*...had most obviously, Michael J. Fox not been forced to leave the series after the fourth season due to his health issues.
*Had 9/11 not happened prior to its final season? It seemed like after that event, it no longer made much sense to do a light-hearted political sitcom set in New York City.
I think it could've had 8 or 9 and finished around 2004/05 had MJF been able to stay.
Regarding 9/11, I doubt that had much effect on it - the political aspect that is. Many NY based showed stayed on beyond that (Becker and Friends for example).
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Steven Seagal Fan Club President
But those shows were not politically based.
You are sin.
Granted this show was set in the Mayors office, but I doubt it was that politically based either. It was more around the office atmosphere itself - the staff, their relationships, and their lives.
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Steven Seagal Fan Club President
It was based on both. Politics and lives of the staff. In fact, the Mayor's politics played a big part in the show, especially towards the end of run as the Mayor runs for senator.
The Mayor's office wasn't backdrop. It was integral to the show.
You are sin.
It could have lasted a long time with MJF
He was so cute and likeable
The show wasn't about anything directly linked to 9/11 other than being set in NY.
Friends carried on as normal. The show ended because it went downhill after MJF left. That's all.
As others have said, I don't think that Friends is a good comparison because even though it was also set in New York City, politics and the mayor's office weren't integral to the show's backdrop like Spin City was. So, it would've been much more acceptable I suppose or easier to side-step what was going on in the real world at the time when compared to Spin City.
shareI doubt it. ABC really wanted this show to become a MAJOR hit.
It never did.
A hit (it ran for 6 seasons) but never seemed to move the needle for the network.
Now, it's almost forgotten.
it would have caught on if Fox had been able to stay OR they had a likeable replacement with 'similar personality' They tampered with the personality of the series and tried to turn it from adult comedy into adult humor---big difference.
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