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Phyllis

Comedy Series

About This Show

From Wikipedia

Phyllis is an American television sitcom and the second spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (the first being Rhoda) created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' 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.

Phyllis aired on CBS Mondays at 8:30 pm and ran from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.

Phyllis was a great success during its first season. Cloris Leachman won a Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actress in a comedy series, and the series was the sixth highest-rated television series for the 1975-1976 television season (at the time ranking higher than both Rhoda and The Mary Tyler Moore Show). However, Phyllis was canceled by CBS in 1977 after only 48 episodes due to steadily declining ratings during the second season, when it finished in 40th place. Coincidentally Phyllis ended the same week that The Mary Tyler Moore Show did. Cloris Leachman appeared in the final episodes of both shows.

People Who Talked About This Show

  • Doris Singleton
  • Glen Charles
  • James Burrows
  • James L. Brooks
  • Jay Sandrich
  • Les Charles
  • Les Charles and Glen Charles
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People Talking About This Show

  • James L. Brooks
    • James L. Brooks on helping to pitch Phyllis (00m 20s)
  • James Burrows
    • James Burrows on directing  Phyllis (03m 59s)
  • Les Charles
    • Glen Charles on an embarrassing anecdote about the show Phyllis (01m 10s)
  • Les Charles and Glen Charles
    • Glen Charles on an embarrassing anecdote about the show Phyllis (01m 35s)
  • Glen Charles
    • Glen Charles on an embarrassing anecdote about the show Phyllis (01m 10s)
  • Jay Sandrich
    • Jay Sandrich on working with Cloris Leachman on Phyllis; dealing with the network about script issues (04m 02s)
  • Doris Singleton
    • Doris Singleton on working on Phyllis with Cloris Leachman (01m 12s)
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From the Collection

  • Mary Tyler Moore Show Page

    Visit the Archive's The Mary Tyler Moore Show page for personal recollections from the show's cast and crew.

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