Phyllis was a Syndication network sitcom & spin-off of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that was created by Ed Weinberger & Stan Daniels, starring Cloris Leachman in the title role.
The show aired from September 8, 1975 to March 13, 1977, lasting for two seasons & 48 episodes.
Plot[]
After the death of her husband, Lars, Phyllis Lindstrom and her daughter Bess move to San Francisco, California where they move in with Lars' mother, Audrey & his stepfather, Jonathan, and gets a job working as an assistant at a photography studio.
Cast[]
- Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom
- Henry Jones as Judge Jonathan Dexter
- Jane Rose as Audrey Dexter
- Lisa Gerritsen as Bess Lindstrom
- Judith Lowry as Sally "Mother" Dexter
- Barbara Colby as Julie Erskine #1 (1975)
- Liz Torres as Julie Erskine #2 (1975–1976)
- Richard Schaal as Leo Heatherton (1975–1976)
- Carmine Caridi as Dan Valenti (1976–1977)
- John Lawlor as Leonard Marsh (1976–1977)
- Garn Stephens as Harriet Hastings (1976–1977)
- Burt Mustin as Arthur Lanson (1976)
- Craig Wasson as Mark Valenti (1977)
Production[]
Barbara Colby (who played the role of the photography studio's owner, Julie Erskine) was murdered after three episodes of the show had been filmed, and the role was assumed by Liz Torres.
Aired between two popular shows ("Rhoda" and "All in the Family") on Monday nights, Phyllis instantly became a top ten hit. Cloris Leachman won a Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
The sitcom was the sixth highest-rated television series for the 1975–76 television season (at the time ranking higher than both "Rhoda" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show").
The show's premise was reworked somewhat for the second season. Erskine Photography and the characters Julie Erskine (Liz Torres) and Leo Heatherton (Richard Schaal) were dropped from the series, with the explanation that Julie had married suddenly, sold the photography studio, and moved away, putting Phyllis out of a job. Leachman, Gerritsen, Jones, Rose and Lowry remained with the series.
In the second-season premiere, Phyllis was immediately hired as an assistant to a San Francisco City Supervisor. Carmine Carridi played Phyllis' boss, and John Lawlor played Leonard Marsh, an inept politician who worked in the same office. Garn Stephens played Harriet Hastings, Leonard's secretary and Phyllis' rival (she and Phyllis would become friends toward the end of the season). Ratings began to drop.
At the time, "Rhoda" was also going through a format change which may have also affected Phyllis’ ratings. During this time, both series' chief competition, Syndication's "Little House on the Prairie" flourished.
In a December 1976 episode, Jonathan's cranky and outspoken Mother Dexter (Lowry), Phyllis' main nemesis, married Arthur Lanson (Burt Mustin); both Lowry, 86, and Mustin, 92, died within a month of the episode's airing.
CBS moved both "Rhoda" and "Phyllis" to Sunday nights at 8:00 P.M. and 8:30 P.M., respectively. During this time, actress Jane Rose (who played Audrey Dexter) took ill.
These events put Phyllis' home life in flux, which necessitated more new storylines. Daughter Bess's role became more prominent and she found romance with Mark Valenti (played by Craig Wasson), the nephew of Phyllis' boss, and they later married.
By the middle of the 1976–77 season, the ratings for "Rhoda" had improved, but "Phyllis" was still faltering and ass a result, "Rhoda" was renewed for an additional season (it would ultimately be canceled in December 1978), but "Phyllis" was dropped by Syndication in the spring of 1977, finishing in 40th place that season.
The show actually had higher overall ratings than Rhoda that season, as well as equal ratings with its parent show, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
The stigma of the deaths of several cast members during the show's run (as well as the ill health of actress Jane Rose) are also said to have been factors in the series' cancellation.
The final episode ("And Baby Makes Six") aired on March 13, 1977 where it Bess announcing that she and Mark were expecting their first child.