6 Things You Didn't Know About The Iconic Show 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'

For six years, one of the most influential and iconic women on television was none other than Jane Seymour. She played the amazing character of Dr. Michaela Quinn in the show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

The show first came on air in 1993 and it was something we all became obsessed with. The 1800s time period gave us all flashbacks to another one of our favorite shows, Little House on the Prairie.

Dr. Quinn was often known as Dr. Mike, and moved to Colorado after her father died. Her life gets a bit more complicated when her friend Charlotte Cooper passes away, and she has to look after her three children. She does however fall in love with a man named Byron Sully and does an amazing job at fighting for the respect of the town as a female doctor.

The show is one of those classics that we all loved to watch with our parents, but how much do you really know about the series?

Jane Seymour signed on for a bizarre reason

Jane Seymour actually only had one day to decide whether or not she wanted the role. She apparently received the script by 7 a.m. one day and had to answer before 10 a.m. the next. Her costume fittings began the next morning at 6 a.m.

Her quick decision is attributed to the fact that she was recently divorced, and her ex-husband had left her with a $9 million debt.

Many actors were replaced between the pilot and the rest of the season

CBS didn't have enough faith in their series, so they didn't bother to get long-term contracts with all of their cast members. They had thought that the show may be turned into a mini-series instead of a full TV show, so by the time it was picked up many of the actors were already committed to other projects.

The show got darker in the later seasons on purpose

If you watched the show since the beginning you may have noticed by the sixth season it was getting to be a little bit more dramatic. The situations and stakes involved were a lot more intense than they used to be.

The reason for this was that the studio noticed their audience had changed. The age range at the start of the show was mostly 18-49, but by season six it was mostly women over the age of 40. This is why Michaela had a miscarriage as well as many other traumatic experiences. Audiences didn't enjoy the change and stopped watching.

While Dr. Quinn may be the most important character, Byron Sully was perhaps the reason a lot of people tuned in.

Byron Sully was the first character cast

They found Joe Lando before their main character! Creator Beth Sullivan said that Lando was "very charming" and that “He’s real. He’s not the typical star jerk with any kind of pomp and ego trip. He has got incredible charisma. I think when you put those two things together, a real sensitivity and sincerity with that kind of sexy charm, that’s devastating.”

Sully did almost all of his own stunts

The actor asked to do most of his stunts because he felt like a lot of them were things he would never get the opportunity to do otherwise.

They were going to kill Sully off the show

The reason they ended season 5 with Sully nearly dying is because the actor wasn't sure if he was going to come back to the show. Instead of killing his character outright, they made it so that Sully would fall off the cliff and we wouldn't know if he survived.

Joe Lando agreed to come back on a part-time basis for what would become the last season. His absence probably contributed to the dwindling ratings.

The show may have ended, but that doesn't mean we don't remember it fondly! Share if you loved this show!

You can see what the cast looks like now if you're curious! Click here!