Maxwell has contacted the nanny agency to send him another nanny so she can tend to the children, enter Fran Fine the new nanny.
Fran is mistaken for the new nanny when she rings the doorbell that day. She is there to sell cosmetics but Niles assumes she is the new nanny. Niles takes a liking to her right away. Fran tries to tell him she is not the nanny but the “Shades of the Orient” cosmetics girl. Niles ignores her and fetches Mr. Sheffield to interview and approve her. Quick on her feet Fran decides that perhaps she might try this “gig” as it is better than door-to-door cosmetic sales. She quickly scribbles out a resume with a tube of lipstick on a sheet of paper. Mr. Sheffield comes into the room and is very wary of Fran. Fran gives him her resume and he attempts to read it. Sheffield questions one of her references and says “I see you list the Queen Mother as one of your references?” To which Fran quickly replies “No, that is my mother in Queens.” Sheffield walks away in disgust. Niles then reminds him of his urgency to find another nanny for the weekend and Fran begs him to let her at least try the job. Sheffield gives in and says he will hire her but only for the weekend, and thus begins “The Nanny.”
Fran Fine is a woman from a lower middle class Jewish background. In the beginning this is a source of much of the comedy because Fran is not familiar with many of the customs and the lifestyles of the rich upper-class people that the Sheffield’s are. Niles the butler attempts to help her “fit” in with the Sheffield’s and the people that come in and out of their lives. Niles is Maxwell’s butler and has been his constant companion since childhood as Niles’ father was Maxwell’s father’s butler. Once Maxwell made the move to New York from London, Niles naturally stayed with him. Another one of the running gags is Niles is very nosy, and he is aware of everything going on in the household. He is constantly using the intercom to spy on Maxwell and eventually Fran. As the series progresses Niles and Fran become very good friends. Niles is in the end always looking out for the good of the family and never betrays them.
CC Babcock is Maxwell’s long-time assistant and one of the protagonists of the show. She is secretly in love with Maxwell and believes that her feelings are reciprocated due to her length of employment and working closely with Maxwell in his home. Maxwell is oblivious to this for the most part and only sees her as a business associate. She comes from a wealthy family and is well educated. She sees the new nanny as a buffoon and over-sexed tart and is in many ways jealous of her. 