Phyllis (1975–1977)

Spinoff from the popular "Mary Tyler Moore" series has Mary Richards' landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom, moving back to her hometown of San Francisco with her teenage daughter Bess following the ... See full summary »

Creators:

Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger

Stars:

Cloris Leachman, Henry Jones, Jane Rose

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Cloris Leachman	...	Phyllis Lindstrom (48 episodes, 1975-1977)
Henry Jones	...	Judge Jonathan Dexter (48 episodes, 1975-1977)
Jane Rose	...	Audrey Dexter (48 episodes, 1975-1977)
Carmine Caridi	...	Dan Valenti (25 episodes, 1975-1977)
Lisa Gerritsen	...	Bess Lindstrom (24 episodes, 1975-1977)
John Lawlor	...	Leonard Marsh (24 episodes, 1976-1977)
Garn Stephens	...	Harriet Hastings (24 episodes, 1976-1977)
Judith Lowry	...	Sally 'Mother' Dexter (23 episodes, 1975-1977)
Richard Schaal	...	Leo Heatherton (23 episodes, 1975-1976)
Liz Torres	...	Julie Erskine (20 episodes, 1975-1976)

Storyline

Spinoff from the popular "Mary Tyler Moore" series has Mary Richards' landlady, Phyllis Lindstrom, moving back to her hometown of San Francisco with her teenage daughter Bess following the sudden death of Phyllis' (heard of, but never seen) husband, Lars, to make a new life for herself and her daughter by moving in with Lars' scatterbrained mother, Audrey; and Audrey's second husband, Judge Dexter; and getting a new job as an assistant to Julie Erskine, the CEO of a photography studio.

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Plot Keywords:

photography studio | sitcom | grandmother | mother daughter relationship | supervisor | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1975 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

MTM Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (48 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Barbara Colby played Julie Erskine in the first three episodes of "Phyllis". The gifted actress was murdered not long after the third episode, "Up For Grabs", was in the can.

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Crazy Credits

The pictures used in the opening credits (Phyllis hugging the fur coat, Phyllis rocking in the chair whistling, etc) were taken from segments of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"

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Connections

Referenced in Mary Tyler Moore: Mary Moves Out (1975)

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Soundtracks

"Phyllis"
Words and Music by Stan Daniels

User Reviews

Slightly away from MTM, but a good watch

The "Mary Tyler Moore" spinoff, "Phyllis", is often hounded as a failure where spin-offs are concerned. Actually, it is a very funny show and, if it hadn't followed up such an astounding breakthrough show as its predecessor, it would have been quite successful. Though the character of Phyllis, by far the most interesting character on MTM, was changed somewhat in her switch to her own show, it was only to make her character more likable, which worked most of the time and was a very pleasant experience to finally see the softer side of that downstairs bubblehead. The ensemble cast of the first season was wonderful (and would have been even more so if Barbara Colby hadn't have been murdered after the third episode. She was terrific as Phyllis's boss Julie Erskine.) Henry Jones is especially good, as are Jane Ross and Richard Schaal. And, of course, Cloris Leachman is a treasure. The real problem was in the show's second season, when Phyllis changed workplaces to the downtown city building, where the characters were far less interesting and oft times depressing. The ratings show it, too, because in its first season, "Phyllis" was in the Top Ten, higher than "Rhoda" or "MTM". But in its move to the second season, it did very poorly, hence its cancellation. It's a show that tried hard, so give it a chance. You won't be too disappointed!