Top of the Hill

"Top of the Hill" was a political television drama aired by CBS as part of its 1989 fall lineup.

"Top of the Hill" starred William Katt as U.S. Representative Thomas Bell, Jr., son of a long-time Congressman who had been forced to resign his seat due to health issues but who remained on "The Hill" to help his son in an advisory role, which sometimes led to conflicts. Bell, Jr., had, despite his father's position, never followed politics closely or ardently prior to being chosen as his father's successor, which was sometimes a liability but also gave him the ability to look at issues, even long-running ones, through a fresh set of eyes. Young Bell also had a hard time fitting in to the political party structure as he desired to do what his conscience told him would be the best thing for the country and the voters in his district. In the less than three months that the program ran, the Congressman got involved in some fairly contentious issues, including adoptee rights, labor union corruption, pollution, and military procurement.

It failed to find a large enough audience to last more than a season; the show had to compete with the Top 10 hit Cheers and the Top 20 hit Dear John, both on NBC in the same time slot.

References

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows"