Phyllis (TV series)


Phyllis is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 8, 1975, to March 13, 1977. Created by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels, it was the second spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' neighbor, college friend, and landlady on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
In the new series, Phyllis and her daughter Bess Lindstrom moved from Minneapolis to San Francisco, after the death of her husband, Dr. Lars Lindstrom. It was revealed that San Francisco was Phyllis and Lars' original hometown, prior to their moving to Minneapolis, and that his mother and stepfather still resided there.

Synopsis and production

Left penniless after the death of her husband Lars, Phyllis and her daughter Bess move in with Lars's mother, the scatterbrained Audrey Dexter and stepfather Judge Jonathan Dexter. Phyllis takes a job as an assistant in a photographic studio. The owner, Julie Erskine, was played by Barbara Colby. In the 1974-1975 season, Colby was featured on The Mary Tyler Moore Show playing Sherry Ferris, a prostitute who Mary Richards befriends. Her appearances on that show were so popular with viewers that when Phyllis was being cast, the producers enthusiastically signed her as a regular cast member. However, after three episodes of Phyllis had been filmed, Colby was murdered and the part was assumed by Liz Torres. Leo Heatherton was a well-meaning but bumbling photographer at the studio.
Much of the first season's humor stemmed from Phyllis' attempts to fit into the job market having lived for many years as the spoiled wife of a rich dermatologist. Judith Lowry guest starred in an early episode as Jonathan's mother, Sally Dexter. She was so well received by viewers that by the end of the first year Lowry became a regular when Mother Dexter joined the household.
Aired on Monday nights between two popular shows – Rhoda and All in the Family – 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.

Season two

Towards the end of the first season, the ratings were beginning to slip. As a result, the series 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 suddenly, sold the photography studio, and moved away, putting Phyllis out of a job. Leachman, Gerritsen, Jones, Rose and Lowry remained with Phyllis.
In the second-season premiere Phyllis was hired as an assistant to a San Francisco City Supervisor.
New characters were Phyllis's boss Dan Valenti , Leonard Marsh, an inept politician in the office, and Leonard's secretary Harriet Hastings. Harriet was initially Phyllis's rival, but they later became friends. Both Caridi and Lawlor had appeared in two separate episodes of Phyllis the previous season - Caridi as a junk dealer in the episode "Phyllis's Garage Sale" and Lawlor as a policeman in the episode "Crazy Mama".
The ratings continued to drop. Rhoda was also going through a format change at the time, which may have also affected Phyllis’ ratings. During this time both series' chief competition, NBC's Little House on the Prairie, flourished.
as Phyllis
as Mother Dexter
In a December 1976 episode, Jonathan's cranky and outspoken Mother Dexter, Phyllis' main nemesis, married Arthur Lanson ; 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. Actress Jane Rose took ill. These cast changes necessitated new storylines. Bess's role became more prominent. She found romance with Mark Valenti, 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. Rhoda was renewed for an additional season, but Phyllis was dropped by CBS 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 said to have been factors in the series' cancellation.
The final episode had Bess announcing that she and Mark were expecting their first child. This installment aired Sunday, March 13, 1977. The same week, on Saturday, March 19, Leachman made her last appearance as Phyllis Lindstrom to date on the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Cast

Opening credits and theme song

The opening credits to Phyllis parody other television series opening credits of the period, specifically The Mary Tyler Moore Show, by depicting the character in a variety of local settings while the theme song plays. In addition to scenes shot on location in San Francisco, various scenes from her appearances in The Mary Tyler Moore Show are shown. The theme song parodies spectacular Broadway musical numbers, such as Jerry Herman's title songs to "Hello Dolly" and "Mame", and in the first seconds of the opening sequence, the performers are briefly seen in blackface. In keeping with the sour disposition of the character, the song resolves with a deprecating line on a minor seventh chord, as Phyllis—who has been smiling broadly at the foregoing flattering hyperbole—makes a sour face at the camera.

''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' tie-ins

In July 1992, a VHS titled Phyllis—Volume 1 containing the first two episodes of Phyllis was released by MTM Home Video; however, a second volume was never released.
VHS NameEp#Release DateTitles
Phyllis—Volume 12July 1992
  • Pilot
  • Bess, Is You a Woman Now?