''We Got It Made'' 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 ...

television series that aired on

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from September 8, 1983, to March 10, 1984, and in first-run syndication from September 11, 1987, to March 30, 1988. It starred

Teri Copley Teri Copley (born May 10, 1961) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role on the American NBC/ syndicated television series ''We Got It Made'', which premiered in 1983, co-starred on the 1985 CBS television series '' I Had Three ...

as a young woman who works as a maid for two bachelors in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, played by Matt McCoy (replaced by John Hillner for the syndicated version) and

Tom Villard Thomas Louis Villard (November 19, 1953 – November 14, 1994) was an American actor. He is known for his leading role in the 1980s series '' We Got It Made'', as well as roles in feature films ''Grease 2'', ''One Crazy Summer'', ''Heartbreak R ...

. The series was created by Gordon Farr and Lynne Farr Brao (credited as simply Lynne Farr during the 1987–88 season). The executive producer was

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

Synopsis

1983 NBC version

The show focuses on Mickey Mackenzie (

), a girl in her early 20s who applies for a

housekeeping Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running an organised physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as tidying, cleaning, cooking, routine maintenance, shopping, ...

job in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Her employers are two bachelors who share the two-bedroom apartment—conservative attorney David Tucker ( Matt McCoy) and goofy, idealistic salesman Jay Bostwick (

). Mickey is the first — and only — applicant for the job; in fact, both David and Jay are so taken by her beauty, they immediately hire her. Both David and Jay had girlfriends—David's was attorney Claudia Jones (

Stepfanie Kramer Stepfanie Kramer (born Stephanie Lyla Kramer; August 6, 1956) is an American actress best known for having played Detective Sgt. Dee Dee McCall on the 1980s NBC police series '' Hunter''. She was nominated for an Emmy in Special Class Programmi ...

, who left after episode #19 and found far greater fame on the NBC crime drama ''

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

'' - Copley and Villard would also later appear as guest stars), while Jay dated kindergarten teacher Beth Sorensen (Bonnie Urseth). Both Claudia and Beth were skeptical about their boyfriends having such an attractive maid living with them, but they eventually grew to accept Mickey as a friend. When it first premiered, ''We Got It Made'' looked to be successful, winning its time slot early in the run. Before long, though, negative reviews from both critics and the general viewing public eroded its viewership. NBC moved the series from its original Thursday night berth to Saturdays in January 1984. The change in its night and time did little in keeping the series on the air; in March 1984, ''We Got It Made'' was cancelled.

1987 syndicated version

''We Got It Made'' was revived in first-run

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

for the 1987–1988 season as part of NBC's " Prime Time Begins at 7:30" campaign, in which the network's

owned-and-operated stations In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

ran first-run sitcoms in the 7:30–8:00 pm ET/ PT (6:30–7:00 pm CT) time slot to counterprogram competing stations'

game shows A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

, sitcom

reruns A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

, and other offerings. However, the series was picked up by non-NBC stations, as well. Teri Copley and Tom Villard were the only returning cast members, Jay and Beth no longer were a couple (Bonnie Urseth had decided not to participate this time), and David was now played by John Hillner. David, Jay, and Mickey had new neighbors, as well—

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Max Papavasiolios Sr. (Ron Karabatsos) and his son, Max Jr. (Lance Wilson-White). Mickey seemed to allow greater physical attention—and affection—from the now-single Jay and David, but at the same time, she doted on them as if they were her young sons. She also had a special relationship with teenaged Max, who frequently came to her for advice in attracting and dealing with women, although he would have preferred putting that advice to use on Mickey alone. As they had with the NBC version, critics lambasted the series, and ''We Got It Made'' lasted only one season in syndication. The series' final original episode was released on March 30, 1988, with reruns airing until the week of September 3, 1988, in most markets.

Cast

as Mickey Mackenzie *

as Jay Bostwick * Matt McCoy as David Tucker (1983–1984) * Bonnie Urseth as Beth Sorensen (1983–1984) *

as Claudia Jones (1983–1984) *

John Hillner John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

as David Tucker (1987–1988) *

Ron Karabatsos Ronald Christ Karabatsos (1933–2012) was an American character actor. Early life Karabatsos was born on April 22, 1933, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA, to Constantine and Antoinette Karabatsos, first-generation immigrants from Greece. The fam ...

as Max Papavasilios Sr. (1987–1988) * Lance Wilson-White as Max Papavasilios, Jr. (1987–1988) Notable guest stars included

Elaine Joyce Elaine Joyce (born Elaine Joyce Pinchot) is an American actress. Early life and education Elaine Joyce Pinchot was born in Cleveland, Ohio, of Hungarian ancestry, the daughter of Iliclina (née Nagy) and Frank Pinchot. Career She made her fil ...

(as Mickey's mother),

Edie McClurg Edith Marie McClurg (born July 23, 1945) is an American actress and comedian. She has played supporting roles in the films ''Carrie'' (1976), ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), and ''Elvira: Mistress of the Dark'' (1988), and bit parts in '' ...

Julie Brown Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and television director. Brown is known for her work in the 1980s, where she often played a quintessential valley girl charac ...

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallo ...

Alice Ghostley Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) on '' Bewitched' ...

Richard Paul Richard Paul (June 6, 1940 – December 25, 1998) was an American actor who was born in Los Angeles, California. Early life Paul was born in Los Angeles, California. Richard earned a Bachelor of Arts in public affairs from Claremont Men's Coll ...

Billie Bird Billie Bird Sellen (February 28, 1908 – November 27, 2002), better known professionally as Billie Bird, was an American actress and comedian. She played Margie in '' Dear John'' (1988–1992). Early life Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Bird was ...

Joel Brooks Joel Brooks (born December 17, 1949) is an American actor, known for his roles in '' Stir Crazy'', ''My Sister Sam'', '' Six Feet Under'', ''The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' and ''Phil of the Future''. Brooks also had a recurrin ...

Jack Bannon John James Bannon (June 14, 1940 – October 25, 2017) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Art Donovan on ''Lou Grant'', a role he played for the duration of the series, from 1977 to 1982. Early life Bannon was born on June ...

Peggy Pope Florence Margaret "Peggy" Pope (May 15, 1929 – May 27, 2020) was an American actress of stage, television and film. Early life Pope was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Her father was a notable doctor in the area. She graduated from Smith Col ...

, and

Jean Kasem Jean Thompson Kasem (born May 21, 1954) is a former American actress. She is the widow of radio personality and actor Casey Kasem. Early life Jean Thompson was one of five children born to Irene Celia Thompson and Herbert Owens Thompson Sr. (d ...

NBC ratings

Syndicated stations (1987-88)

Episode list

Season 1: 1983–84

Season 2: 1987–88

References

External links

*
''We Got It Made'' at Nostalgia Central
{{NBC's "Prime Time Begins at 7:30" 1980s American sitcoms 1983 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings 1987 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States NBC original programming Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in New York City American television series revived after cancellation