be less forward if Maxwell will learn to be less uptight. They both try out their new personalities at a business dinner meeting. In short, it doesn't go well.
127	3	"Once a Secretary, Always a Secretary"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Allen Jay Zipper	October 14, 1998 (1998-10-14)
Brighton wants to go to Atlantic City and his father is inevitably against it. Fran finds herself torn between being nanny and wife as Max calls her "The Nanny." Grace goes through hormonal changes, briefly in the episode.
128	4	"Sara's Parents"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Jayne Hamil	October 21, 1998 (1998-10-21)
Fran dreads a visit by Sara's parents. When they show up, many things don't go well. They feel that Fran is not suitable to "replace" their daughter. Also, Fran wants to legally adopt the children but Sara's parents are completely against it.
129	5	"Maggie's Boyfriend"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Rick Shaw	October 28, 1998 (1998-10-28)
Fran couldn't be happier with Maggie's rich, handsome, Jewish, model boyfriend, but when they decide to move in together, Maxwell wants Fran to put her foot down.
130	6	"I'm Pregnant"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Ivan Menchell	November 4, 1998 (1998-11-04)
Maggie confides in Fran that she thinks she is pregnant, but she doesn't want Fran to tell Maxwell unless they're sure. They then attempt to secretly take a pregnancy test, but Maxwell finds them and decides they have to go to the doctor to find out for sure. At the doctor's office, Dr. Reynolds has some news for Fran.
131	7	"Mom's the Word"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Cody Farley, Suzanne Myers	November 11, 1998 (1998-11-11)
Fran tells Niles and her mother about her pregnancy, but wants to tell Maxwell on her own, in a special way. But Maxwell, unknowingly, tells Fran he's not ready for another child yet. As Fran goes sulking in the park, she gets a severe pain in her abdomen, and is rushed to the emergency room. Fran finds out that she had a hormone imbalance that resulted in a false positive, and was never pregnant.
132	8	"Making Whoopi"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Suzanne Gangursky	November 18, 1998 (1998-11-18)
Maxwell is invited to be part of Hollywood Squares, but only because he would be replacing Andrew Lloyd Webber. Fran decides to try out different methods (some without Maxwell's permission) to become pregnant, including almond cookies that are supposed to make Fran and Max "frisky" but are accidentally eaten by Niles and C.C.
133	9	"Oh, Say, Can You Ski?"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Dan Amernick, Jay Amernick	November 25, 1998 (1998-11-25)
Maxwell invites Fran on a trip to meet the president, in hopes of her beginning to relax. Fran soon begins to forget about getting pregnant and then the unexpected happens. Fran becomes pregnant.
134	10	"The Hanukkah Story"	Peter Marc Jacobson	S: Matthew J. Berman, Ivan Menchell T: Ivan Menchell	December 16, 1998 (1998-12-16)
While excited about celebrating her first Hanukkah with her new husband and family, Maxwell, C.C. and Gracie have to drive to Boston in a snowstorm. Fran is worried sick when they don't arrive on time after they run off the road. After praying with a nun, Max, Gracie, and C.C. arrive. They had enough gas in the car for an hour, but it lasted for 8, just like the first Hanukkah candle. They then have the best "first day of Hanukkah" on the second day.
135	11	"The In-Law Who Came Forever"	Peter Marc Jacobson	S: Danny Passman, Michael Scalisi, Rick Shaw T: Rick Shaw	January 6, 1999 (1999-01-06)
After Aunt Freida buys her parent's apartment, the Fines move into the Sheffield mansion. Maxwell and Fran at first aren't so happy. But later, Sylvia tends to Max because he missed out on a good childhood relationship with his mother. He then doesn't want her to leave. In the end, Fran convinces him that if they leave it will be better. Sylvia and Frieda make up after they edit the wedding video so it looks like Frieda sang at their wedding.
136	12	"The Fran in the Mirror"	Jennifer Reed	S: Chandler Evans, Jayne Hamil T: Jayne Hamil	January 20, 1999 (1999-01-20)
After Fran lends a college buddy of Maxwell's $1 million, she hears that he is broke and has been swindling others. She goes and demands it back, but after he gives her the check she decides to invest anyway, to give him another chance. Max and Fran then go back again and he tells them that it was a good investment and Max now had $500,000.
137	13	"The Yummy Mummy"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Cody Farley, Suzanne Myers	February 3, 1999 (1999-02-03)
Fran goes visiting universities with Brighton, but his fellow students find Fran a bit too attractive and make inappropriate comments. Brighton then tells Fran that he doesn't want her coming to any more colleges. Fran starts to think its because she's stupid. She starts reading encyclopedias and trying how to learn to talk smart. Finally, Brighton tells her, and unlike him, she doesn't mind if she's thought "hot and sexy". Meanwhile, Fran finds out that she and Maxwell are having twins.
138	14	"California, Here We Come"	Peter Marc Jacobson	S: Suzanne Gangursky, Mary Lindes T: Suzanne Gangursky	March 26, 1999 (1999-03-26)
Maxwell is asked to turn one of his plays into a sitcom, and the Sheffields might be moving to California. Fran thinks that her mother is heartbroken that her daughter is leaving her and rents her a home in CA too. However, Sylvia tells Fran she really does want to stay in New York. When Fran investigates, she finds out that her mother has been seeing a doctor three times a week—not because she is sick, as Fran finds out, but because she is having an affair with the doctor.
145	15	"The Finale: Part 1"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Caryn Lucas	May 12, 1999 (1999-05-12)
During Fran and Maxwell's first anniversary, C.C. flees after Niles proposes again. Fran runs after her and gets stuck in an elevator with her and goes into labor.
146	16	"The Finale: Part 2"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Caryn Lucas, Peter Marc Jacobson, Frank Lombardi	May 12, 1999 (1999-05-12)
While Fran is in labor, C.C. and Niles get married (in which C.C.'s full name is finally revealed) and find out that they are also expectant parents. After Fran gives birth to twins Jonah Samuel and Eve Katherine, Maggie and Brighton head off to Europe and the remainder of the expanded Sheffield family, along with Niles, C.C., Sylvia, Val, Morty and Yetta, head to California and a new life. The end of the episode features flashbacks from the series' six-season run, followed by a final curtain call of the cast members and some parting words from Fran Drescher.
139	17	"Ma'ternal Affairs"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Frank Lombardi	June 2, 1999 (1999-06-02)
Fran checks into a man (played by Joseph Bologna, Renée Taylor's husband) that her mother is seeing and coaches her father (Steve Lawrence), whose face we see for the first time, on spicing up their marriage. Ironically, the same man is at the fancy and romantic dinner party Fran and Max force Sylvia and Morty into attending, and he unintentionally convinces Morty to tell Sylvia how special she is too him. Morty even serenades her after she forgives him. This is the first time the audience sees Fran's father's face.
140	18	"The Producers"	Peter Marc Jacobson	S: Mike Dow, Chandler Evans, Rick Shaw T: Rick Shaw	June 9, 1999 (1999-06-09)
Niles finally admits to Fran that he loves C.C.! The two of them decide to try and produce a play (using Max and C.C.'s name) so that Niles will become successful and eligible to marry C.C. They end up getting fined. Max gets everything sorted out and the play turns out to be a success. At the end, Niles suddenly proposes to C.C..
141	19	"The Dummy Twins"	Steve Posner	S: Rachel Chagall, Harriet Goldman, Camelia Kath, Ivan Menchell T: Ivan Menchell	June 16, 1999 (1999-06-16)
Fran coaches Niles in his unappreciated courtship of C.C. It doesn't go well and when C.C. doesn't let up on holding Niles proposal(s) over his head and he quits the Sheffield's but not before calling C.C. pathetic and lonely, which leads to C.C. quitting her partnership with Max. Later Fran and Max find both Niles and C.C. in bed together.
142	20	"Yetta's Letters"	Peter Marc Jacobson	S: Dan Amernick, Jay Amernick, Bernie Vyzga T: Dan Amernick, Jay Amernick	June 16, 1999 (1999-06-16)
Maxwell uses Yetta's letters as the basis for a play on Broadway beating out Andrew Lloyd Webber who also wanted to use them. They get Sylvia to sign the rights over to Max, and the show is a great hit.
143	21	"Maggie's Wedding"	Fran Drescher	Jayne Hamil	June 23, 1999 (1999-06-23)
Michael proposes to Maggie! At first Max is against it, but after he and Maggie talk, he agrees. Meanwhile, Fran learns that Michael's cousin is James Brolin and that Barbra Streisand is coming to Maggie and Michael's wedding. Fran is so excited that she goes into premature labor causing her to miss Barbra. She sneaks back home and finds everyone gone, only to find out that Barbra and the rest are at the hospital to meet her, causing her to miss Barbra sing once again. Finally, Maggie and Michael get married.
144	22	"The Baby Shower"	Peter Marc Jacobson	Story: Sean Hanley, James Nelson & Howard Preiser Teleplay Cody Farley & Suzanne Myers	June 23, 1999 (1999-06-23)
Fran gets bad news from her fortune teller that Max will set eyes on a blonde in California. At the same time, Mrs. Fran Fine-Sheffield runs into actress Fran Drescher and her future of what will happen is her storyline on her show. Also, Fran and Maxwell balk over Brighton's decision to take a year off to travel before going to college.

Reunion special: 2004

No.	Title	Original airdate
Special	"The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember"	December 6, 2004 (2004-12-06)
The cast members reminisce about the show and present blooper footage not previously shown on television, and present an update on their current activities.

External links

• List of The Nanny episodes at TV.com

Characters

Main characters

Main article: List of The Nanny characters

• Francine Joy "Fran" Fine (later Sheffield) is the nasal-voiced, outgoing protagonist of the series. She starts off working for her boyfriend Danny Imperialli in a bridal shop but is dumped and fired not long after. Fran ends up meeting Maxwell Sheffield and his family while going door to door to sell cosmetics. She winds up as the nanny to Mr. Sheffield's three children: Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie. Her character has an outgoing and humorous personality. As a result of her mother's overbearing personality, Fran often feels the need to date and is compelled to get married as well. She is usually seen getting into trouble and having to solve those problems through using her street smarts.
• Maxwell "Max" Beverly Sheffield is the male protagonist who ends up hiring Fran to watch over his three children. He is a widowed Broadway producer, having lost his wife Sara four years before the start of the series. While he does have some success as a producer, he remains constantly in the shadow of his rival Andrew Lloyd Webber, who always seems to have the upper hand. He does not spend a lot of time with his children due to his busy schedule, hence the need for a nanny in the first place. Despite his mutual attraction to Fran, he tries to keep their relationship professional for fear of commitment. However, in season 5 episode 14, Maxwell tells Fran that he loves her and does not take it back, having done so earlier; the couple's engagement follows, ending the romantic tension between them. Following several snafus, they are finally married in the season 5 finale.
• Niles is the loyal butler and chauffeur for the Sheffield family. He and Maxwell have known each other their whole lives. He bonds with Fran immediately, viewing her as the breath of fresh air that the Sheffield family needs. Niles is known as the household snoop as he is constantly seen listening in on conversations via intercoms, keyholes, and even in the very rooms where the conversations are taking place. He tends to manipulate events in Fran's favor to undermine C.C., his nemesis. In spite of this, over time it becomes clear that Niles has himself fallen for C.C. and their contentious relationship is a cover for a mutual attraction.
• Chastity Claire "C.C." Babcock is the egocentric business partner of Maxwell Sheffield, with whom she has been working for almost 20 years. She clearly wants him as more than a business partner. Maxwell, however, appears oblivious to her feelings, and C.C.'s serious moves on him are thwarted by this, or by his longtime butler Niles. A running gag is that she cannot remember the names of Maxwell's children, in spite of having known them their entire lives. From her first meeting with Fran, she accurately views the newly hired nanny as a threat and tries to undermine her. Fran is not C.C.'s only enemy in the Sheffield house, as she has an even more contentious relationship with Niles (who hates her just as much as she hates him). In spite of this, over time it becomes clear that C.C. has herself fallen for Niles and their continual barbs towards each other are covering for a mutual attraction. Throughout the series she is referred to only as “C.C.”, with her full name only being revealed in the series finale.
• Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield (later Brolin) is the eldest child of Maxwell Sheffield. She is constantly seen bickering with her brother, Brighton, who views her as a nerd. Her relationship with her sister Gracie is generally much warmer. At the beginning of the series, Maggie is shy and awkward but, with Fran's influence, she becomes a somewhat popular young woman. Upon meeting Fran, the two bond almost instantly, with Fran behaving like a friend or sister except on the rare occasions that Maggie needs to be disciplined. Near the end of the series, Maggie meets and marries an underwear model, Michael Brolin.
• Brighton Milhouse Sheffield is the middle child of the family and the only son of Maxwell Sheffield. Due to being the only son, he often feels left out. This causes him to purposely bring about trouble for his two sisters. He does not bond with Fran at first, having disliked all his previous nannies, but eventually becomes close with her as well. He variously plans to become a Broadway producer, like his father, or to simply wait until he can access his trust fund so he does not have to work.
• Grace "Gracie" Sheffield is the youngest and arguably most intelligent of the Sheffield children. At the start of the series, Gracie was undergoing psychotherapy frequently, but under Fran's influence and guidance, she quickly reaches the point where she does not need it at all. As a result, however, she has a habit of naming medical conditions and using complicated words that Fran and Maxwell barely understand. This behavior is contrasted by her tendency to pick up some of Fran's faux-Yinglish slang and dressing habits.

Supporting characters

• Sylvia Fine (née Rosenberg) is the mother of Fran Fine, portrayed in early seasons by Fran Drescher (in flashbacks to Fran's childhood). Sylvia is based on Drescher's real-life mother.
• Valerie Toriello is Fran's best friend since attending kindergarten through high school together in Flushing, Queens, New York. When the show began, Val had been working at the bridal shop with Fran. Val is of Italian descent.
• Yetta Rosenberg-Jones is Fran's grandmother and the mother of Sylvia and Uncle Jack. The character was played by actress Ann Morgan Guilbert. Yetta is based on Drescher's real-life maternal grandmother.

Cast

Main

The Nanny maintained an ensemble cast, keeping the same set of characters for its entire six-season run.

• Fran Drescher as Fran Fine
• Charles Shaughnessy as Maxwell Sheffield
• Daniel Davis as Niles
• Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock
• Nicholle Tom as Maggie Sheffield
• Benjamin Salisbury as Brighton Sheffield
• Madeline Zima as Gracie Sheffield

Supporting

Renée Taylor, Rachel Chagall, and Ann Morgan Guilbert were only given starring credit for their roles in the sixth and final season, even though they had previously appeared in most episodes of the series, particularly in seasons where the role of the Sheffield children was somewhat reduced.

• Renée Taylor as Sylvia Fine
• Rachel Chagall as Val Toriello
• Ann Morgan Guilbert as Yetta Rosenberg

Guest stars

Although largely operating around the main ensemble cast, The Nanny featured an enormous number of guest stars over the years. Notable repeat guests included Lainie Kazan as Fran's paternal aunt Freida, Steve Lawrence as Fran's never before seen father Morty Fine, Pamela Anderson as Fran's bubble-headed nemesis Heather Biblow, Ray Charles as Yetta's fiancé Sammy, Spalding Gray as Fran's therapist Dr. Jack Miller, Fred Stoller as the frequently featured pharmacist Fred, and Andrew Levitas as Maggie's boyfriend Michael. Several celebrities guested as characters in single episodes, such as Jason Alexander, John Astin, Roseanne Barr as Fran's cousin Sheila, Eric Braeden, Margaret Cho, Joan Collins as Maxwell's stepmother, Jeanne Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Dina Merrill as Maxwell's mother, Rita Moreno, George Murdock, Wallace Shawn, Twiggy as Maxwell's sister (in her first appearance, in season 1), Robert Urich, Joan Van Ark, Robert Vaughn as Maxwell's father, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Others appeared as themselves, primarily in connection with Maxwell's business relations, such as Dan Aykroyd, Bob Barker, Carol Channing, Chevy Chase, Andrew Dice Clay, Robert Culp, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lesley-Anne Down, Erik Estrada, Eydie Gormé, Hugh Grant, Elton John, Richard Kline, Joe Lando, Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, Bette Midler, Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow, Lynn Redgrave, Melody Thomas Scott, Jane Seymour, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Alex Trebek and Hunter Tylo; media personalities Roger Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Alicia Machado, Rosie O'Donnell, Sally Jessy Raphael and Donald Trump; and musicians Burt Bacharach, Michael Bolton, Ray Charles, rapper Coolio, Celine Dion, Eartha Kitt, Patti LaBelle, Steve Lawrence, Lisa Loeb, and Brian Setzer. Jonathan Penner appeared as Fran's former fiancé, Danny Imperialli. James Marsden appeared as Maggie's boyfriend, Eddie, and Telma Hopkins appeared as Fran's "mother" in the episode "Fran's Roots". Scott Baio also made an appearance as a rookie doctor who was Fran's former schoolmate. Marvin Hamlisch appeared as Fran's former high school music teacher, a Hamlisch look-alike. Jon Stewart portrayed a Jewish love interest of Fran's until it was discovered at a family wedding that the two were cousins; on the June 29, 2011 airing of The Daily Show, Stewart stated he agreed to make an appearance after receiving a personal call from Drescher.

Drescher also reprised her role of Bobbi Fleckman from the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap and made a cameo appearance as herself in the third to last episode. Shaughnessy had a double role as a fictional Middle Eastern oil potentate in one episode. Drescher's real-life parents initially appeared as a couple in the waiting room of Gracie's therapist and made subsequent appearances as Fran's Uncle Stanley and Aunt Rose; her Pomeranian Chester appeared as C.C.'s pet in more than a dozen episodes. Renée Taylor's husband, actor Joseph Bologna, and their son Gabriel Bologna, had guest roles on the show. Ray Romano appeared as Fran's former high school classmate Ray Barone, linking The Nanny with his comedy Everybody Loves Raymond. (Romano and Drescher actually knew each other in high school.) Tom Bergeron appeared as himself, the host of Hollywood Squares, in an episode in which Maxwell appeared as a star on the show's board as a replacement for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tyne Daly appeared as a fellow nanny facing forced retirement. David Letterman made an uncredited appearance during a fantasy sequence, where Fran describes how she exaggerated her fame to impress a pen pal. Donna Douglas, who played Elly Mae Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, would make her last television appearance in an episode in which the Fines would buy the mansion (made famous in the aforementioned series) she was selling (Douglas was a realtor in real life), and in a nod paid homage to the Hillbillies closing scene with Donna and the cast waving goodbye to viewers.

Theme song

The theme song featured in the pilot was a version of "If My Friends Could See Me Now", performed by Gwen Verdon from the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity. Following the pilot, the theme changed to "The Nanny Named Fran", written by Ann Hampton Callaway and performed by her and her sister Liz Callaway. Two instrumental versions of the theme song were used in the closing credits: one that is a direct instrumental version of the theme (used only in a few season one episodes), and another with a slightly different arrangement.

Opening credits

Along with the change of the theme song from "If My Friends Could See Me Now" to "The Nanny Named Fran" came the change of the opening sequence, which like the theme, describes (with the main characters in animated form) the story of how Fine went from being fired from the bridal shop by Danny Imperialli to becoming the nanny of the Sheffield children. The animated opening sequence begins with Fine walking into the bridal shop, only to be kicked out by an unseen Danny Imperalli in one of those crushing scenes.

Then, she hitches a ride in a cab, crosses the bridge from Queens to Manhattan and arrives at the Sheffield mansion. Maxwell Sheffield opens the door and observes Fran. Then, he pulls her inside and she falls into the flowerpot. Niles dusts her off and puts a cap on her head that reads Nanny. Fran whistles for Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie and the four of them form a conga line. C.C. arrives at the door and Fran bumps the door with her hip to close it in her face. Finally, the Sheffields, Niles and Fran gather on the couch for a group picture similar to that of the One Day at a Time series opening.

However, when Fran presses the camera's button, smoke emits from the camera, covering the entire group in dust and messing up their best clothes. Rosie O'Donnell employed the same team that created The Nanny's opening credits to do the opening credits for her popular daytime talk show. O'Donnell mentioned this in an interview with Drescher on that show.

Production

Development

The Nanny began in 1991 with a chance meeting on a transatlantic flight between Drescher and Jeff Sagansky, at the time president of CBS Corporation, for whom she had starred in the short-lived TV series Princesses. Drescher persuaded Sagansky to let her and her then-husband Jacobson pitch an idea for a sitcom to CBS. Sagansky agreed to a future meeting once all of the parties were back in Los Angeles; however, neither Drescher nor Jacobson had any idea what to pitch.

Later, Drescher was visiting friend Twiggy Lawson and her family in London, England, where she went on a culture-clash shopping tour with Lawson's then-teenage daughter. Drescher was inspired by her behavior towards the teenage daughter on the shopping trip as functioning in a less parental but "humorous [...] kind of Queens logic, self-serving advice" mode. Drescher immediately called her husband in Los Angeles with her sitcom idea, which she pitched as a spin on The Sound of Music, except, in Drescher's words, "Instead of Julie Andrews, I come to the door." Jacobson replied: "That could be it" and the idea for The Nanny was spawned.

Back in Los Angeles, the pair pitched their idea to Tim Flack and Joe Voci, both in comedy development at CBS. Sagansky brought in experienced producers Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser, another husband-and-wife team with whom Drescher had worked before while guesting on Who's the Boss? in 1985 and 1986. Interested, both couples teamed up to write the script for the pilot together, creating a character with the intention to build off Drescher's image. "Our business strategy was to create a show that was going to complement our writing, complement me as a talent," Drescher said in a 1997 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. As a result, the characters draw deeply on the Drescher family, including Fran Fine's parents, Sylvia and Morty, and grandmother Yetta, who all were named after their real-life counterparts.

Drescher also drew from her own life in creating her character. Like the character in The Nanny, Drescher was born and raised to a Jewish family in Flushing, Queens, and attended beauty school. However, unlike her on-screen counterpart, Drescher never worked in a bridal shop; Drescher wrote that into the character as a tribute to her mother, who did work in a bridal shop. While visiting with his relatives in Fort Lauderdale around the holidays, Sagansky watched a few episodes with his relatives, realized that he had a hit, and ordered a full 22 episodes for the first season.

Crew

7 East 75th Street on the Upper East Side of New York City was used for the exterior shots of the Sheffield townhouse.

Most of the early episodes of The Nanny were shot in front of a live studio audience on Stage 6 at the Culver Studios. On Mondays, the cast went through the script as a table read. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, they rehearsed before the series' producers and executives. And, on Thursdays and Fridays, the series was shot using a multi-camera set-up in front of a live studio audience. During later seasons the taping was no longer performed before an audience due to the complexities of the fantasy sequences, costume changes, etc.

Nearly 100 crew members were involved in the shooting of a single episode. Although Drescher, Fraser, Jacobson and Sternin, the show's only executive producers for the first four seasons, coordinated "pretty much everything" at the beginning, according to Sternin, they eventually found their niche and in the following years, Drescher and Sternin decided to focus on writing story outlines, while Jacobson presided over the writing team, and Fraser observed the run-throughs. The four of them were later joined by Frank Lombardi, Caryn Lucas and Diane Wilk, who served as the series' executive producers throughout the fifth and sixth seasons.

Professional laughers

Stemming from a home invasion and attack she experienced in 1985, Fran Drescher requested the show to provide prescreened audiences, based upon her fear of having random strangers invited to the productions. The show hired Central Casting to gather a cast of "laughers" who would be recorded during taping. The audio track of the laughers would then be added to the episodes in post-production. Casting director Lisette St. Claire became the world's first "laugher wrangler" for this new type of service, which would continue to be used on other shows.

Humor

The comedy in The Nanny was formulated with many running gags, which contributed heavily to the success of the series. Much of this formula was character-based, with all major characters possessing a specific trait or quirks that provided a source of parody for other characters. The conflicting elements of each character's own comedy were often played off against one another (Fran and Maxwell, Niles and C.C., Maggie and Brighton). Occasionally the characters would break the fourth wall and comment on the situations themselves, or Fran would comment to the audience or look into the camera. Other running gags are the many references to Beatles songs and the musicals Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady. Most of the humor Fran uses is aimed toward a Jewish audience. She makes references to Yiddish words and teaches the Sheffield children to be stereotypical Jews (to never pay retail price, to go after men like doctors, etc.). Much of this humor is featured in scenes including her mother Sylvia.

At times, they would also make humorous references to the stars' previous careers or real life off-screen time. This was noticeable when Yetta saw her reflection in the mirror and thought she was seeing Millie Helper from The Dick Van Dyke Show (the role that Guilbert played on that long-running show), Maxwell remembering how he wanted to hire a former cast member from Days of Our Lives but thought he was not "British" enough (a reference to Charles Shaughnessy's former series), C.C. using props to hide Lauren Lane's real-life pregnancy at the time, and Fran meeting her idol—Fran Drescher—who gave her a hint on what she (the TV Fran) was going to do in the next scene in the second-to-last episode in the last season. Drescher also appeared in the series as tough-talking music publicist Bobbi Fleckman, reprising her role from the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap, setting up an obvious visual gag where Drescher (as the Nanny) would disguise herself as Fleckman in order to get Mr. Sheffield's attention.

More running gags include Fran's frequent references to classic TV sitcoms (such as Gilligan's Island and Bewitched) and her many eccentric family members (most never shown, some of them dying); Fran lying about her age—especially to men; Maxwell fighting through his rivalry with actual Broadway producer Andrew Lloyd Webber; Maxwell's physical resemblance to Pierce Brosnan; Maxwell's fondness for Kaye Ballard; Sylvia loving food in excess; Niles delivering sharp one-liners, often aimed at C.C.; C.C. cold-heartedly reacting to situations that are usually sentimental to others (e.g. the death of Bambi's mother); Gracie psychologically analyzing various situations; Niles getting fired because he embarrasses Maxwell or gives Fran ideas that Maxwell extremely dislikes (such as suggesting that Max, C.C. and Fran go to Barbra Streisand's house); Fran and Val lacking intelligence and obsessing over material possessions (e.g. clothes); frequent references to Fran's flamboyant wardrobe, her "big hair" and her nasal voice (which was much less grating in early episodes); Fran frequently mentioning shopping at Loehmann's; Yetta making disconnected comments revealing her senility; Fran criticizing Maxwell's and Niles' reserved and inhibited British nature; Brighton morphing into a hopeless dork; Fran's attraction to Jewish males; Maxwell passing up the incredibly popular musical, Cats, then becoming upset when such an idiotic idea became a success; Niles' last name never being revealed; C.C. covering her long-unrevealed name (finally given as Chastity Claire in the series finale); C.C. failing to remember the names of the Sheffield children (even convinced by Niles in one episode that there was a fourth child named Sydney; note: she did not have trouble remembering in the early seasons); Sylvia constantly nagging Fran to get married; Fran finding solace in food when she's depressed; Fran's father, Morty, often featured in the series but never actually seen (until portrayed by Steve Lawrence in a few later episodes); Morty's only physical trait being the fact that he is bald, in which he is always comically losing his wig, and has several head mannequins to hold different wigs; Niles offering obvious hints to Maxwell and Fran about them realizing they should be together and hints from each other; C.C. pining over her unrequited romantic interest in Maxwell; C.C. developing a nervous tic and eventually ending up in a sanitarium; Fran obsessing with Barbra Streisand.

In one episode Streisand's sister, Roslyn Kind appears singing a song with Fran thinking Barbra is at the Sheffield home. There was also the occasional tryst between Niles and C.C., contrasting with their typical open disdain for each other, which was actually love. Season 4 featured a running gag where both Fran and Maxwell kept secret from the other household members "The Thing" (the fact that in the season 3 finale Maxwell tells Fran he loves her, but then in the Season 4 premiere he takes it back). It is also following "The Thing" that whenever Maxwell makes comments denying he has feelings for Fran, she is temporarily "paralyzed" (she cannot feel her arm, her entire left side shuts down, etc.). In addition, there is also a great deal of physical comedy in The Nanny including exaggerated falls and chases.

Drescher's facial expressions, when shocked or surprised, can also be seen as reminiscent of Lucille Ball's portrayals of Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael. The parallels were suggested in a few episodes, where an exasperated Mr. Sheffield refers to Fran as "Mrs. Carmichael", and asks in another: "Mr. Mooney fire you from the bank again?" Another Lucy reference (in which the family travels to Hollywood) is when he alludes to Fran and "Ethel" stealing John Wayne's footprints, and again when Maxwell says "Miss Fine, you got some 'splaining to do!" like Ricky Ricardo often said to Lucy Ricardo. The episode that featured a visit from Elizabeth Taylor (who also appeared on Here's Lucy as a guest star) began with Maxwell and Niles trying to hide the visit from Fran ("Boys, boys, boys. Now do you think my mother gave birth to a dummy 25 years ago?") followed by her gripe "You never introduce me to any of the stars that you know; I've got a good mind to take Little Ricky and... oh. Never mind." Also, there was a reference from the episode of I Love Lucy called "Ricky has Labor Pains" where Lucy and Ethel dress up like men and go to Ricky's daddy shower. In an episode of The Nanny, Fran sees a man watching I Love Lucy on TV and as the theme song plays she gets a sneaky look on her face and gets the idea to gain entry into Mr. Sheffield's men's only club dressed as a man. Viewers for Quality Television called The Nanny "the '90s version of I Love Lucy. It was well written and entertaining."

Broadcast

Domestic syndication

The show began off-network syndication in September 1998, distributed by Columbia TriStar Television Distribution on various broadcast television networks in the United States. The show aired on Lifetime Television from 2000 until 2008. It could also be seen on Nick at Nite from April 2009 to October 5, 2013, in the United States, but was pulled and its timeslot of 6AM-7AM was replaced with Hangin' With Mr. Cooper. It also appears on The Hallmark Channel in the Philippines, Super RTL and VOX in Germany, and Go! and TV1 in Australia. On February 8, 2010, Drescher hosted a week-long marathon of The Nanny, titled "Valentine Schmalentine", on Nick at Nite.

The success of the stunt led to Fran hosting "Falling for Fran", a similar week-long Valentine's Day marathon in February 2011. On August 2, 2010, The Nanny began airing on TV Land, commencing with a week-long marathon and remained on the channel until 2016. On January 1, 2011, The Nanny began airing on Antenna TV, a new digital broadcast network. On August 16, 2011, "The Nanny" began airing on Logo. On January 1, 2018, Cozi TV started airing the show. Similarly, on April 30, 2018, Freeform began airing the series, showing 5-episode blocks in the early morning hours. Additionally, the show can be seen on local US television channels.

Streaming

The series' third and fourth seasons are available for streaming on Pluto TV, the Roku Channel rotates between seasons 1–2 and 3–4, and on April 1, 2021, the entire series became available on HBO Max.

International syndication

Outside of North America, The Nanny is broadcast in various other countries and television networks, each with their own schedule for the series. In the United Kingdom, the entire series aired on the digital network Living. In France, the show was broadcast and rebroadcast the same multi-and was a huge success on the channel M6 then W9. The French title is Une nounou d'enfer ("A Hell of a Nanny"). Other countries where The Nanny airs include the following:

International syndication

Country / Region	Name	Television Network	Dubbing / Subtitles
Austria	Die Nanny (English: "The Nanny")	ORF1 (2005–present), ATV (2006–2010)	German
Australia	The Nanny	Network Ten (1994–1999), Nine Network (2007–2009), 9Go! (2009–2011, 2020–), GEM (2010–2011), 7flix (2016–2019), TV1 (1998–2013), TV Hits (2014), 111 (2014–2019)	None
Belgium	The Nanny	Eén, VT4, VIJF, VTM,	Dutch subtitles
Belgium	Une nounou d'enfer (English: "A Hell of a Nanny")	RTL-TV, Plug RTL (2011–2012)	French
Brazil	The Nanny	Rede Record, Rede 21, SET, Comedy Central (2012–present)	Portuguese dubbing
Canada	The Nanny	Crossroads Television System, CBC (November 3, 1993 – May 16, 1994), CTV Television Network (September 12, 1994 - June 23, 1999)	None
Catalonia	La Tata (English: "The Nanny")	TV3	Catalan dubbing
Costa Rica	La Niñera	Sony Entertainment Television	Spanish dubbing
Croatia	Dadilja (English: "Nanny")	RTL Televizija	Croatian subtitles
Czech Republic	Chůva k pohledání (English: "Nanny")	TV Prima	Czech dubbing
Denmark	Alletiders barnepige (English: "All-times greatest nanny")	TV3	Danish subtitles
Estonia	Nanny	TV3	Estonian subtitles
Finland	Nanny	Nelonen, The Voice	Finnish subtitles
France	Une nounou d'enfer (English: "'A Hell of a Nanny")	M6, W9, 6ter, TMC, TF1 Séries Films	French
Germany	Die Nanny (English: "The Nanny")	VOX (2002–2011), Super RTL (2007–2012), RTL (1995–2002), FOX Germany (2010–2012), ZDF neo (2012–2014), Disney Channel (2014–present)	German dubbing
Greece	Ntanta amesou draseos (English: "Urgent nanny")	Mega, Alpha, Makedonia TV	Greek subtitles
Hungary	A dadus (English: "The Nanny")	TV2, RTL Klub, Cool TV	Hungarian
Israel	Nanny	Channel 3	Hebrew subtitles
Italy	La tata (English: "The Nanny")	Canale 5 (1995), Italia 1 (1996–2000), Boing (2006), Mya (2008), Fox Life (2009), La5 (2011), Fox Retro (2011)	Italian dubbing
Latin America	The Nanny	Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America)	Spanish dubbing
Lithuania	Auklė (English: "Nanny")	TV3	Lithuanian dubbing
Malaysia	The Nanny	TV2, Astro	Bahasa Malaysia subtitles
Mexico	The Nanny	Azteca 7, Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America)	Spanish dubbing
Netherlands	The Nanny	RTL 5	Dutch subtitles
Norway	Nanny	TV3	Norwegian subtitles
Philippines	The Nanny	ABS-CBN, Studio 23	None
Poland	Niania / Pomoc domowa (English: "House helper")	TV Puls, Polsat, TVN 7	Polish
Portugal	Competente e Descarada (English: "Competent and shameless")	TVI	Portuguese Subtitles
Romania	Dădaca (English: "Nanny")	Pro TV, Pro Cinema	Romanian Subtitles
Russia	Няня (English: "Nanny")	Domashny, ДТВ	Russian dubbing
Sweden	Nanny	TV3	Swedish subtitles
Switzerland	Die Nanny (English: "The Nanny")	SF zwei (2006–2008), 4+ (2015–present)	German
Switzerland	La Tata (English: "The Nanny")	RSI LA1	Italian
Thailand	The Nanny	Hallmark, TrueVisions	Thai
United Kingdom Ireland	The Nanny	Sky One, Living TV, TLC	None

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released seasons 1, 2 and 3 of The Nanny on DVD in regions 1, 2 and 4. Season 3 was released on March 17, 2009, in Region 1, almost 3 years after the release of season 2. On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including The Nanny. They subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on August 5, 2014.

On January 12, 2015, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released a complete series set on May 26, 2015. It contains all 146 episodes. In late 2015, Shout! began releasing individual season sets; the fourth season was released on September 22, 2015, followed by the fifth season on December 22, 2015. The sixth and final season was released on March 15, 2016.

DVD name	Ep #	Release dates			Special features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete 1st Season	22	July 12, 2005	August 9, 2005	July 13, 2005	Commentary with Fran Drescher The Making of The Nanny
The Complete 2nd Season	26	May 2, 2006	June 8, 2006	May 10, 2006	None
The Complete 3rd Season	27	March 17, 2009	March 5, 2009	March 11, 2009	None
The Complete 4th Season	26	September 22, 2015	TBA	TBA	None
The Complete 5th Season	23	December 22, 2015	TBA	TBA	None
The Complete 6th Season	22	March 15, 2016	TBA	TBA	None
The Complete Series	146	May 26, 2015	TBA	TBA	Executive Producers Fran Drescher And Peter Marc Jacobson in a New, Never-Before-Seen Interview The Making of The Nanny Selected Episode Commentary by Fran Drescher

Reception

The show performed poorly in its first year. When it was nearly canceled, Sagansky stepped in as its champion. According to Jacobson: "At all those affiliate meetings, he used to say, 'Stick by The Nanny!' He knew it was something special." The sitcom was the first new show delivered to CBS for the 1993 season and the highest-tested pilot at the network in years. The series was also hugely successful internationally, especially in Australia, where it was one of the highest-rated programs during the mid-to-late 1990s.

Although soon emerging as a favorite among the company, sponsors questioned whether the writers had ventured too far in terms of ethnicity and Drescher acted too obviously Jewish. The actress, however, declined to change Fran Fine into an Italian American: "On TV, you have to work fast, and the most real, the most rooted in reality to me is Jewish. I wanted to do it closest to what I knew." By contrast, the producers came to the conclusion that to oppose her should be a family of British origin, so "she wouldn't come across as Jewish so much as the American you were rooting for," Sternin explained. "The idea was to make her the American girl who happens to be Jewish rather than the Jewish girl working for the WASPs."

Awards and nominations

Year	Award-giving Body	Award	Result
1994	Young Artist Awards	Youth Actress Leading Role in a Television Series (Nicholle Tom)	Nominated
1994	Young Artist Awards	Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series (Benjamin Salisbury, Nicholle Tom, Madeline Zima)	Nominated
1994	Young Artist Awards	Best New Television Series	Nominated
1995	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costuming for a Series (Brenda Cooper, for 'Canasta Masta')	Won
1995	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Comedy Series (Lee Shallat Chemel, for 'Canasta Masta')	Nominated
1995	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series (Dugg Kirkpatrick, for 'Stock Tip')	Nominated
1995	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Youth Ensemble in a Television Series (Benjamin Salisbury, Nicholle Tom, Madeline Zima)	Nominated
1995	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Youth Actress – TV Guest Star (Jacqueline Tone)	Nominated
1995	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a TV Series (Madeline Zima)	Nominated
1996	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Female Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1996	BMI Film & TV Awards	BMI TV Music Award (Timothy Thompson)	Won
1996	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1996	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Costuming for a Series (Brenda Cooper, for 'The Kibbutz')	Nominated
1996	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1996	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Renée Taylor)	Nominated
1996	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actor – TV Comedy Series (Benjamin Salisbury)	Won
1996	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress – TV Comedy Series (Madeline Zima)	Nominated
1996	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress – TV Comedy Series (Nicholle Tom)	Nominated
1997	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1997	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Costuming for a Series (Brenda Cooper, for 'The Rosie Show')	Nominated
1997	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Costuming for a Series (Shawn Holly Cookson and Terry Gordon, for 'The Facts of Lice')	Nominated
1997	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1997	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1998	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series (Jimmy E. Jensen, for 'The Wedding')	Nominated
1998	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Costuming for a Series (Shawn Holly Cookson and Terry Gordon, for 'Not Without My Nanny')	Nominated
1998	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress – TV Comedy Series (Madeline Zima)	Nominated
1998	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actor – TV Comedy Series (Benjamin Salisbury)	Nominated
1999	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Whoopi Goldberg)	Nominated
1999	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Costuming for a Series (Shawn Holly Cookson and Terry Gordon, for 'Oh Say, Can You Ski?')	Nominated
1999	TeleVizier-Ring Gala, Netherlands	Silver TeleVizier-Tulip	Won
1999	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actress in a Comedy (Fran Drescher)	Nominated
1999	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress – TV Comedy Series (Madeline Zima)	Nominated
1999	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actor – TV Comedy Series (Benjamin Salisbury)	Nominated
2008	TV Land Awards	Favorite Nanny (Fran Drescher)	Won
2019	Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame	Television Program	Won

Other media

Reunion specials

Main article: The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember

On December 6, 2004, the Lifetime network aired a reunion special The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember. The special reunited the entire cast with the exception of Davis, who had work commitments. Drescher and Gary Rosenthal served as executive producers of the special.

In March 2020, Drescher announced that the cast would reunite for a live reading of the pilot episode amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The reading was released to YouTube by Sony Pictures Television on April 6, 2020. The reading featured the entire cast of the pilot– with the exception of James Marsden, who was replaced by Alex Sternin– as well as narration of the original pilot script by Jacobson and a live performance of the theme song by Ann Callaway.

Foreign adaptations

Countries with local versions

Main article: List of foreign adaptations of The Nanny

The Nanny was shown in more than eighty countries worldwide. In addition, several local versions of the show have been produced in other countries. These shows follow the original scripts very closely, but with minor alterations in order to adapt to their respective country's culture. The remake in Russia was so popular that some original American writers of the show were commissioned to write new scripts after all original episodes were remade.

Potential revival

In June 2018, in regards to reviving the series, Drescher said, "We’re talking about it. Peter and I are talking about it," Drescher told Entertainment Tonight, referencing her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, who co-created the series with her. "She would’ve maybe gotten involved in more things [that] Fran Drescher is involved with," the actress told Entertainment Tonight. "All kinds of things from environmental issues, to health, to civil liberties, that’s what I think Fran [Fine] would be doing now — opening her big Queens mouth for the greater good."

Stage adaptation

On January 8, 2020, it was announced that Drescher and Jacobson were writing the book for a musical adaptation of the series. Rachel Bloom and Adam Schlesinger of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fame were to write the songs, while Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) was slated to direct. Drescher will not portray the title role, as she joked that if she did "We'd have to change the title to The Granny." However, since Schlesinger's unexpected death from COVID-19, the status of the musical is unknown.

See also

• List of television show franchises

External links

• Official website
• The Nanny at IMDb