Family Western ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’ Turns 30

At a time when the once prominent western programming category was virtually absent and family dramas like The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie were long gone, the arrival of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman successfully revived both genres. It premiered on CBS on this day in 1993, celebrating 30 years.

Set initially in 1867, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman featured Jane Seymour as Michaela Quinn, an independent young female doctor from Boston starting her own practice in the wild west town of Colorado Springs. Michaela makes the difficult adjustment to her new life with the aid of rugged outdoorsman and friend Byron Sully (Joe Lando) and a midwife named Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd). After Charlotte dies unexpectedly, Michaela is suddenly the caretaker for her three children: Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (Erika Flores, later Jessica Bowman) and Brian (Shawn Toovey).

Eventually, romance strikes between Michaela and Sully, and they marry and have a child of their own.

Initially stepping in for comedies Franny’s Turn and the critically-acclaimed Brooklyn Bridge (and ultimately Brooklyn Bridge paired with Major Dad), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was an immediate hit anchoring the Saturday at 8 p.m. ET hour. It finished its first season ranked No. 23 overall. It aired for six seasons, producing 150 episodes in total. And it was one of the last original scripted dramas to air on a Saturday night on a broadcast network.

Two television movies were made after the series was cancelled: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie in 1999, and Dr. Quinn: The Heart Within in 2001.

This month, Jane Seymour and Joe Lando reunited for the original Lifetime movie A Christmas Spark, the story of recently widowed Molly (Seymour) who decides to visit her daughter for Christmas. She signs on to direct the town’s Christmas pageant and – surprise, surprise! – falls for Hank Marshall (Lando), the town’s most eligible bachelor.

When asked at a virtual panel for A Christmas Spark if they would consider another Dr. Quinn reunion movie (or reboot series), Jane Seymour said she would do it if, “it was going to be as good, if not better, than the original.” “It’s got to be something really, really special,” she said.

Lando agreed, adding, “I would love to do it again. But we won’t lower the bar and sully the reputation of Dr. Quinn. It was a fabulous show and I don’t want to do anything less than what we’ve done before which was the best writing, producing, and acting.”

Today, we wish Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman a Happy 30th Anniversary!