''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series 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 ...

from May 21, 1987 to June 29, 1988 and on Lifetime from April 17, 1989 to April 13, 1991. It was created by

Jay Tarses Michael Jay Tarses (born July 3, 1939) is an American screenwriter, producer, actor. He created and produced '' The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' and '' The Slap Maxwell Story'', co-created ''Buffalo Bill'' (with Tom Patchett), and was an e ...

and stars

Blair Brown Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play '' Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ...

in the title role.

Premise

The show depicts the life of Molly Bickford Dodd, a divorced woman in New York City with a lifestyle that could be described as both

yuppie Yuppie, short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional", is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. The term is first attested in 1980, when it was used as a fairly neu ...

and

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. Molly seems to drift from job to job and relationship to relationship. Her ex-husband, a ne'er-do-well

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician, still cares for her. In fact, nearly every man (and the occasional woman) she meets adores her. Her warmth and emotional accessibility are the root cause of most of Molly's problems in life. The BBC's

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...

characterised the show as "An American comedy-drama series starring Blair Brown intelligent, attractive and independent, Molly Dodd has the world at her feet - so why must it always trip her up?

Cast

as Molly Dodd * James Greene as Davey McQuinn, elevator operator/doorman * Allyn Ann McLerie as Florence Bickford, Molly's mother *

William Converse-Roberts William Converse-Roberts is an American actor. He was born William Converse Roberts in Needham, Massachusetts. He attended both Stony Brook University and the Yale School of Drama. In 1989, he won an Obie Award for his performance in an Off-Broad ...

as Fred Dodd, Molly's ex-husband * Richard Lawson as Det. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of Molly's romantic interests * David Strathairn as Moss Goodman, one of Molly's romantic interests Additional cast included: *

Maureen Anderman Maureen Anderman (born October 26, 1946) is an American actress best known for her work on the stage. She has appeared in eighteen Broadway shows over the last four decades earning several Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations. Career An ...

as her best friend Nina. * Sandy Faison as Mamie Grolnick, Molly’s younger sister. *

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

as Dennis Widmer * Richard Venture as Edgar Bickford, Molly's father *

George Gaynes George Gaynes (born George Jongejans; May 16, 1917 – February 15, 2016) was a Finnish-born American singer, actor, and voice artist. Born to Dutch and Russian-Finnish parents in the Grand Duchy of Finland of the Russian Empire, he served in the ...

John Pankow John Pankow (born April 28, 1954) is an American actor. He began his career on-stage in New York, in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway plays including Peter Shaffer's ''Amadeus'', John Patrick Shanley's '' Italian American Reconciliation,'' a ...

, J. Smith-Cameron, and

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

Episodes

''NOTE: Production Codes were taken from the Library of Congress.''

Season 1 (1987)

Season 2 (1988)

Season 3 (1989)

Season 4 (1990)

Season 5 (1991)

Production

''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' had story lines that often did not resolve in a single episode. The show was filmed using a

single camera The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production. The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema ...

. Production took place in Hollywood for the first two seasons before moving to

Kaufman Astoria Studios The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Broadway theater district. The p ...

in New York in season 3. Tarses wrote and

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

many of its episodes (and made a number of

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s).

Reception and network change

NBC first broadcast the show as a summer replacement in 1987 running 13 episodes. ''Molly Dodd'' was critically acclaimed and a moderate ratings success (it was featured in the network's then-powerhouse Thursday night lineup), but was not featured in the network's fall schedule. It was a mid-season replacement for NBC again in spring 1988, with 12 episodes (a season-ending 13th episode was produced but not aired). NBC canceled ''Molly Dodd'' after this second short season. After it was canceled by NBC, Lifetime cable network picked the show up, first re-airing the 26 episodes originally produced, then commissioning three more 13-episode seasons for 1989, 1990, and 1991. When they were rerun on Lifetime, the original 26 episodes were time-sped (usually during both acts), and the opening titles were trimmed. After production ceased, Lifetime would continue to air ''Molly Dodd'' in reruns until 1993.

Awards and nominations

The show earned Brown five

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, one for each year the show was on. Brown won a

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Am ...

for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series in 1991, while the fifth and final Season was airing. Tarses was also the recipient of multiple nominations.

Music rights

Despite some demand for the show on DVD or streaming services, the original producers did not clear music rights for subsequent broadcast. Although Brown often sang as Molly, the cost to secure the rights to the music itself would be substantial. In an interview, Brown indicated "all the songs that I sang, they never got the rights. So he show isin a vault somewhere and will never see the light of day."

References

External links

*
''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd''
at epguides.com

– features the video clip of Molly and Nathaniel's first meeting, plus other clips and production stills {{DEFAULTSORT:Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd, The 1987 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1980s American comedy-drama television series 1990s American comedy-drama television series American television series revived after cancellation English-language television shows Lifetime (TV network) original programming NBC original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in New York City