Season 1
The series begins with the arrival of Dr. Andrew Brown, a widower who leaves his successful job as a top Manhattan neurosurgeon to live in a small Colorado town, bringing his 9-year-old daughter Delia and 15-year-old son Ephram with him.
He chooses the town of Everwood because his late wife had told him of her emotional attachment to it. Many of the story lines
deal with the conflicts of adjusting to a new setting, as well as getting along with new people. Dr. Brown, simply called
Andy most of the time, at first finds some animosity towards Dr. Harold Abbott, with whom his professional opinions differ.
However, Dr. Abbott's cranky demeanor and Andy's passive, cheerful attitude prove to mesh well, and the two begin a friendly
rivalry. Ephram continually struggles with his emerging adolescence, his studies as a classical musician, and his new-found love interest in Amy Abbott, Dr. Abbott's daughter.
The first season revolves around the main storyline involving Colin Hart, Amy's boyfriend, and her older brother Bright's
best friend. Amy sees the arrival of Dr. Brown as an opportunity. Colin has been in a coma since Independence Day, that summer, after he and Bright were in a car accident. Amy befriends Ephram in an effort to convince Dr. Brown to revive
his brain surgery skills to save Colin. Dr. Brown reluctantly agrees. Amy is elated, but Bright is sullen and distant about
the situation. Later, he tearfully confesses to his father that, contrary to what he had claimed all summer, Bright does in
fact remember the accident: he was the one driving, and he was a little drunk at the time. However, his anguish is relieved
when Dr. Brown is successful, and soon, Colin is awake.
"downtown Everwood" in Ogden, Utah
In the meantime, Ephram's maternal grandparents come to visit their new home in the fall, and Ephram decides he wants to
move back to New York City to live with them. Ephram's grandfather, also a surgeon, berates Andy into letting Ephram go. Delia
and her grandmother befriend Edna Abbott, a semi-retired Army nurse and Harold's estranged mother. They decide to throw her
a surprise birthday party at the Brown's home. During the party, in front of all the guests, Ephram and Andy have a loud fight
about his moving to New York City. The two stalk to different parts of the house, with no decision resolved. His grandfather
and Andy also begin to fight about the situation, but are interrupted because Bright Abbott has collapsed. Bright needs his
appendix removed, but the snow has prevented travel, so they do emergency surgery on him in Andy's office. Andy sees how scared
and loving Harold is towards his son, and resolves to try and patch things up with Ephram. He confesses that he will be "half
a man" if Ephram leaves, and Ephram decides to stay.
All is not well, however, for Colin Hart. He returns home and re-enrolls in school, but he has lost most of his memory,
including his memory of Amy. Under pressure to step right back into his old life, Colin befriends Ephram since Ephram is the
only person who does not have a preconceived notion of him. Amy, meanwhile, struggles with emerging feelings for Ephram and
Ephram has a brief fling with Colin's sister, Laynie.
Soon, Colin begins lashing out violently and acting out emotionally, and loses his friendship with Ephram. Ephram tries
to let their friends know that Colin is not acting normally, but Amy believes he is just jealous of her relationship with
Colin, and that Colin is "under a lot of stress". Bright, frustrated at Colin's friendship with Ephram in the first place,
refuses to listen as well, until Colin uncharacteristically punches Bright in the face. Andy believes Ephram, and brings the
subject up with Colin's parents. They are unwilling to believe that Colin is anything but fully-recovered, and fire Dr. Brown
from Colin's care. However, physical symptoms begin to manifest as well, and eventually Colin collapses. It is learned there
are complications from the first surgery. Colin's parents ask Dr. Brown to operate again, but he is not able to save Colin's
life.
Season 2
The beginning of Season 2 reveals Colin's fate. The entire town blames Andy for "killing" Colin, and stops going to his
practice and shun his children. Andy stands by his decision, but eventually admits to Ephram that he could have saved Colin's
life, but he would have been severely disabled, both mentally and physically, and he promised Colin that he would not let
him live that way.
Amy struggles with the death of Colin and falls into a deep depression, eventually going on medication, and meeting and a new drug-dealing boyfriend, Tommy. She considers sleeping with Tommy, but backs out of it every time he brings it up. Harold buys her a new
car to try and cheer her up, but Amy continues to act out and fail out of school. Rose tells Harold that he is babying her
and she is unwelcome in her house until she follows the rules, which forces Amy to move in with her grandmother, Edna. Amy's
downward spiral continues until Tommy takes her to a wild party. He gives her a bottle of water laced with GHB. Drunk on vodka, Amy drinks it, then has a hallucination of Colin, telling her to let him go and get on with her life. The
vision shocks her back to reality, and she realizes that Tommy has drunk most of the water himself, and subsequently overdosed.
Amy does the only thing she can think of, and calls her father for help. Tommy recovers, but Amy is officially scared straight.
She dumps him, moves back in with her parents, and begins to improve her behavior and mood.
Ephram, meanwhile, found love with Madison Kellner, a 20-year-old college student Andy has hired to babysit Delia. After
a few false starts, he loses his virginity to Madison in a car.
The second season has several plot developments. Andy finds a new love interest in Dr. Linda Abbott, Harold's sister. A
scandal at Dr. Abbott's office occurs when it is discovered that Linda Abbott is HIV positive. As a result, Harold loses his liability insurance coverage, and Linda quits her holistic health practice and leaves town, also ending her romance with Andy. Harold tries to open a new bagel shop, but meets with failure.
Andy then invites him as a partner, since Andy's insurance would cover Harold's practice. Harold reluctantly agrees.
Nina goes through a divorce and has to go to court over custody of her son, a case which she eventually wins with Andy's
support.
Ephram continues his on-again, off-again relationship with older Madison. In an effort to prove how mature he is, he sneaks
into bars to see her band, and produces many awkward moments by showing up when she is out with her college friends. Finally
she decides that Ephram is too intensely into their relationship, and breaks up with him for the last time. She tries to continue
working with the Browns, but Delia fires her, saying that she likes Madison, but Madison's presence makes Ephram sad. She
later confesses to Andy that she is pregnant with Ephram's child. Andy tells her he will pay all her expenses if she agrees to keep the pregnancy a secret from Ephram.
Ephram begins to seriously date Amy. When he leaves for the summer to study music at Juilliard, Amy accompanies him for his first week in Manhattan and after she returns to Everwood they continue their relationship long-distance.
Season 3
The third season opens with Dr. Brown receiving a letter from Madison cutting off all ties with him. It is revealed that
she has moved to Denver but has not revealed whether she decided to keep the baby or have an abortion. Dr. Brown contemplates
telling Ephram about the pregnancy but Dr. Abbott convinces him not to, for the sake of both Ephram and Amy.
Ephram returns from his summer classes at Juilliard with the disappointing news that he did not make high marks. However,
he and Amy are enjoying the new aspect of their relationship. The two, now in their high school senior year, befriend an extremely shy girl named Hannah, who is staying with Andy's neighbor, Nina. Hannah is a junior,
and tells Amy that her parents are traveling in Hong Kong, but later reveals that her father, with whom she was extremely
close, suffers from late-stage Huntington's Disease. With the support of Amy, Ephram, Bright, and Dr. Abbott, Hannah is tested for Huntington's Disease herself and finds that
she doesn't have the incurable disease. After much discussion with both Hannah and Ephram, Amy decides to sleep with Ephram.
They make plans to sneak away to the Abbott's lake cabin, but the night of the event, Amy gets scared and changes her mind.
Ephram is patient, and says he doesn't mind. However, she has a change of heart, and loses her virginity to Ephram the next
morning after all. Around Christmas, Bright convinces Ephram to go see Madison's band play, and he lies to Amy about where
he was going. Madison wasn't there, but Ephram feels so guilty, he eventually apologizes. Amy is extremely upset, and admits
that while Ephram has rededicated himself to his piano studies, she has given up all of her hobbies and school activities
to make time for her and Ephram's relationship. She tells him she willingly gave up these activities, but has now grown to
resent him. Ephram agrees to try and make more time on his part, and they make up.
Bright Abbott gets a job at the County Clerk's office with his mother. Never known for his monogamy, his promiscuity catches
up to him when one young intern accuses him of sexual harassment. During the investigation, Bright maintains that she misperceived
his actions, and does not admit guilt. Even though he is officially absolved of the accusation, Rose is embarrassed and hurt
by the situation, and realizes that her son has no respect for women, and uses them like things. She fires him, but her profound
disappointment is the worst punishment of all. Bright learns from the ordeal, and attempts to be more honorable.
The third season also sees the arrival of a new, younger doctor named Jake Hartman, whom neither Harold nor Andy like very
much. He takes up residence in Dr. Abbott's former office. Meanwhile, Nina comes to terms with the fact she has feelings for
Andy as she begins a romantic relationship with Jake.
Dr. Brown also decides to help a patient, John Hayes, to recover from serious incapacitation caused by a stroke. Meanwhile,
Dr. Brown finds himself drawn to John's wife, Amanda, and realizes he may be developing feelings for her. He and Amanda avoid
their feelings from each other for a while, but when they finally give into temptation, Andy feels so much guilt, he develops
a bleeding gastric ulcer. After he recovers, John gets admitted into a cutting-edge treatment program in which he will be
sent away for an indefinite amount of time. Amanda and Andy continue their affair until John inexplicably recovers from his
stroke.
Ephram is granted an interview with The Juilliard School in New York City, where he serendipitously meets Madison. Dr. Brown accompanies Ephram on the trip to New York City and attempts
to reconcile with Madison and to urge her to tell Ephram the truth about her pregnancy. She eventually meets Ephram in a coffee
shop and tells him the whole story, including Andy's knowledge of it. The baby has been put up for adoption with parents living
in Marin, California. Ephram is angry with his father for keeping the secret, and forfeits his Juilliard audition. Back in
Everwood, Amy reluctantly agrees to help Ephram locate the baby and the adoptive parents, but the matter soon drives a wedge
into their relationship and they break up.
Harold's wife, Rose, is diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on her spine and must undergo chemotherapy, which proves to be
initially unsuccessful. With some reluctance, Dr. Brown agrees to do the surgery to remove the tumor. Harold is incensed until
the operation appears to be a success and Rose slowly recovers.
Ephram, still disillusioned from his recent experiences with his father and Madison, decides to quit his studies altogether
and move to Europe. He technically receives his diploma, but leaves before the ceremony. He sells his piano and all related
equipment to pay for an airline ticket to London. Meanwhile, Amy graduates from high school, and gets into Princeton University.
Jake and Nina agree to move in together and start a new restaurant business, purchasing the coffee shop where Nina worked
as a waitress until the owner sold the building. Jake vows to cut all ties to his former Los Angeles residence and lifestyle,
because, he claims, his income in Everwood is dramatically less.
Season 3 ends with Hannah getting a boyfriend for the first time, but she decides to break up with him because there is
no chemistry, and because she has a crush on Bright. Andy considers taking a job as a surgeon in Chicago, but Rose and the
others persuade him to stay in Everwood. Bright decides he really wants to date Hannah, who is thrilled to begin a relationship
with him. Amy decides to defer, to a later time, her first semester at Princeton, so that she can help take care of her mother
while she convalesces. Andy, alone with Nina, confesses his true feelings for her and proposes a serious relationship, despite
Jake being in the way.
Season 4
Season 4 opens with Irv and Edna planning a vow-renewal ceremony. Rose is recovering well, and Jake has moved in with Nina.
Bright starts his second year at Everwood Community College, and has moved into an apartment. A medical student, Reid, has caught Amy's eye, and Amy convinces Bright to let Reid be
his roommate. At the request of Delia, who desperately misses him, Ephram returns from Europe in time to attend the end of
the ceremony.
When Ephram returns, Andy tells him that he is welcome at home, but Andy will not pay Ephram's living expenses anywhere
else. Ephram tells Andy to apologize for the Madison situation, and that Andy "owes" him whatever he wants, and their relationship
continues to be strained. However, Andy doesn't want to damage Ephram and Delia's relationship, so he tells Ephram that he
will pay him $50 for every dinner they eat together as a family. The plan seems to work, and sometimes, Ephram doesn't collect
the money at all. Ephram starts his first semester at ECC with Bright, and Bright asks him to be a third roommate. Reid and
Amy date casually, and they share a kiss. Ephram begins giving piano lessons to a high-school freshman, Kyle (played by Steve McQueen's grandson). Although talented, Kyle is sullen and difficult. By helping out Kyle, Ephram gains a new appreciation for what
he put his own father through. Also, Andy has a patient who is estranged from his daughter because he kept a secret from her
for her whole life. Andy asks Ephram to talk to the daughter about forgiveness, and in the process, Ephram begins to let go
of some of the resentment he felt towards Andy, and their relationship continues to improve.
On a father/son camping trip with the Abbotts, Ephram reveals that he came back to Everwood because he is still in love
with Amy, and Bright reveals that he might break up with Hannah because she doesn't believe in premarital sex. Back in town,
Ephram asks Reid not to date Amy at all, and he backs off. Amy and Ephram repair their friendship. Studying together late
one night, they wind up sleeping together. Afterwards, Ephram, wanting to repair their romantic relationship as well, gives
Amy a Christmas present, and reveals that he wrote her postcards while in Europe, but never sent them to her. She asks to
take them home and read them, but explains that she does not want to become romantically involved with Ephram again, because
she is trying to figure out her own identity.
Harold and Rose struggle to get past her illness. She loses her rebid for mayor of Everwood and feels lost and useless.
After a vacation on an African safari, Rose tells Harold that she wants to adopt a child.
Nina and Jake's business is doing well. However, Jake begins acting erratic and distant. When one of his visiting LA buddies has a serious biking accident, Jake is lost and stressed out. It is revealed that he is a recovering narcotics addict, and he has fallen off the wagon. When he finally tells Nina the truth, she kicks him out of the house, and cries
in Andy's arms.
Although they seem quite mismatched, Bright and Hannah continue to date. Her father finally passes away, and Hannah's mother
lets her choose to move home or stay in Everwood. Hannah decides to stay. Bright is elated, but he is also frustrated at Hannah's
low self-esteem, and forces her to see that she is beautiful by locking her in the bathroom. Hannah takes it one step further,
and invites Bright into the shower with her.
Ephram learns that his old piano teacher, Will Cleaveland, has died, and attends his wake. However, instead of a sad and
somber event, it is a celebration of his life, and Ephram is introduced to Will's family as his star pupil. They coax him
to play a piece, and Ephram remembers how much he really does love playing. He re-buys a piano, and he and Kyle prepare for
a Juilliard audition. Kyle is still moody, and Ephram often returns to the Brown home to talk to Andy about his struggles, and practice
his own playing. When he convinces Kyle to meet his absentee father, and Kyle is stood up, Ephram confesses to Andy that he
thinks about his own child all the time, and was using his experience with Kyle to work through his feelings of guilt and
irresponsibility. Ephram also tries to help Kyle's social skills, since he is always alone and awkward around his classmates.
When Reid suggests Kyle might be gay, Ephram says he's too young to be gay, attempting to shield him from adversity. Kyle
initially denies it as well, but eventually decides to come out. With their difficulties behind them, Ephram coaches Kyle
successfully into Juilliard. After meeting a concert pianist, Ephram decides to transfer to Amy's college, Colorado A&M,
and major in music education. In addition, Ephram leaves Madison a voicemail, apologizing for his reaction to their situation.
Bright breaks his hand trying to karate chop a piece of wood, and wears a sling for several weeks. Hannah babies him incessantly, and they have a minor spat. Hannah
obsesses over their relationship, and Bright runs into an old acquaintance, Ada, an attractive blonde who once sold Bright
and Ephram fake IDs. He has a moment of weakness in judgement and lust, and winds up sleeping with Ada. Ephram finds out,
but Bright, although regretful, decides he isn't going to tell Hannah. Ephram disagrees, and they stop speaking. Amy wheedles
the truth out of Ephram, and declares that if Bright doesn't tell Hannah, she will. Under pressure, Bright admits the truth,
and Hannah breaks up with him. She tells him she doesn't want him in her life at all, even as just a friend.
Reid begins to fail out of medical school, and as a last-ditch effort, cheats on a test. He is caught and expelled, but
pretends that everything is fine. Ephram finds Reid one morning on the bathroom floor unconscious, after having taken an entire
bottle of sleeping pills. Ephram feels immense guilt for not realizing that Reid was depressed. Upon recovery, Reid again
tries to pretend that everything is just fine, and asks Amy out on a date. It is predictibly a disaster, and Amy tells Reid
that he has to deal with the things that made him try to commit suicide in the first place. Reid decides to move back home
with his mother until he is fully recovered.
Harold and Rose's adoption is in the final stages, when it is revealed that Harold lied about Rose's cancer on the admission
forms. They lose their opportunity, and are heartbroken. Rose develops a bruise on her back and convinces herself that her
cancer has returned. At the same time, Bright drinks excessively at his 21st birthday party, and stands on a chair at a bar.
With his arm in a sling, he loses his balance and falls through a plate glass window. He is rushed to the hospital with a
head injury. At the hospital, Rose shares her fears, and Harold tells her that she is fine- the doctor called right before
Bright's accident. Subsequently, both Bright and Rose make successful recoveries. A schizophrenic patient of Harold's is overwhelmed with her new baby and the sudden death of her husband. She panics and leaves the baby
girl on the Abbotts' doorstep. After a half-hearted search for her, Harold and Rose apply for custody of the baby.
After returning from his book tour, Irv and Edna decide to buy an RV and travel the country. However, just after purchasing it, Irv collapses and dies. Edna maintains her usual tough persona
until Harold confronts her on her erratic behavior. She confesses that she is overwhelmed with grief. Harold and Rose fix
up a guest bedroom in their house, and invite Edna to live with them, thus ending a years-long battle between mother and son.
Nina agrees to forgive Jake and take him back, and he begins a variety of recovery programs, but is unsurprised when none
of them work, since they didn't in the past. He decides to start a recovery group in Everwood, then begins to design a program
on his own. His old friends in LA are receptive to the idea, but they want him to move back. Jake asks Nina to come with him,
and she sells her house and agrees. Andy, faced with the loss of Nina, impulsively buys Nina an engagement ring and shows
it to Ephram, saying he simply needed to act on his feelings, even if he had no intention of asking her. At Irv's funeral,
Ephram tells Nina about the ring, who tells Hannah, who convinces Nina to sneak in and look at it. Hannah ends up with the
ring in her room, and Jake finds it while packing. He confronts Andy and Nina, and Nina insists that it means nothing. They
make it to the airport when Jake realizes that he doesn't want to be with someone who is so unsure, and gets on the plane
without Nina (and Sam). Nina shows up back at the Browns, as her house has already been sold. Andy takes a cathartic trip
to New York to say goodbye to his late wife before flying back to Everwood to propose to Nina, on the very spot they met.
She happily agrees.
After his accident, Hannah and Bright decide to be friends again, but do not rekindle their relationship. However, she
passes up a full scholarship to Notre Dame to attend Colorado A&M and stay in Everwood.
Ephram meets Stephanie while hanging ads for a new roommate. She is feisty and fun, with "no drama", and Ephram likes how
refreshingly easy she is to be around. Delia invites her to her bat mitzvah, and while there, Amy realizes she is still in love with Ephram. She struggles with her feelings until she thinks of the
exact best way to tell Ephram how she feels. She confesses that all their problems are her fault, and asks him to give her
another chance at a relationship, without the drama. Ephram, having loved Amy since the day he met her, easily agrees to be
with her again, and the season and the series ends with Ephram and Amy embarking on a mature, adult relationship. Everwood's
series finale, which aired on Monday, June 5, 2006, was seen by 5 million viewers.
