''It's Not Easy'' 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 ...

that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from September 29 until October 27, 1983.

Premise

A divorced couple decides to live across the street from each other to make it easier for the kids.

Cast

*Evan Cohen as Johnny Long *

Bert Convy Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy (July 23, 1933 – July 15, 1991) was an American actor, singer, game show host and panelist known for hosting ''Tattletales'', ''Super Password'' and ''Win, Lose or Draw''. Early life Convy was born in St. Louis ...

as Neal Townsend *

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in ''1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Whit ...

as Jack Long *Rachel Jacobs as Carol Long *

Billy Jayne William Jayne Jacoby (born April 10, 1969), known professionally as Billy Jayne and previously Billy Jacoby is an American actor. His siblings, Robert Jayne, Susan Jayne, Laura Jacoby, as well as his half-brother Scott Jacoby are also actors. ...

as Matthew Townsend *

Jayne Meadows Jayne Meadows (born Jane Cotter; September 27, 1919 – April 26, 2015), also known as Jayne Meadows Allen, was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards dur ...

as Ruth Long *

Carlene Watkins Carlene Watkins (born June 4, 1952) is an American actress best known for such television series and films as ''Best of the West'', ''Bob'', '' Dear John'', ''The Tortellis ''The Tortellis'' is an American sitcom television series and the fir ...

as Sharon Long Townsend

Development

The series was picked up by ABC in the spring of 1982, with it set to premiere that fall.

Gerald McRaney Gerald Lee McRaney (born August 19, 1947) is an American television and film actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows ''Simon & Simon'', '' Major Dad'', ''Promised Land'' and ''House of Cards''. He currently stars ...

was originally cast as Jack Long, with Larry Breeding co-starring as Neal Townsend. McRaney signed on for ''It's Not Easy'' when it appeared that his CBS detective series ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who operate ...

'' was on the cancellation block. A test pilot was shot with McRaney and Breeding, and after ABC picked up the show, the project soon faced recasts. Shortly after ABC ordered episodes for the fall, CBS announced that ''Simon & Simon'' was renewed for the 1982-83 season, rendering McRaney unavailable. The producers then sought out a replacement while ABC moved ''It's Not Easy'' off the September schedule. By late in the summer,

was chosen to replace McRaney. Plans were moving forward to shoot a second pilot when Larry Breeding was killed in a car accident on the Hollywood Freeway on September 28, 1982, and dealing with his loss preempted the show's development for several more months. ''It's Not Easy'' finally resurfaced on ABC's development slate in the spring of 1983, with Bert Convy taking over the role of Neal Townsend, and with a fall premiere date that year. The show did not last and was cancelled after only five weeks on air.

Filming

It's Not Easy was filmed at

Radford Studio Center Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The lot has 18 sound stages from , of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. ...

, at

Los Angeles, California 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' ...

, but it is set in

Lyndhurst, New Jersey Lyndhurst is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 20,554, reflecting an increase of 1,171 (+6.0%) from the 19,383 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in tur ...

Episodes

References

External links

* *{{epguides, ItsNotEasy 1983 American television series debuts 1983 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms English-language television shows American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in New Jersey