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Poster for Island Son

Island Son

Seen it?

1989 | 1 seasons | 60 min | Drama

Monday Morning Maybeearly rating

Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe

With a small audience and a quick end and almost no lasting buzz, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for anyone who loves a strong character drama.
The mood
Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace
1 season: a few weeks of evenings, hour-long episodes, about 18 hours in all.
What might put you off
Nothing much for most grown-ups.

Island Son is a CBS television medical drama during its 1989-90 schedule. Island Son marked the return to regular weekly series television of Richard Chamberlain, who had not so appeared since his Dr. Kildare series almost 25 years earlier. In the interim he had enjoyed a somewhat successful career in feature films, and had become widely known as "The King of the Miniseries" due to his success in that format. Chamberlain once again portrayed a dedicated medical doctor, Dr. Daniel Kulani. Kulani was born in Hawaii and practiced on the mainland for many years prior to his return to work at the fictional Kamehameha Medical Center in Honolulu. Kulani's complicated life involved his stressful work environment; his adoptive parents, Tutu and Nana; his 18-year-old son, Sam; and his love interest, high school drama teacher Nina Delaney. Dr. Kulani's complicated life was never resolved to the satisfaction of the viewers because the program was canceled in March 1990.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerWeak

    Ran for 1 season and reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    About 4K people sought it out in the past year

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Cast & crew

Created by Martin Rabbett, Judith Paige Mitchell, Lane Slate

  • Richard Chamberlain
  • William McNamara
  • Brynn Thayer
  • Clyde Kusatsu
  • Timothy Carhart
  • Kwan Hi Lim
  • Ariana Richards
  • Ray Bumatai