''Flying High'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, created by Dawn Aldredge and

Martin Cohan Martin Paul Cohan (July 4, 1932 – May 19, 2010), credited as Marty Cohan, was an American television producer and screenwriter. He co-created the sitcom '' Who's the Boss?'', which aired on ABC from 1984 until 1992, with business partner, Bla ...

, starring Kathryn Witt,

Connie Sellecca Connie Sellecca (born Concetta Sellecchia; May 25, 1955) is an American actress, producer, and former model, best known for her roles on the television series '' Flying High'', ''The Greatest American Hero'', and ''Hotel'', for which she was nomi ...

Pat Klous Patricia Klous (born October 19, 1948) is a retired American television actress and former model, best known for her roles as stewardess Marcy Bower on the CBS TV series '' Flying High'' (1978–79) and as cruise director Judy McCoy on the ABC si ...

, and

Howard Platt Howard Thomas Platt (born June 5, 1938) is an American stage and television actor, singer and director, best known for his role as "Officer Hopkins" on the TV series '' Sanford and Son'' (1972–76). Howard wrote and performed “Riverwinds” fo ...

. The series 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 August 28, 1978, to January 23, 1979.

Premise

The plot follows three attractive flight attendants (Marcy Bower, Pam Bellagio and Lisa Benton) working for the fictional Sun West Airlines in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.Brooks, Tim & Earle Marsh
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
p. 485 (9th ed. 2007)

Cast

* Kathryn Witt as Pam Bellagio *

as Lisa Benton *

as Marcy Bower *

as Captain Doug March *

Ken Olfson Ken Olfson (April 2, 1937 – December 31, 1997) was an American film, theater and television actor in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Olfson was born on April 2, 1937 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He began acting at the age of 10 and was active ...

as Raymond Strickman Platt (then age 40) and Sellecca (age 23) met on-set and developed a romantic relationship which led to a brief engagement.Lester, Peter (5 February 1979)
Their Series May Get Canned, but Howard Platt and Connie Sellecca Keep on Flying High—and United
''People''Buell, Bill (25 September 2014)
TV veteran Platt delighted to be one of McCourt brothers
''Daily Gazette'' Actress

Tanya Roberts Tanya Roberts (born Victoria Leigh Blum; October 15, 1949 – January 4, 2021) was an American actress. She played Julie Rogers in the final season of the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1980–1981), Stacey Sutton in the James Bond fi ...

was at one point intended to be involved, but was dropped.Reilly, Sue (9 February 1981)
Is the Jiggle Up?
''People''

Episode list

Production

In early May 1978,

announced its new schedule plan for the 1978–79 season, with eight new shows including ''Flying High'' planned for 10-11pm Friday time slot.Shepard, Richard F. (3 May 1978)
CBS-TV Adds 8, Drops
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' The three protagonists, played by Kathryn Witt,

and

, were recruited from top New York modeling agencies with a specific plan to find three very attractive female models with or without acting experience. As executive producer Mark Carliner recounted at the time, when he went to visit the CBS head of program planning Harvey Shephard to pitch the show with three models in tow, the network's sales head saw them on the elevator and after learning they were pitching a show, immediately called the head of programming to say "we need this show".Searching for beautiful women
''Washington Post'' The program was not exactly a unique concept -- ''Flying High'' was one of a number of programs developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s in what has been called the "jiggle" era.D'Acci, Jule
Defining Women: Television and the Case of Cagney and Lacey
p. 15 (1994) In fact, NBC had its own show featuring stewardesses, "Coastocoast", an hour-long sitcom that the network announced as part of its 1978-79 lineup; however, it was cancelled before airing.https://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/09/almost-but-not-quite-coastocoast/

Broadcast

A two-hour

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

aired on August 28, 1978, during the summer re-run season, and was the most-watched prime-time show of the week.Terrace, Vincent
Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2 (1974-84)
p. 149 (1985)(9 September 1978)
ABC is off and running for the season
''Anniston Star'' ("A preview installment' of CBS' "Flying High" comedy series was the week's most-watched program... 28.2 (rating) representing 20.5 million homes") The first regular hour-long episode aired on September 29, 1978 (the show was pre-empted a week prior by a special two-hour wedding episode of ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

''). By mid-October, it was already clear that the show was in trouble due to low ratings; it ranked only 56th out of 65 shows for the week ending October 15, 1978, and did not improve, finally being yanked from the CBS schedule in January 1979.(22 November 1978)
ABC "Peart" tops the week
''Index-Journal'' (For November 17, 1978 episode: "CBS' "Flying High" was 51st, followed by ABC's "Lucan" and three NBC shows - "Frankie and Annette," "David Cassidy-Undercover" and "Lifeline.")

Critical reception

The series also received negative reviews, along with '' American Girls'', for its representation of women as "curiously old-fashioned, if not stereotypical."Crossette, Barbara (20 October 1978)
'Girls', 'Flying' to be dropped?
''Rochester Democrat and Chronicle'' (New York Times story) Both series were seen as trying to copycat the success of ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

'', but neither succeeded.(18 September 1978
TV Angel Cheryl Ladd
''People'' ("over copycat competitors like CBS’s Flying High and American Girls")

References

External links

*
''Flying High''
at

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

* {{epguides, id=FlyingHigh, title=Flying High 1978 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings 1970s American comedy-drama television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles Aviation television series Television series about flight attendants