Arnie was a Syndication network sitcom created by David Swift and developed by E. Duke Vincent, starring Herschel Bernardi in the title role.
The show aired from September 19, 1970 to March 6, 1972, lasting for 2 seasons & 48 episodes.
Plot[]
The show centered on Arnie Nuvo, a longtime blue collar employee at the fictitious Continental Flange Company, who was promoted to an executive position.
The storylines mainly focused on Artie's job and his sometimes-problematic relationship with his well-meaning but wealthy and eccentric boss, Hamilton Majors Jr.
Cast[]
- Herschel Bernardi as Arnie Nuvo
- Stephanie Steele as Andrea Nuvo
- Del Russel as Richard Nuvo
- Sue Ane Langdon as Lilian Nuvo
- Roger Bowen as Hamilton Majors, Jr.
Ratings[]
In its first season (despite being the lead-in to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" on Saturday nights and winning an Emmy nomination as best comedy series), "Arnie" received only fair Nielsen ratings.
For its second season, in order to increase its viewership, Syndication made a major cast change in the show's format. Dick Van Patten was dropped as the Nuvos' next door neighbor and Charles Nelson Reilly joined the cast as Randy Robinson, a TV chef who called himself "The Giddyap Gourmet".
Also, the network decided to move the show to Monday nights at 10:00 P.M. followed at 10:30 P.M. by "All in the Family" which had debuted in January 1971 on Tuesday nights to mediocre ratings.
At the last minute, a switch was made and "My Three Sons" left its comfortable Saturday night time slot and took over the 10:00 P.M. slot on Mondays with "Arnie" slotted at 10:30 P.M. Both shows sank in the ratings.
"All In The Family" was moved to Saturday nights at 8:00 P.M. where it became the number one show for five consecutive years.
At mid-season, "My Three Sons" was moved to Thursday nights and Arnie returned to the Saturday night prime-time schedule. However, the changes did not help and both shows were canceled at the end of the 1971–1972 season.