''Loves Me, Loves Me Not'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

starring

Susan Dey Susan Hallock Dey (born December 10, 1952) is an American retired actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series ''L.A. Law'' from ...

and Kenneth Gilman, which centered on a young couple who had just started dating. It aired on

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

from March 20 to April 27, 1977.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, pp. 497-498.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 615.

Cast

as Jane Benson * Kenneth "Kip" Gilman as Dick Phillips *

Art Metrano Arthur Metrano (September 22, 1936 – September 8, 2021) was an American actor. He was noted for his role as Lt./Capt./Cmdt. Mauser in '' Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment'' and '' Police Academy 3: Back in Training''. Career Metrano's f ...

as Tom * Phyllis Glick as Sue

Synopsis

Dick Phillips is an awkward but earnest and hardworking newspaper reporter who has fallen head-over-heels for Jane Benson, a single

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

schoolteacher. Both are in their early 20s. They begin to date, but are very unsure of the relationship: Jane is not as sure as Dick is of the relationship's romantic potential – in fact, at first she wants nothing to do with him – and is reluctant to reciprocate his affection, and Dick is not sure where he stands with Jane.Leszczak, Bob, ''Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., Inc., 2001, p. 110.

/ref>
/ref> Tom is Dick's boss and best friend. Sue is Tom's wife, and she befriends Jane after Dick and Jane start dating.

Production

''Loves Me, Loves Me Not'' was Susan Dey's first weekly television series after ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...

'' came to an end in 1974. It was rushed into production after CBS, deciding to produce a show about young adults to tap into the market for such shows that

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

had had so much mid-1970s success with in ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' and ''

Laverne and Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams as Laverne DeFazio and ...

'', made a last-minute decision to buy six episodes for broadcast in the spring of 1977.

Susan Harris Susan Harris (née Spivak; born October 28, 1940) is an American former television writer and producer who created the Emmy Award-winning sitcoms ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and ''The Golden Girls'' (1985–1992). Between 1975 and 1998, Harris was o ...

, who created the show, wrote its episodes very quickly and filming similarly was rushed, wrapping up in January 1977. Dey said during the show's run that the tight schedule reduced the amount of depth that she and Gilman could put into their characters, although she thought that the depth would come if the show succeeded and more episodes were produced.Everything Susan Dey: Susan Dey gets press for Loves Me, Loves Me Not
/ref>

Paul Junger Witt Paul Junger Witt (March 20, 1941 – April 27, 2018) was an American film and television producer. He, with his partners Tony Thomas (producer), Tony Thomas and Susan Harris (also his wife), produced such television shows as ''Here Come the Bri ...

and Tony Thomas produced the show, and

Jay Sandrich Jay Henry Sandrich (February 24, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American television director who primarily worked on sitcoms. In 2020, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Early life Jay Sandrich was born in Los Angeles, th ...

was among the episode directors. Six episodes were produced, but CBS cancelled the show after the last of them aired.

Broadcast history

''Loves Me, Loves Me Not'' premiered on CBS on Sunday, March 20, 1977, at 10:30 p.m. It then moved to its regular time slot, Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., on March 23, remaining there until its sixth and final episode was broadcast on April 27, 1977.

Episodes

Sourcestv.com Loves Me, Loves Me Not
/ref>

References

{{Reflist Television series by 20th Century Fox Television 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms American English-language television shows Television shows set in California CBS sitcoms