Evening Shade
| Evening Shade | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom | 
| Created by | Linda Bloodworth-Thomason | 
| Starring | 
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| Narrated by | Ossie Davis | 
| Opening theme | Instrumental theme by Sonny Curtis (1990–92) Theme with lyrics by Bobby Goldsboro (1992–94) | 
| Country of origin | United States | 
| Original language | English | 
| No. of seasons | 4 | 
| No. of episodes | 101 (list of episodes) | 
| Production | |
| Executive producers | 
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| Running time | 30 minutes (with commercials) | 
| Production companies | 
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS | 
| Release | September 21, 1990 – May 23, 1994 | 
Evening Shade is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 21, 1990, to May 23, 1994. The series stars Burt Reynolds as Woodrow "Wood" Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas, to coach a high-school football team with a long losing streak. Reynolds personally requested to use the Steelers as his character's former team because he was a fan.
The general theme of the show is the appeal of small-town life. Episodes often ended with a closing narration by Ossie Davis, as his character Ponder Blue, summing up the events of the episode, always closing with "... in a place called Evening Shade." The opening segment included clips from around Arkansas, including the famous McClard's Bar-B-Q in Hot Springs National Park.