Lou Grant

As a child/teenager of the 70s, I grew up watching the popular shows of the time like the Mary Tyler Moore Show, the Bob Newhart Show, etc......but it was never the main character that won me over. In the case of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, I was taken by the character of Lou Grant. For Career Day in Grade 8, I got to visit Toronto's CFTO station because I wanted to run a TV News show. Well, after The Mary Tyler Show ended it's run, I was excited to hear that "Lou Grant" was moving to California and getting his own TV station (or so I thought). You can imagine how disappointed I was watching that first Lou Grant episode and realizing he is no longer in competition with Les Nessman at WKRP, but rather Tom Bradford at the Sacramento Register (Eight Is Enough) . As a 14 year old, I couldn't understand why one would leave television for print...even I knew back in the late 70s that print was dead, but Lou didn't know.

I watched the show anyway and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was nice getting to know the whole persona of Lou, as opposed the gruff boss on the MTM show. The entire cast worked well together and 14 year old me thought Linda Kelsey was cute. Some of the content was tough to swallow at the time (the child on a bike episode for example) but they tried to be real about it.

The real crime today is that you can't find this show anywhere on any streaming services (at least not in Canada). My kids and grandkids have all seen the MTM show, but none have seen any episodes of Lou Grant, and it's Must See TV in my opinion.

So, streaming services....where you at?

An earlier reviewer's "bleeding heart" references suggest a right-wing orientation. Perhaps this explains his sweeping but unsubstantiated comments concerning how this show's episodes were developed. "Lou Grant" was created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, the writer-producers behind "Mary Tyler Moore," and Gene Reynolds, the force behind the TV incarnation of "M*A*S*H," who became the sole Executive Producer in the second year. Younger producers under Reynolds included Seth Freeman from "The Waltons" and Gary David Goldberg. However convenient it may be for people with an agenda to think otherwise the producers, not the star, dictated the content. There's no evidence Edward Asner ever suggested a single storyline, and plenty of testimony crediting others.

The entire MTM library was sold several times after Grant Tinker divested himself in order to run NBC. The likelihood of ever again seeing this fine show, which won 16 Emmys, two Humanitas prizes, and the Peabody Award, is absolutely zilch. Write to 20th Century Fox Television if you'd like the chance to see it, but don't expect to get anywhere.

When I first heard about this show twenty six years ago (God, time flies), I thought this would be an extension of the show it spun off from, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". What a surprise it was when this show turned out to be probably the greatest newspaper dramas in television history. The show wasn't afraid to take on controversial issues and even though it was a drama, it still had its lighter moments. Also, even though Ed Asner was the lead, it was more of an ensemble and the whole cast was great. This was an exceptional show and it is a lost classic.

James L. Brooks (As Good as it Gets, Terms of Endearment) was one of the producers and acted as executive producer of the fabulous series. Edward Asner (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Down on the Waterfront) played Lou Grant in a spin off of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. The editor of the L.A. Tribune. Nancy Marchand (Dear God ) Margaret Pynchon was the big boss and owner of the newspaper. She would show up occasionally with her good advice, a walking cane, and wearing a very expensive suit. Although she was the head, she was very nice. Mason Adams (From the Earth to the Moon) was Charlie Hume, Managing Editor. Robert Walden (All the President's Men) Joe Rossi, was a reporter. Linda Kelsey (The Midnight Man) played Billie Newman McCovey who was a very smart reporter. The most interesting thing about this show was the serious journalism they engaged in providing for the audience. The issues raised on the show were very current. It raised some controversy which might have affected the future existence of the show. It was an outstanding series. It was nice to see Lou Grant more mature in his carrier as a journalist. The series was nominated for and won the most prestigious awards in the U.S. such as: Emmy, Golden Globe, American Cinema Editors, USA, Directors Guild of America, USA, Human Family Educational & Cultural Institute, USA, Won Humanitas. The series was done by very intelligent people and demonstrated that television can be good when the people doing the show are bright. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Good shows like Lou Grants are not readily available.

Great iconic actors, writing of the highest caliber. Just good TV!