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Anyone ever heard of this show?

M

milwaukee_dave

I'm watching ME-TV at the moment, and I saw a promo for a new sitcom, "The Mothers-in-Law," joining the channel's line-up. I pride myself on my TV knowledge, but I've never heard of this show. I've seen obscure shows dot schedules at times, but I've never heard of this show and have never seen it rerun on broadcast or cable in my 25 years of studying TV.

It appears "The Mothers-in-Law" ran two seasons (56 episodes total) from 1967-69, was co-directed by Desi Arnaz and ran on NBC.

Is anyone familiar with this series?

In some respects, the classic-themed diginets remind me of the early days of cable. They're taking the wraps off series that haven't been seen in a long time!
 
What I know about the show is that it ran 2 seasons on Sunday nights on NBC in the late 60s (before Bonanza, I believe), and also that Desi Arnaz had a huge hand in it.

Without peeking at other sites, I recall it starred Eve Arden, Kaye Ballard, Roger C. Carmel, and one other guy I forget! How did I do? :D

cd
 
WNEW Channel 5 in New York reran the series constantly in the early '70's! Reminds me a little bit of "I Love Lucy", maybe because it was produced by Desi Arnaz!
 
cd637299 said:
What I know about the show is that it ran 2 seasons on Sunday nights on NBC in the late 60s (before Bonanza, I believe), and also that Desi Arnaz had a huge hand in it.

Without peeking at other sites, I recall it starred Eve Arden, Kaye Ballard, Roger C. Carmel, and one other guy I forget! How did I do? :D

cd
Click to expand...

Herbert Rudley played Eve Arden's husband. Roger Carmel was replaced by Richard Deacon for the show's 2nd season, following a salary dispute.
 
WXIA used to run that in the early-morning hours (around 5 AM). Desi Arnaz,
in addition to producing the show, appeared occasionally as bullfighter Raphael
Del Gado.

In the first season, five of the six actors used their real first names (Eve, Kaye,
Roger, Herb, and Jerry--Jerry Fogel as Jerry Buell, Kaye and Roger's son; Deborah
Walley, OTOH, was Susie Hubbard, who married Jerry); Richard Deacon replaced
Roger Carmel the second year but kept Roger's name.

The format was that the Hubbards (Eve, Herb, Susie) were next-door neighbors
to the Buells (Kaye, Roger, Jerry), and that the two kids got married. Kaye and
Eve worked a lot like Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance (with a little "Our Miss Brooks"
thrown in on Eve's part). The show was fairly funny but seemed a bit old-fashioned
during its 1967-69 run. I also remember it was on against Ed Sullivan and "The FBI,"
but I watched it on many a Sunday night.

I definitely recommend it if you can find it on DVD, just to see two of the funniest
ladies in the business.
 
What I remember about this show is that it was one of the first times I remember seeing Desi Arnaz since he and Lucy divorced culminating in the end of I Love Lucy.

Arnaz was scheduled to star in his own TV series as a spin off from Ironside where he played a Cuban doctor/investigator. By then however Arnaz's health started to decline and a few years later he died from cancer.

BTW Jerry Fogel started his career here in Rochester as a DJ on a (then) popular AM radio station. Fogel had a bit part in a few movies (Tora, Tora, Tora) was one, but then he seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth when it came to his acting career.
 
I remember watching this show a few times during it's run on NBC.
I was very young at the time and don't recall much about it.
I did remember that it starred Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard.
 
As explained by other posters, it was a short-lived program that aired on the NBC network. It was produced by Desi Arnaz; one of the few shows he became involved with following his divorce from Lucille Ball back in 1960.

While the cast did have some very talented people, the show never caught on with the viewing public and was cancelled after the second season.
 
That Sunday-at-8:30 slot on NBC in the '60s was the "death slot" because folks who watched Disney would switch to the 2nd half of Ed Sullivan in droves at 8:30; anyone remember "Grindl"? or "Hey Landlord"? But "Mothers-in-Law" was probably the best of the shows that aired there -- it actually lasted 2 seasons and I remember as a 12-year-old thinking it was pretty funny and, yes, "I Love Lucy"-ish.
 
I appreciate everyone's comments. My interest is definitely piqued. When "The Mothers in Law" joins the ME-TV lineup, I'll certainly sample it.

I should note the trio of retro diginets have introduced me to a few other shows I'd never heard of in the past. In the fall, for instance, ME-TV added action-adventure series, "The Rogues" to its lineup, albeit in a very obscure time slot in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Upon further investigation, I learned this series ran a single season (1964-65) on NBC. Again, prior to ME-TV, I'd never seen the series rerun elsewhere in my 25 years of studying TV.

Other shows I hadn't known about, until recent airings: "Circus Boy," "Iron Horse" and "Movin' On."
 
Mark_Giardina said:
Arnaz was scheduled to star in his own TV series as a spin off from Ironside where he played a Cuban doctor/investigator. By then however Arnaz's health started to decline and a few years later he died from cancer.
Click to expand...

We don't know when his health started to decline, but he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1986, shortly before his death that year. After "The Mothers in Law", Arnaz practically lived in retirement, resurfacing on television here and there (including a notable guest host stint on Saturday Night Live in 1976; and of course, his role on a 1974 "Ironside" episode that led to an unrealised series).
 
I remember Desi's guest hosting SNL along with Desi Jr... with the inevitable "I Love Lucy" spoof with Gilda Radner as Lucy and Desi Jr. as Ricky, and Desi Sr. singing "Babalu" as good as ever. That same year, Desi published his autobiography, "A Book." It ended with his divorce from Lucy, and he was supposed to tell the rest of his story in "Another Book."
I also recall his appearance on an episode of "Alice." (Former Lucy writers Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. were working on that show; they probably had a hand in getting Desi on.)

And I certainly remember "The Mothers-in-Law," but recall no specific details about any of the episodes.
 
Premiere Date Announced

Starting June 24th, Sundays 2/1c. No idea if it's two eps back to back or just one.

Interesting promo -- the two actresses speak to the camera as themselves introducing the show, almost like a "pitch film", while other clips of the show are cut in.
 
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