Television series

Life Goes On

Name: Life Goes On
Genre: Drama
Released: 1989
Cast: Bill Smitrovich, Chris Burke, Patti LuPone, Kellie Martin, Monique Lanier

Family drama

Life Goes On follows the Thacher family as they navigate everyday life with grace and unflinching honesty. Corky, who has Down syndrome, is simply part of the family—not a problem to solve. The show treats serious issues (addiction, sexuality, illness, grief) with respect rather than after-school-special sentiment. It's warm without being saccharine, and genuinely moving.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a household's daily squabbles and tenderness given room to breathe, and you don't mind a show that lets its warmth sit beside sharper edges.

Skip it if the earnestness can tip into sermon, and its episodes unspool at a leisurely, sitcom-adjacent pace that will frustrate anyone wanting sharp plotting.

What it asks of you: Sixty-minute episodes, four seasons, and a patient willingness to sit through slower scenes where the family simply talks things out.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

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China Beach1988

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