Shelley with Tom Mason in a promo pic
for their 1986 TV series Jack and Mike
Shelley starred in her third TV series Jack and Mike in 1986. The series was initially called Jackie O'Shea as it was going to be a star vehicle for Shelley. Series producer David Gerber believed in her talent and star power so much that he wanted to give her her own TV series. Shelley was going to play the title role, a woman journalist who had a supportive husband waiting at home - kind of like a reverse gender role thing which was a fresh idea in the 1980s. Tom Mason, who played Shelley's boyfriend in the 1985 TV movie Kicks and with whom Shelley had great on-screen chemistry, was offered the role of Mike Brennan, Jackie's husband. Initially, he turned down the role as it was merely window dressing for the title character - a sort of stay-at-home cheerleader for Jackie. After a lot of talks with David Gerber, the husband was developed into a more well-rounded character, with more to do in the storylines. It was then retitled Our Kind of Town. "Maybe it will lean more heavily toward me (Mike) one week, and Shelley (Jackie) the next," Mason explained. "The real focus will be on the marriage and how two people who work cope and how their professional entanglements affect them," he added. When it aired, it was again retitled Jack and Mike, and both Shelley and Tom got equal billing.
a French-language writeup
about Shelley and her new TV series
Jack and Mike, 1986
Shelley was happy and excited about her new TV series Jack and Mike. Regarding her character, she said, "It's about a modern woman who is doing something her contemporaries are doing - holding down a job and keeping a relationship." She added, "This is a couple with a growing relationship that becomes an adventure. And that's not easy." In 1986, a French writeup about Shelley and her new TV series came out. It translates as:
Shelley Hack
Has Found Happiness
Five years after "Charlie's Angels" went off the air, Shelley Hack has found her smile again. She became a worldwide superstar when she replaced Kate Jackson in the hit TV series, but has since seemingly gone low profile. But now she's back in the limelight, she's visible again. In Chicago, where she's filming her new TV series "Jack and Mike" for the ABC network, she's been welcomed by her adoring fans. They've given her flowers, as well as woolen caps. "We filmed the pilot here in February, in minus 15 degree weather," Shelley said. "No one anticipated the sudden drop in temperature. Nearby warm clothing stores were completely ransacked," she added. It will take more than that, however, to dampen her enthusiasm for the series, because this one is hers. It's about a modern couple who, despite the many obstacles that come their way, is trying to find professional success as well as personal happiness. Shelley herself collaborates on the screenplay; and it's a bit like the story of her life. Inside her trailer, the star has pinned a newspaper clipping from her "Charlie's Angels" days which had the headline "Shelley Hack Is More Than A Barbie With A Revolver In Hand." And she has sworn to herself that she's going to prove exactly that to the entire world...
the caption on Shelley's pic translates as:
Five years after "Charlie's Angels" went off the air,
Shelley Hack returns via a new TV series..
