X
  • FOX
  • Sep 12, 1994
  • FOX
  • Sep 12, 1994
Party of Five

Summary Nothing could be worse than the sudden death of parents. One day Nick and Diana Salinger were killed in a terrible car crash, and left their five children all alone. Charlie (Matthew Fox), the oldest, will have to step in and take care of the family, serving both as father and brother. Bailey (Scott Wolf), the middle brother, tries to ke...

Created By: Christopher Keyser, Amy Lippman

  • FOX
  • Sep 12, 1994
  • FOX
  • Sep 12, 1994
Party of Five
Season 1
6 Seasons
Season Premiere: Sep 12, 1994
Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 18 Critic Reviews
79
User Score Universal Acclaim Based on 13 User Ratings
8.5
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Nothing could be worse than the sudden death of parents. One day Nick and Diana Salinger were killed in a terrible car crash, and left their five children all alone. Charlie (Matthew Fox), the oldest, will have to step in and take care of the family, serving both as father and brother. Bailey (Scott Wolf), the middle brother, tries to ke...

Created By: Christopher Keyser, Amy Lippman

Where to Watch

Season Episodes

View All Seasons
Episode 1 • Sep 12, 1994 • 45 m
Pilot
Episode 2 • Sep 19, 1994 • 44 m
Homework
Episode 3 • Sep 26, 1994 • 44 m
Good Sports
Episode 4 • Oct 3, 1994 • 44 m
Worth Waiting For
Episode 5 • Oct 10, 1994 • 44 m
All's Fair
Episode 6 • Oct 17, 1994 • 45 m
Fathers and Sons
Episode 7 • Oct 24, 1994 • 44 m
Much Ado
Episode 8 • Nov 2, 1994 • 44 m
Kiss Me Kate
Episode 9 • Nov 7, 1994 • 44 m
Something Out of Nothing
Episode 10 • Nov 14, 1994 • 45 m
Thanksgiving
Episode 11 • Nov 21, 1994 • 44 m
Private Lives
The Salingers fail to impress their social worker on her first visit. Keeping secrets from each other also threatens the family's future together.
Episode 12 • Nov 28, 1994 • 44 m
Games People Play
Episode 13 • Dec 12, 1994 • 44 m
Grownups
Episode 14 • Jan 4, 1995 • 44 m
Not Fade Away
Episode 15 • Jan 11, 1995 • 44 m
It's Not Easy Being Green
Episode 16 • Jan 18, 1995 • 44 m
Aftershocks
Episode 17 • Feb 1, 1995 • 44 m
In Loco Parentis
Episode 18 • Feb 15, 1995 • 44 m
Who Cares?
Episode 19 • Feb 22, 1995 • 44 m
Brother's Keeper
Episode 20 • Mar 1, 1995 • 44 m
The Trouble with Charlie
Episode 21 • Mar 8, 1995 • 44 m
All-Nighters
Episode 22 • Mar 15, 1995 • 44 m
The Ides of March
6 Seasons

Top Cast

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View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 18 Critic Reviews
79
83% Positive
15 Reviews
17% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 18 Critic Reviews
79
83% Positive
15 Reviews
17% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Jan 8, 2020
Viewers are not accustomed to finding programs of this caliber on Fox, and they certainly will not expect it right after the tawdry "Melrose Place." But make the effort. You'll be glad you did. [11 Sept 1994, p.TV-17]
By Robert P. Laurence FULL REVIEW
90
Jan 8, 2020
In less capable hands, the show might have turned into a far-fetched teen fantasy about life without parental restrictions...Here, it is a touching and finely crafted exploration of what it means to grow up without either the rules or the loving guidance of parents. [10 Sept 1994]
By Barry Garron FULL REVIEW
88
Jan 8, 2020
The best, warmest, most immediately satisfying contemporary family drama since ABC's Life Goes On. May this one have as long a run. It will certainly have as steep an uphill battle. [12 Sept 1994, p.8D]
By Matt Roush FULL REVIEW
80
Jan 8, 2020
Party of Five takes a serious and absorbing approach.
By Tom Shales FULL REVIEW
75
Jan 8, 2020
Party of Five is easily Fox's best new series this season...The young actors, especially Wolf, give heartfelt performances, and when they talk about their departed parents, the pain comes through. There are some Fox touches -- the knockout new nanny, for one -- but Party of Five is far from being a life-without-parents fantasy. [12 Sept 1994, p.C1]
By Hal Boedeker FULL REVIEW
63
Jan 8, 2020
This melancholy premise results in a rather uncomfortable mix for a coming-of-age show. There's the comedic, with "humor" arising from the family's slobbery dog and the baby's poopy diapers. Then there's the maudlin, with scenes that are summed up by 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert) early on. [12 Sept 1994, p.27]
By Ginny Holbert FULL REVIEW
40
Jan 8, 2020
This new Fox drama is all about the cloyingly sensitive, a treatment of innocence and loss that is over-the-top contrite. Indeed, a pinch of corrosive cynicism might have rescued the total undertaking from the terminally coy. Instead, we get ever more labored business. [12 Sept 1994]
By Miles Beller FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 13 User Ratings
8.5
92% Positive
12 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 13 User Ratings
8.5
92% Positive
12 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

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