Everyone remembers the movie. John Lithgow’s manic energy, the station wagon, and that heart-wrenching scene where he punches Bigfoot in the face just to save him. It’s a 1980s staple. But mention the Harry and the Hendersons TV series to most people, and you’ll probably get a blank stare. It feels like one of those "Mandela Effect" fever dreams that shouldn’t exist. Yet, it ran for 72 episodes. That’s three full seasons of a giant puppet living in a suburban living room, navigating the wacky world of Seattle life.
Honestly, the show is a fascinating time capsule of early 90s syndication. While the 1987 film was a big-budget Amblin Entertainment production, the TV show was a different beast entirely. It premiered in 1991. It didn't have the star power of Lithgow or Melinda Dillon, but it had something else: Kevin Peter Hall.
Why the Harry and the Hendersons TV Series actually worked (sorta)
The show didn't try to be a cinematic masterpiece. It was a sitcom, plain and simple. Think ALF, but with more fur and less sarcasm. Bruce Davison took over the role of George Henderson. He’s a great actor—nominated for an Oscar for Longtime Companion—but playing "dad to a Sasquatch" is a very specific vibe.
What really mattered was the suit.
Kevin Peter Hall, the 7-foot-2 actor who played the original Harry (and the Predator!), returned for the first season. This gave the show a weird sense of legitimacy. When you see Harry on screen in those early episodes, he looks real. He looks like the movie version because, well, he was. Rick Baker’s legendary creature shop didn't just walk away; they were involved in the transition. That tactile, puppet-heavy 90s aesthetic is something we’ve completely lost to CGI today. Harry had weight. He knocked things over. He looked like he smelled like wet dog and pine needles.
Tragically, Hall passed away during the first season’s run. It was a massive blow to the production. Dawan Scott and later Brian Steele took over the heavy lifting inside the suit, and while they did an admirable job, the show had to shift its focus.
The Henderson family dynamic
In the movie, the Hendersons were a nuclear family in crisis. In the Harry and the Hendersons TV series, they became more of a standard sitcom unit. You had the precocious kids, the stressed-out parents, and the "fish out of water" (or ape out of woods) trope that drove every B-plot.
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The cast included:
- Bruce Davison as George: The patriarch trying to keep a 700-pound secret from the neighbors.
- Molly Cheek as Nancy: The glue holding the house together.
- Zachary Bostrom as Ernie: The kid who was basically Harry's best friend.
- Carol-Ann Plante as Sarah: The teenage daughter dealing with the usual 90s teen angst, plus a Bigfoot.
They lived in a world where the neighbors were perpetually suspicious but never quite smart enough to figure out that the giant hairy guy in the Hawaiian shirt wasn't just a very tall, very ugly uncle. It’s that classic sitcom logic. You just have to roll with it.
The weirdness of 90s syndication
You couldn't find this show on NBC or ABC on a Friday night. It was a first-run syndication project. This meant it aired on different channels at different times depending on where you lived. It was part of that wild west of television where shows like Baywatch and Star Trek: The Next Generation thrived outside the big three networks.
Because it was syndicated, the budget was... let's call it "flexible."
As the seasons went on, the scripts got weirder. Harry wasn't just a wild animal trying to fit in; he started becoming more "human." He watched TV. He developed hobbies. He wore clothes. By season three, the show had drifted pretty far from the "naturalist" themes of the original film. It became more about Harry’s impact on the family’s social lives.
Does it hold up?
Kinda. If you’re a fan of 90s nostalgia, there’s a real charm to it. It’s colorful, earnest, and completely devoid of the cynical "dark and gritty" reboot energy we see now. But let's be real: it’s a show about a guy in a suit. If you can’t get past the kitsch, you won't make it through an episode.
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The puppetry remains the highlight. Even on a TV budget, the facial animatronics for Harry were impressive for the time. He could express sadness, confusion, and joy without saying a word—Harry mostly grunted and used a limited vocabulary. It’s a testament to the creature performers that the character felt like a member of the family rather than a prop.
Key differences from the 1987 film
Most people get confused about the timeline. The Harry and the Hendersons TV series isn't a sequel; it’s a total reimagining. It ignores the ending of the movie where Harry goes back to the woods to be with his own kind. In the show, he just... stays.
- The Tone: The movie had some genuine scares and a heavy environmental message. The show is basically Full House with a Sasquatch.
- The Stakes: In the film, the government is hunting Harry. In the series, the biggest threat is usually a nosey neighbor or a biological mishap in the kitchen.
- The Voice: Harry’s vocalizations in the show are a bit more "cartoonish" than the deep, guttural sounds from the film.
Why nobody talks about it anymore
It’s mostly a rights issue. The show was produced by Amblin and Universal, but it’s languished in the archives for years. It hasn't had a major streaming resurgence like The Office or Friends. It’s a "lost" show for many.
Also, it was overshadowed. By the time the show ended in 1993, the world was moving toward The X-Files and more sophisticated sci-fi. A friendly Bigfoot felt a bit "yesterday."
But for those of us who grew up watching it on Saturday afternoons before the local news, it remains a core memory. There’s something inherently comforting about the idea that a monster can be your best friend. It’s the ultimate "outsider" story.
How to watch the series today
If you're looking for a crisp 4K remaster, keep waiting. It doesn't exist.
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However, you can often find episodes floating around on YouTube or through grey-market DVD sets. Every now and then, it pops up on secondary streaming services like Tubi or Roku Channel, but it’s never a permanent fixture.
If you want to dive back into the world of the Hendersons, here is what you should do:
- Start with Season 1: This is where Kevin Peter Hall’s performance and the Rick Baker influence are strongest. It feels the most connected to the movie’s DNA.
- Watch the episode "The Running Mate": It’s a classic example of the show’s "Bigfoot in politics" absurdity.
- Pay attention to the background: The set design for the Henderson house is peak 90s Pacific Northwest. Lots of flannel, wood grain, and beige.
The Harry and the Hendersons TV series might not be "prestige TV," but it was a massive undertaking. Building a working Bigfoot suit for a weekly sitcom is an engineering nightmare that most modern producers wouldn't touch. It represents a time when TV took big, weird risks on practical effects.
If you're a fan of creature features or just want a hit of 90s serotonin, it’s worth tracking down. Just don't expect it to change your life. It’s just a show about a big, hairy guy trying to survive suburbia—and honestly, aren't we all?
To get the most out of your nostalgia trip, start by re-watching the original 1987 film to refresh your memory on the lore. Then, seek out the pilot episode of the series to see how they handled the transition. You'll notice the change in George Henderson's character immediately—Bruce Davison plays him with a softer, more "sitcom dad" energy than John Lithgow's frantic portrayal. Check out fan archives and physical media forums, as these are the only places where the 72-episode run is documented in detail. For those interested in the technical side, look for interviews with the late Kevin Peter Hall regarding his transition from the film to the small screen; his insights into the physicality of Harry remain some of the best documentation of suit acting in television history.