Too Close for Comfort
A sitcom about a cartoonist and his family.
Too Close for Comfort is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1980 to 1983 and in first-run syndication from 1984 to 1987. The series, based on the British sitcom Keep It in the Family, starred Ted Knight as cartoonist Henry Rush. It was retooled as The Ted Knight Show for its final season, which ended due to Knight's death.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sitcom
- Based on
- Keep It in the Family; created by Brian Cooke
- Developer
- Arne Sultan; Earl Barret
- Opening theme
- "Too Close for Comfort", performed by Johnny Mandel
- Composer
- (all season 4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.12, multiples)
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 6
Facts from the source article.
Synopsis
Henry and Muriel Rush own a two-unit house at 171–173 Buena Vista Avenue East in San Francisco. Henry is a conservative cartoonist who creates a comic strip called Cosmic Cow and uses a hand-puppet version of the cow. Muriel works as a freelance photographer. Their two adult daughters, Jackie and Sara, live in the downstairs apartment. Sara's friend Monroe Ficus appears, originally intended for a single episode but kept as a regular. Henry's boss, Arthur Wainwright, heads Wainwright Publishing. A running gag involves Henry wearing sweatshirts from various colleges; after the pilot featured a University of Michigan shirt, students sent in shirts from 107 schools, with Oregon State University and Northwestern University tying for most appearances. In the second season, Muriel becomes pregnant, and Henry's niece April moves in from Delaware. The season ends with Muriel giving birth to a son, Andrew, later played by twins William and Michael Cannon from 1983 to 1984. ABC moved the series to Thursday nights in fall 1982, causing ratings to drop from #6 to #38, leading to cancellation. Metromedia Producers Corporation picked up the show for syndication, producing 23 new episodes for season four starting April 1984, then 30 more for season five. For season five, Joshua Goodwin played Andrew Rush.
Syndication
ABC aired daytime reruns from June to September 1983. Daily broadcast syndication began in fall 1986 and continued until 2003. The show currently airs on Antenna TV weekday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Syndication rights are held by DLT Entertainment. Reruns stream on Pluto TV and Tubi.
Home media
Rhino Entertainment released the first two seasons on DVD in 2004 and 2005, using syndication edits that omitted several minutes per episode, including tag sequences. These episodes were dubbed to replace references to Oakland with 'Oldtown' due to earlier protests by Oakland officials. In January 2024, Visual Entertainment Inc. announced a complete series box set, released on April 3, 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Too Close for Comfort?
Too Close for Comfort was created by Arne Sultan and Earl Barret.
How many episodes of Too Close for Comfort are there?
Too Close for Comfort has 129 episodes across 6 seasons.
When did Too Close for Comfort first air?
Too Close for Comfort first aired on 11 November 1980.
When did Too Close for Comfort end?
Too Close for Comfort last aired on 7 February 1987.
More in Television Series by Metromedia
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