Warren Littlefield

Stories

Out of the gloom came a comedy golden age

(This is the 14th chapter of the book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” To read at all (so far) in order, click “News and Quick Comments” and scroll to the headline that starts, “The Book.”)

At times, TV people decide that situation comedies are doomed. One such time came seven years before “Seinfeld” (shown here) would start a comedy comeback.
In the 1984-85 season, “Dallas” and “Dynasty” were at the top; two more soaps (“Knots Landing” and “Falcon Crest”) were in the top 10. Viewers watched light action (“A-Team,” “Magnum,” “Riptide”), but not comedies: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 7, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Thursday-comedy stars converge for “Mr. Mayor”

Neil Bremer has all the key qualifications to be mayor.
He’s tall and silver-haired, with an agreeable countenance and an affable manner. He has everything except … well, plans, proposals, projects and such. Maybe he’ll think of some later.
He’s the central character in “Mr. Mayor,” which debuts at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 7) on NBC. It has all of NBC’s key Thursday people: Ted Danson (shown here) stars; Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are producers.
You may remember NBC Thursdays: That used to be “must-see TV”; then it became “might-see TV” and then sort of “whatever.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 4, 2021
Stories

It’s farewell (again) to a pioneering comedy

“Will & Grace” – once a pioneering gem – is saying goodbye … again.
Its first series-finale was in 2006. People cheered and wept; Debra Messing took home a souvenir – the office door that had the name of her character, Grace Adler. (NBC later billed her for $220, she has said; she didn’t pay it.)
For the next decade, the actors were busy elsewhere. Messing and Eric McCormack each starred in a couple series, Sean Hayes became a producer (“Hollywood Game Night,” “History of Comedy,” more), Megan Mullally saw her husband, Nick Offerman, go from obscurity to fame.
Then they returned for three more years. The show has gone for so long that we might forget how revolutionary it was. Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, put it in perspective: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 23, 2020