At a time when family-themed scripted dramas were scarce, the arrival of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman proved the value of the genre. Celebrating its 31st year milestone on this first day of the new year, the western drama featured Jane Seymour as Dr. Michaela Quinn, a physician in search of adventure in the Old West. In the pilot episode, which aired on this day on CBS in 1993, Seymour as Dr. Quinn answers an ad for a doctor in the Colorado Territory after the death of her father and leaves Boston for Colorado Springs, where she sets up practice and adopts three orphans.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was an immediate hit, finishing the season ranked No. 23 overall, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was also, to the dismay of the broadcast networks, one of the last hit scripted series on the now impoverished Saturday night.
Airing for six seasons (and 150 episodes), with two follow-up movies – Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie (in 1999) and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (2001) – the series co-starred Joe Lando as Byron Sully, Dr. Quinn’s love interest and eventual husband.
Jane Seymour and Joe Lando reunited for the 2022 Lifetime TV film, A Christmas Spark, and both actors would not be against a possible Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman reunion. “It would have to be as good, if not better, than the original,” said Jane Seymour in an online press conference for A Christmas Spark. “I mean, it’s got to be something really, really special.”
Reportedly, however, Seymour pitched the idea for a potential reboot to CBS, who recently turned down the idea.
In celebration of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, here are some factoids of note about the series:
-Jane Seymour signed her contract for the show because she had discovered that her then husband/business manager had lost all her money and gotten her $9 million in debt. She was cast in Dr. Quinn just one day before production was set to begin on the pilot.
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