HeartBeat is an American medical drama television series that premiered on ABC on March 23, 1988, and ran for two seasons.

Plot

HeartBeat follows the staff of Women's Medical Arts, a medical center founded by three women who are frustrated with how women's health concerns are addressed in the male-dominated medical field.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Development and production

The fictional Women's Medical Arts clinic was based on the Santa Monica Women's Clinic in Santa Monica, California. Dr. Karen Blanchard (OBGYN), the clinic's founder, served as a model for the character played by Kate Mulgrew.

Groundbreaking lesbian content

HeartBeat was the first prime time television series in the United States to feature a recurring lesbian couple on prime-time, and a lesbian as a main character, Marilyn McGrath; she had a partner Patty, in a long-term lesbian relationship. The show won GLAAD’s first Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1990, which it shared with L.A. Law. However, in his autobiography, Aaron Spelling stated that ABC demanded a scene in which Marilyn dances with Patty be cut.

Release

Broadcast

HeartBeat debuted on Wednesday, March 23, 1988, at 9 p.m. (Eastern) as a special two-hour pilot; moving to its regular broadcast time of 10 p.m. the following week. For the second season, the schedule was changed to Thursday at 10:00 p.m. This programming made it compete with L.A. Law, one of the most popular series at the time. HeartBeat did not perform well in the ratings and was canceled at the end of its second season. The series finale aired on April 6, 1989.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1988)

Season 2 (1989)

Reception

HeartBeat is praised by LGBT television historians for its inclusion of Marilyn and Patty as a couple, and for their sexual orientation being treated as a non-issue. However, ABC received criticism because unlike the heterosexual characters, Marilyn and Patty were not permitted to be sexual or physically affectionate with each other. The feminist content and context of HeartBeat have been studied by feminist cultural critics.

Awards and nominations

HeartBeat was nominated for the 1989 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. It received the first-ever GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1990 (shared with L.A. Law).