Evening Shade (1990): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1990, Evening Shade is a comedy series.

What it’s about. 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.

Who’s in it. Evening Shade stars Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, Marilu Henner as Ava Evans Newton, Hal Holbrook as Evan Evans and Charles Durning as Harlan Elldridge, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.8/10, Evening Shade has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Evening Shade page.

If you liked it. Fans of Evening Shade tend to enjoy Rick and Morty, My Hero Academia, One Piece and The Umbrella Academy.