# Providence (1999)

> A young doctor returns to her small Rhode Island hometown and finds herself tangled in the lives of her large, dysfunctional family.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1541

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 96
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: John Masius
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Melina Kanakaredes, Seth Peterson, Concetta Tomei, Paula Cale, Mike Farrell, Allison Mack, Bob Eubanks, Laz Alonso
- TMDB rating: 6.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177991/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: warm, earnest, wistful, melancholic, comforting

## Synopsis

Providence (1999-2002) is an American drama series created by John Masius for NBC. Melina Kanakaredes plays Sydney Hansen, a physician who moves back to her small Rhode Island hometown, where her family's everyday tangles pull at her as she tries to build a career. Seth Peterson plays her brother Robbie Hansen, and Concetta Tomei and Mike Farrell play their parents, Lynda and Jim Hansen, whose domestic lives form the emotional core alongside the hospital storylines. The engine of the series is the push and pull between professional ambition and loyalty to a crowded, quarrelsome household, with each episode built from a mix of medical cases and personal crises that spill across the family table. The show runs for five seasons and ninety-six hour-long episodes, following one continuing story across its run rather than a case-of-the-week format. It is a network medical drama with a strong domestic streak, set in a modest New England community where everyone knows everyone. The tone is warm and earnest, with moments of melancholy and wistful humor, and it sits comfortably beside Everwood and Northern Exposure for viewers who want small town family drama with a doctor at its center.

## Shows like Providence

- [Family Law (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/103486)
- [Hart of Dixie (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/36096)
- [Sullivan's Crossing (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/132941)
- [Empty Nest (1988)](https://ember.film/tv/2682)
- [Everwood (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/1842)
- [Life Goes On (1989)](https://ember.film/tv/5026)
- [A Million Little Things (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69727)
- [Wings (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/2379)
- [Single Drunk Female (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/112954)
- [Virgin River (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/74982)

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