''Mama's Boy'' 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 ...

television series that aired from September 19, 1987 until August 6, 1988. It was created by Susan Harris, and produced by

Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions Witt/Thomas Productions is an American television and movie production company run by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. The company was consistently productive between its founding in 1973 and 1999, but is still active, producing an ...

and it was distributed by TeleVentures. The comedy starred Bruce Weitz and

Nancy Walker Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...

in the lead roles. ''Mama's Boy'' was proposed as a new

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 ...

project to debut as a series sometime during the 1987–88 season. When it debuted, it was described as a "designated hitter" -- "a show that will be broadcast monthly and then, ratings permitting, be ready to move into a weekly slot if required." However, after a couple of telecasts in the fall of 1987, the network continued to air the series' initial episodes sporadically (with as many as five months passing between episodes three and four) without a regular time slot. By the end of the season, NBC decided not to upgrade the show from "specials" status; only seven episodes were produced, with six airing through August 6, 1988. The last episode remains unaired.

Premise

A newspaper columnist shares a New York apartment with his mother. Weitz and Walker received this series in response to their recent popular NBC roles: his seven-year run as Det. Mick Belker on ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', and her two-time guest role as Angela, sister of Sophia Petrillo (

Estelle Getty Estelle Gettleman (née Scher; July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), known professionally as Estelle Getty, was an American actress and comedian best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on ''The Golden Girls'' (1985–92), for which she won ...

) on '' The Golden Girls''. Additionally, Dan Hedaya, whose high-profile NBC guest role was as Nick Tortelli on '' Cheers'', was added to the cast of this proposed series soon after the cancellation of his short-lived ''Cheers'' spin-off, ''

The Tortellis ''The Tortellis'' is an American sitcom television series and the first Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Cheers'', starring Dan Hedaya and Jean Kasem. It aired on NBC from January 22 to May 12, 1987. Synopsis Hedaya and Kasem had appeared on ''Ch ...

''.

Cast

* Bruce Weitz as Jake McCaskey *

as Molly McCaskey *

Susan Blakely Susan Blakely is an American actress and model. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. Blakely also ha ...

as Victoria *

Dan Hedaya Daniel G. Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor. He established himself as a supporting actor, often playing sleazy villains or wisecracking supporting characters. He has had supporting roles in films such as '' True Confessions'' (198 ...

as Mickey

Episodes

References

External links

* *{{TV Guide show, 202875 1987 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in New York City