Mary (1978 TV series)

Mary is an American comedy-variety show hosted by and starring Mary Tyler Moore that aired Sundays at 8:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 24 to October 8, 1978, with a total of three episodes produced over one season.

For the 1985 sitcom, see Mary (1985 TV series).
Mary
GenreVariety show
Directed byRobert Iscove
Presented byMary Tyler Moore
StarringMary Tyler Moore
Swoosie Kurtz
Dick Shawn
Michael Keaton
Merrill Markoe
David Letterman
James Hampton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes3
Production
ProducersTom Patchett
Jay Tarses
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time60 minutes
Production companyMTM Enterprises
Release
Original networkCBS
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 24 (1978-09-24) –
October 8, 1978 (1978-10-08)

Synopsis

Mary was the attempt by Mary Tyler Moore to return to network television after the triumph of her sitcom (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) from 1970 to 1977. Her sitcom having not been renewed at her producers' request (they didn't want it to get "stale"), she had taken a year off before returning to television to conquer the variety format.

Moore's supporting cast included a repertory company of young actors and actresses, most notably Swoosie Kurtz, Dick Shawn, Michael Keaton, Merrill Markoe, David Letterman and James Hampton, an established orchestra led by Alf Clausen, and the well-regarded Tony Stevens dancers, and the program had a light, breezy feel.

Moore went on David Letterman's show in 1983, where he brought up the variety show. Letterman said, "I learned an awful lot." "So did I," Moore jumped in. "Don't do it again," she laughed.

Reception

Ratings for the series were low, and CBS cancelled Mary after three episodes; at the time, variety shows in general were falling out of fashion. It ranked 64th out of 114 shows that season with an average 16.1/25 rating/share.[1] However, Moore would tweak the format and try it again with a similar program (The Mary Tyler Moore Hour) later in the same season.

References
  1. "Ratings data" (PDF). www.americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-06-30.

Sources


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