''Diana'' is an American sitcom that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

during the 1973–1974 television season that was created by Leonard Stern, which ran from September 10, 1973 to January 7, 1974. The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience at CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles.

Premise

The series starred

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On H ...

in her first American television series, as Diana Smythe, a recently divorced British fashion designer who moves to the States in the hopes of becoming more noticed in the fashion world by relocating to New York City. As the series begins she has landed a high-profile job as a fashion coordinator at Buckley's Department Store. Since her city-dwelling brother is out of the country indefinitely she moves into his apartment, which to her bemusement becomes the site of many unannounced visits by her brother’s numerous girlfriends. Each episode finds Diana trying to adjust to American life with help from her next door neighbor Holly Green ( Carole Androsky), copywriter Howard Tollbrook ( Richard B. Shull), window decorator Marshall Tyler ( Robert Moore) and new pal Jeff Harmon (

Richard Mulligan Richard Mulligan (November 13, 1932 – September 26, 2000) was an American character actor known for his roles in the sitcoms ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and ''Empty Nest'' (1988–1995),. Mulligan was the winner of two Emmy Awards (1980 ...

), while dealing with her boss Norman Brodnik (

David Sheiner David S. Sheiner (born January 13, 1928) is an American actor. He appeared on Broadway, but is best known for his supporting roles in several films and television series. He started his career in television in 1952, but he was most successful f ...

) and his wife Norma (

Barbara Barrie Barbara Barrie (born Barbara Ann Berman; May 23, 1931) is an American actress and author. Her film breakthrough came in 1964 with her performance as Julie in the landmark film ''One Potato, Two Potato'', for which she won the Best Actress Awar ...

Production

Prior to being picked up by NBC, the series had the working title ''The Diana Rigg Show'' with Rigg playing Elyse Smythe. Also in the pilot was

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

as Norma Brodnik, but after it was changed to ''Diana'', Fabray was replaced with Barrie in the Norma role. NBC was hoping to capitalize on the success of single and independent women sitcoms by using Rigg, given her credentials in film and TV, with this attempt to copy ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...

''. However, it would turn out to be a mistake as it wound up trailing both '' Gunsmoke'' and ''

The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department (SC ...

'' on Monday nights, eventually leading to its cancellation on January 7, 1974.

Episode list

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0069574, Diana 1973 American television series debuts 1974 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms NBC original programming Television shows set in New York City Fashion-themed television series Television series by Universal Television English-language television shows Television series by Talent Associates