Phyllis
Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 8, 1975 to March 13, 1977. Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' landlady on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In the new series, Phyllis and her daughter Bess Lindstrom moved from Minneapolis to San Francisco, after the death of her husband, Dr. Lars Lindstrom. It was revealed that San Francisco was Phyllis and Lars' original hometown, prior to their moving to Minneapolis, and that his mother and stepfather still resided there.
Seasons
1. Pilot
Air Date: 1975-09-11
Phyllis' husband, Lars, suddenly dies only to leave Phyllis and her daughter Bess with no money. Desperate, they move to San Francisco to live with Lars' mother Audrey and her new husband Jonathan Dexter. At a reception for Lars' friends, Phyllis meets her new boss Julie Erskine, owner of Erskine Photography. Phyllis later discovers that Julie dated Lars at the same time he was dating her and he proposed to Julie first.
2. Bess, Is You a Woman Now?
Air Date: 1975-09-18
Bess goes away on a weekend ski trip. Phyllis makes a phone call to Bess' room to see how she is doing only to find someone else answer the phone, a young man. Phyllis is worried that Bess is no longer her innocent daughter.
3. Up for Grabs
Air Date: 1975-09-22
An old friend of Lars is in town to discuss some business with Phyllis. However, he is more interested in Phyllis fpr reasons other than business.
4. Leaving Home
Air Date: 1975-09-23
Mother Dexter is upset that Phyllis and Bess have stolen her guest bedroom, so Phyllis decides to move out on her own. Her new apartment, however, is a total dump.
5. The First Day
Air Date: 1975-09-30
Phyllis writes to her friend Mary Richards to tell her all about her new life and how hard it was when she first started working.
6. Phyllis Takes Piano Lessons
Air Date: 1975-10-07
Phyllis has always regretted that she never finished her piano recital as a child because she froze on stage. She decides to take lessons again, she discovers that she is the only adult in the children's class.
7. Phyllis' Garage Sale
Air Date: 1975-10-14
All of Phyllis' belongings arrive from Minneapolis and clutters the house--literally. Phyllis decides to have a garage sale, but has trouble letting go of her things.
8. The First Date
Air Date: 1975-10-27
Phyllis is going to go on a double date with Julie, for the first time since Lars died and is nervous about getting into the routine again.
9. All Together Now
Air Date: 1975-10-30
Phyllis feels that she does not really ""know"" Bess. First, she tries to go out with Bess to a dance club and when that doesn't work. Then, she gets an insane idea of staying up all night and having them tell all kinds of secrets about themselves.
10. Audrey Leaves Jonathan
Air Date: 1975-11-06
Audrey is upset when she learns that Jonathan had an affair on his first wife while he was in the service. She feels that if he's done it once, he'll do it again. She decides to leave him, only to move next door to Phyllis' room. Jonathan must tell her he loves her because he never has.
11. Phyllis Opens Julie's Heart
Air Date: 1975-11-17
Phyllis must try to comfort Julie after she sees her boyfriend with another woman.
12. So Lonely I Could Cry
Air Date: 1975-11-24
Phyllis finds her self all alone when Bess is gone for the weekend and the Dexter's go on vacation. She must try to entertain herself for the entire weekend with no one else around.
13. Phyllis and the Little People
Air Date: 1975-12-01
Bess announces her plans to marry. Phyllis invites the boy's parents over only to discover that they are little people and must deal with her discomfort throughout the evening.
14. There's No Business Like No Business
Air Date: 1975-12-08
The photo studio is in financial trouble and Phyllis tries to land an account for the company but fails. Jonathan decides to invest some money into the business.
15. Paging Dr. Lindstrom
Air Date: 1975-12-22
Phyllis meets a medium at the studio and discusses the afterlife. Audrey, by chance, meets him and invites him over to have a seance to contact Lars.
16. The $17,623,419.53 Man
Air Date: 1976-01-05
Phyllis meets a wealthy business tycoon named Harry Loomis who proposes to her.
17. Honor Thy Mother Dexter
Air Date: 1976-01-12
Phyllis believes that the reason Sally (Judith Lowry) is so grouchy is because she has nothing to do in life. First Phyllis tries to put her in the workforce by getting her a job at the studio. That was a big mistake. Then, Phyllis tries to fix her up with a date.
18. Phyllis in Love
Air Date: 1976-01-19
Phyllis falls in love with a tennis player who just happens to be married.
19. Crazy Mama
Air Date: 1976-01-26
Bess has finally had it with her mother and feels she has no privacy. Thus, Bess moves out and Phyllis must go after her and convince her to return home.
20. A Man, a Woman, and Another Woman
Air Date: 1976-02-02
Phyllis' old lawyer friend Jerome returns to San Francisco with his new young bride.
21. Leo's Suicide
Air Date: 1976-02-09
Leo gets depressed and takes some of Audrey's pills (which happen to be no more than placebos.)
22. Sonny Boy
Air Date: 1976-02-16
Jonathan's brother comes to visit and Phyllis must become a middleman between sibling rivalry.
23. Widows, Merry and Otherwise
Air Date: 1976-02-23
Audrey's niece, a recent widow, comes to visit, and Phyllis must try to comfort her since she is too a widow.
24. The Triangle
Air Date: 1976-03-01
Bess's old boy boyfriend who falls for Phyllis after he is dumped by Bess.
1. The New Job
Air Date: 1976-09-20
Julie had gotten married and closed the photo studio, so Phyllis was out of a job. She tries to find work unsuccessfully, until she is hired as an assistant to a crooked city supervisor. After he is fired the new supervisor is uncertain about hiring Phyllis at first, but reconsiders.
2. You're Not Getting Better, Just Older
Air Date: 1976-09-27
Phyllis' birthday is coming up and no one is throwing her a party or even cares. She then becomes depressed because she has no friends and calls old friend Mary Richards in Minneapolis. Mary flies to San Francisco thinking something is wrong, then is angry when she learns Phyllis just wanted her company for a birthday party.
3. Speech 1A
Air Date: 1976-10-04
Phyllis writes a big important Speech for Dan
4. Off the Bench
Air Date: 1976-10-11
Phyllis runs into Van Horn in the park once again, she feels sorry for him and tries to improve his image and make him a respectable human being -- unsuccessfully, of course.
5. Boss or Buddy, or Both, or Neither
Air Date: 1976-10-18
Phyllis is upset when Dan doesn't pay any attention to her or appreciate her work, so she goes on strike.
6. Phyllis Cries Wolf
Air Date: 1976-10-25
Phyllis must deal with the fact that Bess has a new boyfriend...who is older...and is her professor at college.
7. Out of the Closet
Air Date: 1976-11-01
Phyllis has a strange date who first announces his plans to marry her, but later reveals that he's actually gay.
8. The Wrong Box
Air Date: 1976-11-08
Phyllis has Lars' body shipped from Minneapolis so he can be buried at her new home. When the box arrives, something is moving on the inside.
9. Phyllis and the Jumper
Air Date: 1976-11-15
Dan's visiting friend is just wild about Phyllis.
10. Mother Dexter Cohabitates
Air Date: 1976-11-22
Phyllis struggles with Sally's feelings about her boyfriend, Arthur Lanson. She decides to marry him, though.
11. Mother Dexter's Wedding
Air Date: 1976-12-06
Phyllis has taken care of all the arrangements for Sally's wedding; but there's one thing... she forgot to pick up the bride. Sally must find a way to get to the wedding on her own.
12. Bess Airs Her Views
Air Date: 1976-12-20
Bess and other students protest the firing of a teacher because she had posed nude for a photo years ago, the group of students get expelled for taking a group photo in the nude.
13. The Christmas Party
Air Date: 1976-12-27
Leonard's side of the office decides to throw a Christmas party, but Dan makes Phyllis work to the very last minute.
14. Phyllis Runs the Office
Air Date: 1977-01-03
Dan and Phyllis trade jobs for a day to see how the other one lives.
15. The Threat
Air Date: 1977-01-10
Leonard receives a death threat about his vote on a low-cost housing project and must wrestle with the fear.
16. Taking a Chance on Chance
Air Date: 1977-01-16
Phyllis starts dating a compulsive gambler.
17. Leonard and the Bribe
Air Date: 1977-01-23
Leonard is offered a $100,000 bribe to cast a particular vote, but is unsure what to do.
18. Broken Hearted Bess
Air Date: 1977-01-30
Bess' boyfriend dumps her, so Phyllis takes her on a trip to cheer her up.
19. I Am Beautiful
Air Date: 1977-02-06
Harriet has always been the sarcastic co-worker of Phyllis, but Phyllis befriends her and tries tot make her more attractive to men, Leonard in particular.
20. Dan's Ex
Air Date: 1977-02-13
Phyllis gets an idea to bring Dan and his soon to be-ex back together again because she thinks there is still love there. They, however, cannot stand each other.
21. Audrey's New Life
Air Date: 1977-02-20
Feeling useless, Audrey gets a job in an Antique store to Jonathan's dislike.
22. The Elopement
Air Date: 1977-02-27
Bess and Dan's nephew Mark Valenti run off and elope and Phyllis must wrestle with the issue.
23. The Apartment
Air Date: 1977-03-06
Mark and Bess move into a dirty, run-down apartment and Phyllis voices her concerns. Johnathan agrees to allow them to move into his house temporarily.
24. A Baby Makes Six
Air Date: 1977-03-13
Feeling that he cannot support Bess with his struggling singing career, Mark leaves. Phyllis then runs after him, and tells him to return because Bess has a surprise -- she's pregnant.
Select an episode to start watching
Rating
7.0/10
Release Date
1975-09-08
Episodes
48 (2 seasons)
Status
Ended
