The Mary Tyler Moore Show
A sitcom about a single woman pursuing her career in Minneapolis.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, starring Mary Tyler Moore. It aired on CBS from September 19, 1970, to March 19, 1977, and is noted for its portrayal of an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sitcom
- Runtime
- 25–26 minutes
- Language
- English
- Creator
- James L. Brooks / Allan Burns
- Producer
- David Davis / Lorenzo Music / Ed Weinberger / Stan Daniels
- Starring
- Mary Tyler Moore / Ed Asner / Gavin MacLeod / Ted Knight / Cloris Leachman / Valerie Harper / Georgia Engel / Betty White
- Theme Music Composer
- Sonny Curtis
- Open Theme
- "Love Is All Around", written and performed by Sonny Curtis
- Composer
- Patrick Williams
- Company
- MTM Enterprises
- Country
- United States
- Network
- CBS
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The show starred Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards, a 30-year-old single woman who moves to Minneapolis after a broken engagement and becomes associate producer of a news show at fictional station WJM. The ensemble cast included Ed Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Georgia Engel, Betty White, Valerie Harper, and Cloris Leachman. The series launched three spin-offs: Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant.
Reader's Guide
The Mary Tyler Moore Show proved groundbreaking during second-wave feminism, as its central female character was neither married nor dependent on a man, a rarity on 1970s American television. The show received consistent critical praise and high ratings, earning 29 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row (1975–1977). Moore won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series three times. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it No. 6 on its list of the '101 Best Written TV Series of All Time.' The series explored issues such as workplace discrimination, equal pay, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, marital infidelity, and divorce, and featured the first First Lady to appear on a television sitcom, Betty Ford, in a cameo role.
Did You Know?
- Mary Richards was initially intended to be a divorcée, but CBS feared viewers might think she had divorced Rob Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show.
- Betty Ford appeared in a cameo role in the episode 'The Seminar,' becoming the first First Lady to appear on a television sitcom.
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