''Mulligan's Stew'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series, that originally aired as a 90-minute

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

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 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 ...

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

Lawrence Pressman Lawrence Pressman (born David Milton Pressman; July 10, 1939) is an American actor. He is 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 retired actress known for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early li ...

), 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 * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

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

Cast

as Michael Mulligan *

as Jane Mulligan, Michael's wife *

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 originated the r ...

(movie) / Johnny Doran (series) as Mark Mulligan, Michael & Jane's son * Julie Anne Haddock as Melinda Mulligan, Michael & Jane's daughter * K.C. Martel as Jimmy Mulligan, Michael & Jane's son *Lory Koccheim Walsh as Polaris "Polly" Freedman, Michael & Jane's paternal niece * Suzanne Crough as Stevie Freedman, Michael & Jane's paternal niece *Christopher Ciampa as Adam "Moose" Freedman, Michael & Jane's paternal nephew *Sunshine Lee as Kimmy Nguyen Freedman, Michael & Jane's adoptive paternal niece

Episodes

Reception

''Mulligan's Stew'' was scheduled opposite four Nielsen Top 15 hits: ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. Developed by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, it is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the ...

'' and ''

Soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

'' on

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 ...

, and ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for 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 Richa ...

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

. 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 comedy-dramas American English-language television shows Television series about families Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in California