The show starred Brett Butler[1] as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her abusive husband.

Grace Under Fire, produced by Carsey-Werner, was part of a wave of shows in the late 1980s and 1990s that were built around a comedian (and in some cases, closely based on his or her comedy routine).

The show begins after the main character divorces her abusive alcoholic husband of eight years in an attempt to start life anew and prevent her children from making the same mistakes she did.

The show revolved around Grace; her children, mischievous Quentin (Noah Segan, pilot; Jon Paul Steuer, seasons 1–3; Sam Horrigan, seasons 4–5), happy-go-lucky Libby (Kaitlin Cullum), and infant Patrick (Dylan and Cole Sprouse); her happily married best friends and neighbors, Nadine and Wade Swoboda (Julie White and Casey Sander); and the town's bachelor pharmacist, Russell Norton (Dave Thomas).

In the first three seasons Grace's chosen line of work, post-divorce was operating pipelines at the local oil refinery, where she had a second family of fellow crew workers.

At the beginning of the fifth season, Grace decided that the commute and long working hours at the ad agency were forcing her to spend almost all of her time away from her family.

Also in that season, Russell found some romantic interest in Dottie (Lauren Tom), a gossiping hairstylist who was also friends with Grace.

In the midst of Jimmy's attempts to become a better person, his father Emmett (guest star Bryan Clark[6]) was revealed to be gay, after Grace and Rick inadvertently visit a gay bar and run into him there during a road trip; following Emmett's sudden death midway through the third season, his sexuality and the same-sex affair he kept secret was revealed to the rest of his family during his funeral.

Another development came when Grace was contacted by her first child, Matthew (guest star Tom Everett Scott), whom she gave up for adoption in high school.

By the fifth season, Dot had replaced Nadine as Grace's friend and confidant, but abruptly stopped appearing on the show in early 1998 (though she was still mentioned).

Sources have speculated that Steuer's mother pulled him out of the show after an incident with Butler, who allegedly flashed her breasts at the 12-year-old actor.

[8] At the start of Season 4, Sam Horrigan became the third actor to play Quentin Kelly, and with him in the role, the character's age advanced to 15.

The addition of Julia Duffy several episodes into the fifth season was a last-ditch attempt to improve the ratings, but with Butler in her current state, the network was not inspired to continue on.

[13] Jean Stapleton was nominated for the 1995 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy series Emmy Award for playing Aunt Vivian[14] in the episode "The Road to Paris Texas."

Diane Ladd was nominated for the same award the previous year for playing Louise Burdett in the episode entitled "Things Left Undone" written by Brett Butler and Wayne Lemon.