Shelley and Tom Mason
in a promo pic for Jack and Mike, 1986
In 1986, Shelley starred as journalist Jackie Shea in her third TV series Jack and Mike opposite Tom Mason who played her restaurateur husband Mike Brennan. The series received lukewarm reviews from critics but had managed to keep decent ratings, so the production kept developing the main characters and coming up with original and more contemporary storylines. In 1987, writers came up with a breakup episode called "Separate Lives" where Mike was unhappy that Jackie was interviewing for a job in New York, and Jackie was upset that Mike's expanding business was taking up all his time. The move resulted in a rise ratings-wise for the series.
a writeup about Jack and Mike's breakup episode, 1987
