Remembering "Head of the Class"

In retrospect it was a miracle that a show like Head of the Class ever aired on American television -- let alone for five seasons. A show about a bunch of New York City high schoolers, centered around their honors history class -- where learning and intellect along with the challenges of youth and personal growth were the main subjects, not teen cliches like parties and sex and "first love" -- doesn't exactly sound like the makings of a big hit.

Yet hit it was -- Head of the Class regularly appeared in the Top 25 most watch shows between 1986 and 1991, with an average audience of 14-17 million people. 

Set at the fictional Millard Filmore High School in Manhattan (apparently based on Washington Irving High School near Union Square), the show starred Howard Hesseman (from WKRP in Cincinnati) as Charlie Moore, an out of work actor working as a teacher who is especially good at motivating and helping his honors history students succeed. Other characters included the lovable if sometimes buffoonish Dr. Samuels as well as an assistant principal who Moore often flirts with. But the focus of the show was the students. Long before it was fashionable, the cast of students was highly diverse -- racially, ethnically, even different ages and body types were represented. Probably more than any other show set in NYC, Head of the Class truly reflected the city it was set it.

And the show emphasized the joys of learning along with the stresses of trying to achieve academically and develop into a well-rounded adult. The show enjoyed concentrating on the kids' minds and souls and not on their looks and groins. In its third season, they even did a very special episode in the then-Soviet Union, the first American show to do so.

I remember when this show was on the air. I didn't watch it regularly, the kids were a little older than me, but the times I saw it I thought it was funny. If I recall correctly, my brother watched it regularly -- a bunch of smart kids going to a special NYC high school at the same time as him certainly had its appeal. 

Head of the Class was one of those shows that was great -- until it wasn't. Eventually it hit a big wall in its last seasons. Cast member Robin Givens had a short, very public and tumultuous marriage to boxer Mike Tyson. Some cast members were replaced. And Howard Hesseman left after the fourth season because of "creative differences". He was replaced by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly which was an unconventional but doomed experiment. It also faced the problem all high school shows face -- eventually the kids grow up and either need to graduate (meaning other kids need to replace them) or the show has to cease being a high school show or the viewers need to suspend disbelief that these kids are spending the better part of a decade in high school. The final episode aired in the summer of 1991, almost 30 years ago.

And yet ... Head of the Class is coming back! A reboot is in the works at HBO Max although it's unclear when it will air. Hopefully it will retain the spirit and smarts of the original while also giving it a distinctly 21st centry edge. And, as  always, NYC will be the constant.