Uncle Buck is an American surreal humour television series starring Kevin Meaney, based on the 1989 film of the same name. The series aired on CBS from September 10, 1990 to March 9, 1991 during the 1990âÂÂ91 season. It is said John Candy of the original film was unavailable due in part to his commitment on the NBC Saturday morning animated series Camp Candy.
Buck Russell is a slacker, who drinks, smokes, and gambles. He is also the uncle of his brother Bob's children Tia, Maizy, and Miles. One day, Buck is named the guardian of Tia, Maizy, and Miles after Bob and Cindy are suddenly killed in a car accident. Buck is sometimes assisted in raising his nieces and nephew by their maternal grandmother Maggie Hogoboom.
The show was panned by critics. The pilot caused a minor controversy because of a scene where Maizy tells Uncle Buck: "You suck!"; this is believed to be the first time this phrase had been used on network television. After airing on Monday nights for two months, due to competition with MacGyver and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the latter of which premiered on the same day, it was moved to Friday, in an attempt by CBS to establish a comedy night swapping with Evening Shade. The ratings dropped from there with strong competition from ABC's Top 20 hit Full House, and it was cancelled shortly after, having aired only 16 episodes and leaving several filmed episodes unaired.