Shelley in a promo pic
for Jack and Mike, 1986
Shelley's third TV series was Jack and Mike in 1986. Producer David Gerber wanted to develop a series with her in the title role called Jackie O'Shea. It was going to be a star vehicle for Shelley. She was going to play a woman journalist who had a supportive husband waiting at home - kind of like a reverse gender role thing, a phenomenon happening in the 1980s. Gerber contacted Tom Mason to play the husband as he had a good chemistry with Shelley when they played boyfriend/girlfriend in the TV movie Kicks. But Tom wanted the characters to be more equal, so the focus of the series changed from just Jackie to the marriage of Jackie and her husband Mike. It was retitled Our Kind of Town and Jackie's husband was given a bigger role. When it aired, it was again retitled Jack and Mike with both Shelley and Tom getting equal billing.
Shelley in a promo pic
for Jack and Mike, 1986
In the series, Shelley played Jackie Shea, a star columnist at The Mirror, a widely-circulated Chicago paper. Her column was awaited by everyone every week. Her husband, played by Tom Mason, was Mike Brennan, a successful restaurateur about to open his third restaurant. Hence, the title Jack and Mike. The other regular characters were: Nora Adler (Jacqueline Brookes), Jackie’s editor; Anthony Kubecek (Kevin Dunn), Jackie's assistant; Carol (Holly Fulger), the head waitress at Mike's restaurant, Brennan's Grill; and Rick Scotti (Vincent Baggetta), an attorney who appeared occasionally. The series was filmed on location in Chicago, Illinois.
Shelley in a promo pic
for Jack and Mike, 1986
