Moonlighting (1985-1989): Gone But Not Forgotten

Last Updated on February 23, 2023

With Bruce Willis’ recent, tragic frontotemporal dementia diagnosis revealed, we here at JoBlo thought the time was right to celebrate the show that made him a star, Moonlighting, in which he co-starred with Cybill Shepherd. At the time, Willis was a complete unknown, with only a one-episode guest starring role as a bad guy on Miami Vice to show for his early years in Hollywood. All that changed when the creators of Moonlighting were looking for a fresh face to play a wisecracking private eye named David Addison. On the show, he would be paired with Cybill Shepherd, who was then already a pretty big star thanks to a run of movies in the seventies that included The Last Picture Show and Taxi Driver. In this, she would play a former model who, after having her fortune embezzled, discovers she owns a low-rent detective agency run by Willis’ Addison.

There are a lot of reasons Moonlighting took off in the eighties, but the primary one was the “will they or won’t they” sexual tension between the two leads. While they notoriously feuded off-camera, on the small screen, they were electric. Willis’ affable, wise-guy personality also made him a sex symbol, the guy all women wanted to be with and all guys wanted to be. It would lead to him being cast in the film that made him a superstar, Die Hard, and looking back at Moonlighting, and it’s amazing to see how fully formed he was when the show began.

In this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten, which is written by Jessica Dwyer, edited by Cesar Gabriel, narrated by Travis Hopson and produced by Dave Arroyo, we dig into Moonlighting’s best moments (such as the famous “Atomic Shakespeare” episode) and reveal why it’s so hard to find on streaming services.

Do you remember Moonlighting? Let us know in the comments!