Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
| Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | |
|---|---|
2007 DVD release cover
|
|
| Created by | |
| Developed by | Norman Lear |
| Starring |
Louise Lasser Greg Mullavey Mary Kay Place Graham Jarvis Debralee Scott Dody Goodman Philip Bruns Claudia Lamb Victor Kilian |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 325 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Filmways Television T.A.T. Communications Company |
| Distributor | Filmways (1976-1977) Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2002) Sony Pictures Television (2002-present) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndicated |
| Original release | January 5, 1976 – May 10, 1977 |
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily (weekday) syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and Jim Drake, and starred Louise Lasser. The series writers were Gail Parent and Ann Marcus.
The show's title was the eponymous character's name stated twice, because Lear and the writers believed that dialogue within a soap opera was always said twice.
In 2004 and 2007, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman was ranked #21 and #26 on "TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever."
In 2009, TV Guide ranked "Chicken Soup" #97 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.
Around 1975, Norman Lear and his entertainment company, Tandem Productions, created a pilot for his new serial, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a satire of the impact of American consumerism. The pilot, consisting of two episodes, was not picked up by the networks. Lear then pursued a syndication strategy by hiring a sales agent to sell the show at the 1976 National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) market in San Francisco. Instinctively, Lear feared complications of selling a radical new show in a hotel room.
Needing a solution, Lear’s business contacts introduced him to James W. Packer Jr. and his company, Mission Argyle Productions. Packer devised a unique sales idea: invite the general managers from TV stations across America to Lear’s house in Los Angeles, where they would dine with him, hear his vision for the show, and begin the syndication dealmaking the following day.
The next day KING-TV of Seattle became the first TV station to procure syndication rights to Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, cementing the show’s place in TV history.
The series took place in the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio. There is in fact a real Fernwood, Ohio, located in Jefferson County, but the series derived its name from Fernwood Avenue, which runs behind the KTLA/Sunset Bronson Studios where the show was taped.
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