Rich Man, Poor Man(1976)

The story of the Jordache brothers, whose lives follow very different paths.

Rich Man, Poor Man is a drama series based on Irwin Shaw's 1969 bestselling novel, following two German American brothers whose lives take sharply different paths. Rudy and Jude Jordache grow up poor, but their ambitions pull them in opposite directions—one pursuing wealth and respectability, the other drawn toward crime and survival. As their careers diverge, family loyalty and class struggle become the central tensions driving the narrative. The series explores how circumstance, choice, and brotherhood collide across decades, examining what it costs to escape poverty and whether success truly separates them. Anchored by compelling performances and sweeping scope, Rich Man, Poor Man captures the American dream's promise and its painful contradictions through the lens of one fractured family.