''Flo'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

television series and a spin-off of ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from March 24, 1980, to June 30, 1981. The series starred

Polly Holliday Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937) is a retired American actress who has appeared on stage, television and in film. She is best known for her portrayal of sassy waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry on the 1970s sitcom '' Alice'', which ...

reprising her role as sassy and street-smart waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry who returns to her hometown of

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

—referred to as "Cowtown"—and becomes the proprietor of a rundown old roadhouse that she renames "Flo's Yellow Rose". Although the series started strong-in the Top 10 during its short first season run -repeated timeslot changes resulted in it falling out of the Top 40 shows by mid-March 1981. It was subsequently not renewed when CBS announced its 1981 fall lineup at the May upfronts.

Synopsis

After four seasons as a waitress at

Mel's Diner Mel's Diner is the setting for the 1976−1985 American TV series '' Alice''. It is a fictional roadside diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, that serves locals and truckers. It has a counter, two large booths and a couple of tables. Alth ...

on ''Alice'', Flo is on her way to a new restaurant hostess job in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

as described in her final appearance, " Flo's Farewell" (season 4, episode 18). She stops to visit her family in her hometown of Cowtown, Texas (Cowtown is the popular nickname of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

) and in a fit of nostalgia, Flo buys a rundown old roadhouse she had enjoyed in her formative years and renames it "Flo's Yellow Rose". Coping with chauvinistic bartender Earl ( Geoffrey Lewis) and the greedy and obnoxious banker Farley ( Jim B. Baker) who holds the mortgage, as well as her mother Velma ( Sudie Bond) and straight-laced sister Fran ( Lucy Lee Flippin), causes most of the conflict in the series. The rest of Flo's staff at the Yellow Rose includes her childhood best friend Miriam ( Joyce Bulifant) as waitress/bookkeeper, and chain-smoking piano player Les (Stephen Keep). Randy, the mechanic ( Leo Burmester) who worked at the garage next door, and Chester ( Mickey Jones), were regular customers. Vic Tayback made one guest appearance as Mel Sharples from ''Alice''. Once ''Flo'' began, Polly Holliday never appeared again on ''Alice'', except in flashback clips in the last episode.

Cast

as Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry * Geoffrey Lewis as Earl Tucker * Jim B. Baker as Farley Waters * Sudie Bond as Mama Velma Castleberry * Leo Burmester as Randy Stumphill * Joyce Bulifant as Miriam Willoughby * Lucy Lee Flippin as Fran Castleberry * Stephen Keep as Les Kincaid *

George Flower George Albert "Buck" Flower (October 28, 1937 – June 18, 2004) was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director. He was sometimes credited as Ernest Wall, Buck Flower, George "Buck" Flower ...

as Roy * Mickey Jones as Chester * Terry Willis as Wendell Tubbs (1980)

Theme song

The theme song, "Flo's Yellow Rose", written by Fred Werner and Susie Glickman, was sung by

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

who would co-star with Holliday in the 1984 film '' Gremlins''.

Broadcast history

''Flo'' was broadcast in these following timeslots during its two-season run on

: *March 1980 – April 1980: Monday 9:30-10:00 p.m. *July 1980 – January 1981: Monday 8:00-8:30 p.m. *February 1981: Saturday 9:00-9:30 p.m. *March 1981 – May 1981: Saturday 8:30-9:00 p.m. *June 1981 – July 1981: Tuesday 8:30-9:00 p.m.

Episodes

Season 1 (1980)

Season 2 (1980–81)

Reception and cancellation

The short first season (spring 1980) was a ratings success ranking at No. 7 and had 24.4 million viewer average. The following season brought a sharp decline in numbers (due to repeated timeslot changes), and CBS opted to not renew the series for a third season.

Award nominations

*Nominated: 1980

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

– Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Polly Holliday) *Nominated: 1981

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

– Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical (Polly Holliday) *Nominated: 1981

– Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television (Geoffrey Lewis)

Home media release

On November 5, 2013, ''Flo: The Complete Series'' was released on DVD in Region 1 by Warner Home Video via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release available via WBShop.com & Amazon.com.

Book

A book chronicling the development of the TV series ''Alice'' and ''Flo'' entitled ''Alice: Life Behind the Counter in Mel's Greasy Spoon (A Guide to the Feature Film, the TV Series, and More)'' was published by BearManor Media in September 2019. ''Flo'' was also considered in the book ''Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s'' by Bob Leszczak, published by McFarland in 2016.

Notes

External links

* * {{Alice (TV series), Alice 1980 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms 1980s American workplace comedy television series CBS original programming English-language television shows American television spin-offs Television shows set in Fort Worth, Texas Television shows set in Texas Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios