Lou Grant (TV series)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the character, see Lou Grant.
Lou Grant
Created by
Based onLou Grant
by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns
Developed byLeon Tokatyan
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes114 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Allan Burns
  • James L. Brooks
  • Gene Reynolds
Running time46–48 minutes
Production companyMTM Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 20, 1977 (1977-09-20) –
September 13, 1982 (1982-09-13)
Related

Lou Grant is an American drama television series starring Ed Asner in the title role as a newspaper editor that aired on CBS from September 20, 1977, to September 13, 1982. The third spin-off (after Rhoda and Phyllis) of the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant was created by James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, and Gene Reynolds.

Lou Grant won 13

Peabody Award, an Eddie Award, three awards from the Directors Guild of America, and two Humanitas Prizes
.

Summary and setting

Ed Asner, Nancy Marchand and Mason Adams (1977)

Minneapolis at the end of the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show
. (Grant mentions several times on Mary Tyler Moore that he had begun his career as a print journalist.)

Given the shift from comedy to drama in this show, Lou becomes a less eccentric character: more diplomatic, sober, and professional. The only other character from the earlier series is a single appearance by

Flo Meredith, a veteran journalist (played in three episodes by Eileen Heckart
) with whom Lou had a fling.

The rest of the main cast includes: general-assignment reporters Joe Rossi (

Dorothy Chandler of the Los Angeles Times and Katharine Graham of The Washington Post. Recurring actors who play editors of various departments included Gordon Jump and Emilio Delgado; Peggy McCay
has a recurring role as Charlie Hume's wife Marion.

The episodes often have Grant assigning Rossi and Billie to cover news stories, with the plots revealing problems experienced by the people being covered as well as the frustrations and challenges faced by the reporters as they worked to get the story. The younger reporters are frequently seen turning to Lou for guidance and mentorship over some of the hard questions and moral dilemmas they experience as they work on their stories. The series frequently delves into serious social issues, such as

gay rights, domestic violence, capital punishment, child abuse, rape, and chemical pollution, in addition to demonstrating coverage of breaking news stories of all kinds. There is one character on Lou Grant, reporter Rosenthal, who is mentioned frequently but never seen.[1] Lou Grant was cancelled after the star, Ed Asner, publicly protested U.S. interventions into the politics of Latin American countries.[2]

The series also undertakes serious examination of

conflicts of interest
that journalists encounter in their work. There are also glimpses into the personal lives of the Tribune staff.

Production

When The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended its run, that series' co-creators and producers, James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, had a commitment to create a new show starring Ed Asner. They decided that it was easier to retain the popular Lou Grant character and make it a spinoff series. Mary Tyler Moore had already established that the character had a previous newspaper career. Brooks and Burns' decision to make the spinoff series a one-hour realistic drama instead of another 30-minute sitcom was influenced by the 1976 film All the President's Men, and how that movie depicted the operation of a major newspaper.[3]

Gene Reynolds, who was producing the TV show M*A*S*H at the same time, was also brought on as a co-creator and executive producer. Reynolds, Brooks and Burns had previously worked on the series Room 222, and Lou Grant made occasional reference to Walt Whitman High School, the setting of Room 222. Gary David Goldberg was a producer for the series. The theme music Lou Grant was composed by Patrick Williams.

Broadcast history

Lou Grant aired on

A&E Network
.

Episodes

Main article: List of Lou Grant episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRank
First airedLast aired
122September 20, 1977 (1977-09-20)March 20, 1978 (1978-03-20)36
224September 25, 1978 (1978-09-25)May 7, 1979 (1979-05-07)30
324September 17, 1979 (1979-09-17)March 24, 1980 (1980-03-24)—
420September 22, 1980 (1980-09-22)May 4, 1981 (1981-05-04)27
524November 2, 1981 (1981-11-02)September 13, 1982 (1982-09-13)38

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Lou Grant

Lou Grant won several critical honors during its run, including 13

Peabody Award, and two Humanitas Prizes
.

Asner won two Emmys for his portrayal of Grant; Marchand won an Emmy for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" four of the five years the series ran; Walden, Kelsey, and Adams all received multiple nominations for supporting Emmys.

Cancellation

The cancellation of Lou Grant in 1982 was controversial. Asner served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, during which he voiced opposition to U.S. government policy in Central America and worked closely with Medical Aid for El Salvador. Up until his death in 2021, Asner consistently stated his position that his political views, as well as the publicity they attracted, were the root causes of the cancellation of the show.[4] CBS denied that the cancellation had anything to do with Asner's politics, citing a fall in ratings for the last two seasons.[5] The show's ratings had fallen from an average 19.6 rating over the previous three seasons to 16.6 in its final year, finishing the season 43rd among primetime network series.[6]

Home media

Shout! Factory has released all five seasons on DVD in Region 1.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Home media releases of Lou Grant
DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 May 24, 2016
The Complete Second Season 24 August 16, 2016
The Complete Third Season 24 November 22, 2016
The Complete Fourth Season 20 February 21, 2017
The Complete Fifth and Final Season 24 March 13, 2018

References

Bibliography
Notes
  1. ^ "DVD Talk". www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  2. ^ "Edward Asner". Television Academy Interviews. 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  3. ^ Daniel 1996, pp. 19–23
  4. ^ Kassel, Michael B. (November 29, 2007). "Asner, Ed". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  5. ^ "Asner Gets Support of Nader Group". Los Angeles Times. June 11, 1982 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "So Much for Paley's 'Quality' As CBS Sidelines 'Lou Grant". Variety. May 12, 1982. p. 452.
  7. ^ Lou Grant: Season One. Available on DVD from Shout! Factory Archived 2016-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Stop the Presses! Shout! Factory Announces 'The Complete 2nd Season'!' Archived 2016-05-08 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ 'The Complete 3rd Season' is Scheduled for DVD this Fall Archived 2016-08-06 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ The Next-to-Last Season of the Show is Scheduled for DVD Archived 2016-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ 'Lou Grant - FINAL EDITION! The Complete 5th and Final Season is Announced Shout! Factory scheduled a May release date for this 5-DVD set' Archived 2017-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Lou Grant - 'The Complete 5th and Final Season' DVDs Are Back on the Schedule! 5-disc set from Shout! is finally coming out with the show's final episodes Archived 2017-12-09 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lou Grant (TV series).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lou_Grant_(TV_series)&oldid=1217163964"