Evening Shade (1990)

Name: Evening Shade
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 7
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Hal Holbrook, Charles Durning, Ann Wedgeworth

Comedy

Evening Shade is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series stars Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long losing streak. Reynolds personally requested to use the Steelers as his former team because he is a fan. The general theme of the show is the appeal of small town life. Episodes ended with a closing narration by Ossie Davis summing up the events of the episode, always closing with "... in a place called Evening Shade." The show's final episode saw the guest appearances of Willie Nelson and Buzz Aldrin as escaped convicts on the run from authorities, the final scene being a spectacular shoot-out reminiscent of the final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The opening segment included clips from around Arkansas, including the famous McClard's Bar-be-que, which is situated on Albert Pike Blvd. and South Patterson St. in Hot Springs National Park.

IMDb rating: 7.0 (1,830 votes)
Seasons: 4
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Aug 19, 2026 · 4 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1990)

6.88 avg 24 episodes 7.2 → 7.6 30 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	A Day in the Life of Wood Newton	7.2	49
2	There Once Was a Boy Named Wood	7.0	39
3	Whatever Happened to Clutch Newton?	6.7	29
4	Sadie Hawkins Dance	6.6	33
5	Fast Women	7.2	34
6	The Moustache Show	6.5	35
7	All for Charity	6.7	28
8	Something to Hold Onto	6.8	29
9	Mr. Mom	6.7	30
10	Hooray for Wood	7.2	27
11	The Wood Who Stole Christmas	7.1	33
12	Wood and Ava and Gil and Madeline	7.0	27
13	Wood's Thirtieth Reunion	6.7	27
14	Vote Early and Vote Often	7.1	26
15	Chip Off the Old Brick	6.5	35
16	The Trials of Wood Newton	6.8	24
17	Into the Woods	6.9	28
18	Nothing to Fear But Harvey Lujack	7.0	33
19	Gambler Anonymous	6.4	23
20	Sex Education	7.1	26
21	I Am Wood Hear Me Roar	7.1	23
22	Herman and Margaret Sitting in a Tree	6.5	24
23	Far from the Madden Crowd	6.8	27
24	The Baby Show	7.6	25

Season 2 (1991)

7.40 avg 23 episodes 8.0 → 8.1

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Three Naked Men: Part 1	8.0	15
2	Three Naked Men: Part 2	7.4	12
3	I'm with Stupid	7.4	12
4	Tying the Knot	7.2	13
5	Miss Emily's Wild Ride	7.3	13
6	The Road Trip	8.0	11
8	Where's My Watch?	7.2	10
9	I Do, I Don't	7.2	10
10	The Thanksgiving Show	7.9	21
11	Busted	7.0	16
12	Rear Window	7.5	16
13	The Getaway	7.6	9
14	Herman in Charge	7.7	10
15	The Au Pair Affair	7.6	11
16	Goin' to the Chapel: Part 1	7.8	9
17	Goin' to the Chapel: Part 2	7.8	9
19	Play Herman for Me	7.2	8
20	Callous Hearts of Rage	7.5	11
21	Taylor Buys a Car	6.2	17
22	Hasta la Vista	6.4	19
23	Cousin Readith	7.2	9
24	No Pain, No Gain	7.0	12
25	The Perfect Birthday Party, Sort Of	8.1	11

Season 3 (1992)

6.91 avg 24 episodes 7.5 → 6.0 30 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	First Heroes	7.5	17
2	The Diary of Molly Newton	7.5	16
3	You Scratch My Back, I'll Arrest You	6.8	16
4	What a Night	6.9	13
5	Father/Child Campout	7.0	15
6	The Hole Story	6.1	19
7	Harlan Deals-A-Meal	7.5	13
8	The Resurrection of Wood Newton	7.4	10
9	The NFL on CBS	7.5	15
10	The Really Odd Couple	7.6	13
11	Bring Me the Head of Carl the Mule	7.1	14
12	I'll Be Home for Christmas	6.8	13
13	Freida and the Preacher	6.9	13
14	Private School	6.4	15
15	Ava Takes a Shower: Part 1	6.8	11
16	Ava Takes a Shower: Part 2	6.3	12
17	They Can't Take That Away from Me	7.1	15
18	She What?!	6.3	12
19	Another Baby Show	6.8	11
20	Cousins Behind Bars	7.4	12
21	Mommy Goes AWOL	7.0	12
22	Teaching Is a Good Thing	7.0	11
23	Saint Bobby	6.1	18
24	The Graduation	6.0	14

Season 4 (1993)

6.75 avg 26 episodes 7.6 → 6.6 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Four Naked Women	7.6	15
2	One Down, Three to Go	6.4	18
3	One Hot Game	7.2	15
4	Witness for the Prosecution	7.2	16
5	Kiss of the Ice Cream Woman	7.0	13
6	Night of the Living Newtons	7.1	16
7	The Dance	7.3	18
8	Wood and Evan's Excellent Adventure	7.1	13
9	Small-Town Girl	6.6	21
10	Where There's Smoke	7.6	19
11	Chain of Fools	6.9	17
12	Sleepless in Arkansas	6.7	17
13	The Proof Is in the Pudding	6.7	15
14	The People's Choice	7.9	13
15	Educating Calvin	6.1	17
16	Paint the Town Nude	5.8	15
17	The Perfect Woman	6.8	17
18	It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Wood	6.6	17
19	The Fabulous Frazier Girls	6.8	18
20	I Did, I Did	6.4	15
21	Mr. Newton Goes to Hot Springs	6.3	15
22	Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wood?	6.3	13
23	Wood Climbs to New Heights	6.2	16
24	Mama Knows Best	6.1	14
25	The Odder Couple	6.2	14
26	I Left My Ring in Evening Shade	6.6	17