The whirlwind success of Twin Peaks in 1990 begat Northern Exposure, about a quirky small town, this time without the murder and darkness. That series begat Key West, with the premise being, “Quirky small town, but Florida this time.”

Seamus O’Neil (Fisher Stevens) is a lowly factory worker in New Jersey who longs to be a writer like his hero, Hemingway. When he wins millions in the lottery, he packs up his things and moves to Hemingway’s old stomping grounds in Key West, Florida. In no time, he ingratiates himself to the locals. There’s wisecracking bartender Gumbo (Leland Cooke), Jamaican spiritualist Jojo (Terrence “T.C.” Carson), wise-beyond-her-years sex worker Savannah (Jennifer Tilly), bizarre sheriff Jeremiah (Brian Thompson), conservative mayor Caldwell (Denise Crosby), and many, many others.  

It’s not long before the whole lottery thing doesn’t work out, and Seamus ends up needing a job. He gets work at the local newspaper, led by blind editor “King” Cole (Ivory Ocean), and his weekly column about life in town becomes the voiceover narration that guides us through each episode. This also gives him an excuse to be in the center of whatever’s happening in town.

There we have it. A fun premise, a novel setting, and a huge cast of kooky characters. But… the show has its flaws. The tone is, let’s say, inconsistent. Key West is at its best when relying on the Northern Exposure template. The quirkiness and occasional supernatural occurrences are there to reflect what the characters are dealing with. But then it becomes a heady drama at times, with a hurricane blowing through town, a crime episode about a Cuban gangster, and multiple episodes about the mayor’s various insecurities. These storylines lack the fun, semi-magical feeling that captures your attention when you first discover the show.

If the show is so flawed, why watch? The best thing about Key West is just the overall vibes. There’s an alligator with a big pink bow living in the bar. A mysterious unknown man plays bagpipes while on the beach overlooking the ocean. Every episode treats us to new little details about the characters, and the dialogue is often sharp and witty.

There’s a female marine biologist character introduced early on as a love interest for Seamus, but she’s not on the show much after that. We get a lot more interaction between Seamus and Savannah instead, with Fisher Stevens and Jennifer Tilly having great chemistry. Would they have become the show’s big romance had it continued? That’s my guess, but who can say?

Other observations:

• Most of the online trivia about the show has to do with cats in the background of various shots. Allegedly, Hemingway kept several cats on his property, and the legend goes that all the cats in the town of Key West are descendants of Hemingway’s cats. (Big money pitch: An animated movie about Hemingway’s cats.)
• David Beaird, the creator and executive producer of Key West, also directed six feature films in his career. Each one of those films has one or more Key West cast members.
• Scheduling no doubt played a role in the show’s demise. The first half of the series ran from January to March 1993. Then it went on hiatus, not airing the rest of the series until June 1993. And then, episodes were pre-empted twice for other programming.

If you’re curious about Key West, I suggest making it a bit of a miniseries. Start with the pilot followed by “The Second Day in Heaven,” dealing with Seamus’ arrival in town and his new role at the newspaper. Then act three is “We the People,” in which the entire ensemble unites to take a stand against the government. That episode gives the whole cast something to do, and it sums up the show nicely.

Next: Let’s get artsy.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my novel MOM, I’M BULLETPROOF. It’s a comedic/romantic/dramatic superhero epic! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XPXBK14.