7th Heaven is an American family drama television series created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series debuted on August 26, 1996, on The WB, where it aired for ten seasons through May 8, 2006, making it the longest-running series in the history of The WB. Following the shutdown of The WB and its merger with UPN to form The CW, the series began airing its eleventh and final season on September 25, 2006 on The CW. The final episode aired on May 13, 2007. 7th Heaven was one of the network's first major successful shows and, alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek, helped in the early success of the WB during the mid to late 1990s. It was also the last series produced by Spelling Television (CBS Paramount Television produced the eleventh and final season) to end its run, as the company was shut down a month after Spelling's death and became an in-name-only unit of CBS Paramount Television.

Premise

The series follows Reverend Eric Camden, a Protestant minister living in the fictional town of Glen Oak, California, and his wife Annie as they deal with the drama of raising seven children (twins Sam and David come later in the series) ranging in age from babies to adults with families of their own.

Main cast and characters

  • Stephen Collins as Eric Camden
  • Catherine Hicks as Annie Camden
  • Barry Watson as Matt Camden (seasons 1–6 and 9; recurring 7–8, special guest 10)
  • David Gallagher as Simon Camden (seasons 1–7 and 9–10; recurring season 8)
  • Jessica Biel as Mary Camden (seasons 1–6; recurring season 7, special guest 8 and 10)
  • Beverley Mitchell as Lucy Camden (and Lucy Camden-Kinkirk after season 6)
  • Mackenzie Rosman as Ruthie Camden
  • Happy the Dog as herself
  • Chaz Lamar Shepherd as John Hamilton (seasons 4–5; recurring in seasons 1–3)
  • Maureen Flannigan as Shana Sullivan (season 4; recurring in season 3)
  • Adam LaVorgna as Robbie Palmer (seasons 5–7; recurring in season 4)
  • Nikolas Brino as Sam Camden (seasons 6–11; uncredited in seasons 3–4, featured in season 5)
  • Lorenzo Brino as David Camden (seasons 6–11; uncredited in seasons 3–4, featured in season 5)
  • Geoff Stults as Ben Kinkirk (season 7; recurring in seasons 6 and 8–11)
  • George Stults as Kevin Kinkirk (seasons 7–11; recurring in season 6)
  • Ashlee Simpson as Cecilia Smith (seasons 7–8)
  • Rachel Blanchard as Roxanne Richardson (seasons 7–8)
  • Jeremy London as Chandler Hampton (seasons 7–8)
  • Scotty Leavenworth as Peter Petrowski (season 8; recurring in season 7)
  • Tyler Hoechlin as Martin Brewer (seasons 8–11)
  • Sarah Thompson as Rosanna "Rose" Taylor (season 10; recurring in season 9)
  • Haylie Duff as Sandy Jameson (seasons 10–11)
  • Megan Henning as Meredith Davies (season 10)

<!-- Cast order above is in compliance with MOS:TVCAST (from the guideline: "The cast listing should be ordered according to the original broadcast credits, with new cast members being added to the end of the list.") Shepherd and Flannigan are first listed in the opening, main, credits of the series in the first and second episodes of season 4, respectively. The Brinos' appearance in the main cast comes at the start of season 6. -->

Episodes

Reception

The Parents Television Council (PTC), a conservative media advocacy group, often cited 7th Heaven among the top ten most family-friendly shows. The show was praised for its positive portrayal of a cleric and for promoting honesty, respect for parental authority, and the importance of a strong family and a good education through its story-lines. Reasons given include perceived heavy-handed moralizing, Christian propaganda, and depiction of a caricature of a real family, that is "so clean it is obscene".

Some criticize the predictable storytelling of 7th Heaven. Frey describes the basic pattern followed by each episode:

"(1) One of the Camden family has a problem and/or secret; (2) some sort of Three's Company-esque misunderstanding ensues as a result of that problem and/or secret; (3) a confrontation and/or intervention takes place, usually involving a short sermon delivered by one of the Camden parents; and (4) whoever stands at the center of the drama eventually figures out the 'right' thing to do. And 'right' is always another word for 'Christian'; while the show avoids explicit discussions of Jesus and/or faith, Protestant guilt is readily employed as a plot device."

According to Frey, "the sappiness and sanctimony of the characters often made the moral lessons impossible to swallow". In this regard, the parents (and eldest son Matt) sometimes depict a sense of ownership over the sexuality of Lucy and Mary by threatening potential romantic interests or negotiating their Lucy and Mary's romantic rights. While the first season had modest success with around 3 million viewers, the later seasons often averaged 5 to 7 million viewers. It holds the record for the WB's most watched hour at 12.5 million viewers, on February 8, 1999; 19 of the WB's 20 most watched hours were from 7th Heaven. On May 8, 2006, it was watched by 7.56 million viewers, the highest rating for the WB since January 2005. When the show moved to the CW, ratings dropped. Possible reasons for the decline include an aired "Countdown to Goodbye" ad campaign for the last six months of the 2005–06 season, which promoted it as the final season ever; though the CW announced the series' unexpected renewal, it didn't promote the new season strongly via billboards, bus stops, magazine or on-air promos. Lastly, the network moved 7th Heaven from its long-established Monday night slot to Sunday nights, causing ratings to drop further. The series had a season average of just 3.3 million on the new network, losing 36% of the previous year's audience. It was the third most watched scripted show on the CW. Overall, it was the seventh most watched show.