Phyllis (TV series)
A widowed landlady starts over in San Francisco.
Phyllis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 8, 1975, to March 13, 1977. It was the second spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, following Rhoda, and starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, a character originally introduced as Mary Richards' friend and landlady. The series was created by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels, with James L. Brooks serving as creative consultant.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sitcom
- Creator
- Stan Daniels; Ed. Weinberger
- Based on
- Phyllis Lindstrom, James L. Brooks and Allan Burns
- Theme music
- Stan Daniels
- Composer
- Dick DeBenedictis
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 2
Facts from the source article.
Synopsis and production
After the death of her husband Lars, Phyllis Lindstrom and her daughter Bess move from Minneapolis to San Francisco, where Lars's mother Audrey Dexter and stepfather Judge Jonathan Dexter live. Penniless, Phyllis takes a job as an assistant at a photographic studio owned by Julie Erskine, played by Barbara Colby. Colby had previously appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Sherry Ferris, and her popularity led to her casting on Phyllis, but after three episodes were filmed she was murdered and the role was taken over by Liz Torres. The studio's photographer, Leo Heatherton, was played by Richard Schaal. Much of the first season's humor came from Phyllis's attempts to enter the job market after years as a dermatologist's wife. Judith Lowry guest starred as Jonathan's mother Sally Dexter and became a regular after positive viewer response. Cloris Leachman won a Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and was nominated for an Emmy. Ratings slipped toward the end of the first season, so the premise was reworked for the second season: Erskine Photography and the characters Julie Erskine and Leo Heatherton were dropped, with the explanation that Julie had married and sold the studio. In the second-season premiere, Phyllis was hired as an assistant to a San Francisco City Supervisor.
Syndication
During the 1990s, Phyllis aired on Nick at Nite alongside Rhoda and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and later moved to TV Land before disappearing. It also aired on HA! in the early 1990s before that network merged into Comedy Central. In January 2010, AmericanLife Network began airing the series with Rhoda, but removed it in September 2010.
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