Long before he was a member of the “Brat Pack” or working in the West Wing, a 15-year-old Rob Lowe made his television debut in the short-lived ABC sitcom A New Kind of Family (1979–1980). He played Tony Flanagan, the teenage son of Kit Flanagan (played by Eileen Brennan). The show’s premise centered on two single mothers, one widowed and one divorced, who accidentally lease the same house and decide to raise their families together to save money.
According to Lowe, A New Kind of Family was dead last in the Nielsen ratings, number 62 out of all 62 shows on TV at the time. Halfway through the season, it was pulled from the schedule and retooled in an effort to boost ratings, with cast changes made, but despite those efforts, the show was cancelled in January 1980.
The show featured a surprisingly star-studded young cast. Alongside Lowe, the cast included Lauri Hendler as his sister Hillary, David Hollander as his brother Andy, and later Telma Hopkins and a young Janet Jackson as new characters added during the retool.
Though the show quickly flopped, it served as a launching pad. Rob Lowe went on to become a major star just a few years later with The Outsiders (1983) and St. Elmo’s Fire (1985).
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