''Mulligan's Stew'' is an American comedy-drama television series, that originally aired as a 90-minute

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television film on June 20, 1977, and later, as a 60-minute series from October 25 to December 13, 1977. The series focused on the lives of the Mulligan family, who live in the fictitious Southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

community of Birchfield; high school teacher and football coach, Michael (

Lawrence Pressman Lawrence Pressman (born David M. Pressman; July 10, 1939) is an American actor, probably best known for roles on '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Ladies' Man'', a recurring role on '' Profiler'', the title character on '' Mulligan's Stew'' and as a ...

), his wife, Jane (

Elinor Donahue Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue, April 19, 1937) is an American actress, best known today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early ...

), who is a school nurse.

Synopsis

Michael and Jane Mulligan have three children: Mark, Melinda and Jimmy. They find making ends meet difficult, but manageable. Things get tighter moneywise and spacewise when the Mulligans take in their nephew Adam (Moose) and nieces Polaris (Polly) and Starshine (Stevie) Freedman, after their parents (Michael's sister and brother-in-law) are killed in a plane crash in Hawaii while in the process of adopting the

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

-born Kimmy, leaving the Mulligans to finalize the adoption. They deal with the changes and bond as a family.

Cast

... Michael Mulligan *

... Jane Mulligan *

Johnny Whitaker John Orson Whitaker, Jr. (born December 13, 1959) is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on ''Family Affair'' from 1966 to 1971. He also originated ...

... Mark Mulligan (movie) *

Johnny Doran Johnny Doran (1908 – 19 January 1950)Sleeve notes compiled by Jackie Small and published with ''The Bunch of Keys'' audio tape, Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann (CBÉ 001), 1988 was an Irish uilleann piper. Life and family Johnny Doran was bo ...

... Mark Mulligan (series) *

Julie Anne Haddock Julie Anne Haddock (born April 3, 1965, Los Angeles, California) is an American actress, music executive and producer. Career Becoming a child actress at the age of ten, Haddock is perhaps best known for her role as tomboy Cindy Webster on the ...

... Melinda Mulligan * K.C. Martel ... Jimmy Mulligan *Lory Koccheim as Polaris "Polly" Freedman * Suzanne Crough as Stevie Freedman *Chris Ciampa as Adam "Moose" Freedman *Sunshine Lee as Kimmy Nguyen Freedman

Episodes

Reception

''Mulligan's Stew'' was scheduled opposite four Top 20 hits: ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...

'' and ''

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

'' on ABC, and ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' and '' One Day at a Time'' 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 Entertainm ...

. As a result, it suffered from dismal ratings, and was cancelled at the end of 1977. It ranked dead last out of 104 shows airing that season with an average 10.5 rating.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0075539 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American comedy-drama television series NBC original programming English-language television shows Television series about families Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in California