''Fay'' is an American sitcom starring

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. In a career spanning over seven decades, she won an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Directors Guil ...

as the title character, a divorced woman pursuing a swinging-singles lifestyle in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The series aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from September 1975 to June 1976.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 281.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 348.

Cast

as Fay Stewart * Audra Lindley as Lillian * Joe Silver as Jack Stewart * Margaret Willock as Linda Stewart Baines * Stewart Moss as Dr. Elliot Baines *Bill Gerber as Danny Messina *

Norman Alden Norman Alden ( Adelberg; September 13, 1924 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor who performed in television programs and motion pictures. He first appeared on television on '' The 20th Century Fox Hour'' in 1957. He provided ...

as Al Cassidy * Lillian Lehman as Letty Gilmore

Synopsis

Fay Stewart is a 43-year-old woman in

who divorces her philandering husband, attorney Jack Stewart, after 25 years of marriage. She takes a job as a

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

in a law firm run by two eccentric attorneys, her boss Danny Messina and his partner Al Cassidy, where she befriends another secretary, Letty Gilmore. She then moves into her own apartment and begins dating, leading the life of a swinging single and getting involved in rather risqué situations. Jack keeps trying to win her back, and her conservative daughter Linda and stuffy son-in-law Elliot disapprove of her new lifestyle. In contrast, her tactless, unhappily married neighbor and friend Lillian lives vicariously through Fay's romantic adventures.

Production

Susan Harris created ''Fay'',

Paul Junger Witt Paul Junger Witt (March 20, 1941 – April 27, 2018) was an American film and television producer. He, with his partners Tony Thomas (producer), Tony Thomas and Susan Harris (also his wife), produced such television shows as ''Here Come the Bri ...

was its

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

, and Jerry Mayer was it producer. Episode directors included

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

and

James Burrows James Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. He has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored ...

. The show was a production of Danny Thomas Productions and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

. Jaye P. Morgan performed the theme song, "Coming into My Own," composed by

George Tipton George Aliceson Tipton (January 23, 1932 – February 12, 2016) was an American composer, musical arranger, and conductor, who is well known for his work in television and for his collaborations with singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. Among ...

. ''Fay'' had a notably unsuccessful run. Harris criticized

for the show's failure, saying that it had been intended as a sophisticated adult comedy, but the network scheduled it to air at 8:30 p.m. in the middle of the "family viewing hour." The network then had ordered many changes to the show's characterization and dialogue to make it suitable for family viewing, weakening ''Fay''′s intended import. The series is notable for Lee Grant's lashing out at NBC executives on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' on October 30, 1975, for the network's poor scheduling and quick cancellation of ''Fay''. At the 28th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1976, Grant was nominated for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for ''Fay'' but lost out to

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

for Moore's performance in ''

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 September 19, 1970 ...

''.

Broadcast history

''Fay'' first aired on September 4, 1975, and ran for eight episodes at 8:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

on Thursdays before it was pulled from NBC's lineup after the episode of October 23, 1975 (along with '' The Montefuscos'', which aired in the time slot immediately before ''Fay''). It returned for two more episodes on May 12 and June 2, 1976, both on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time, for a total of ten episodes.

''Man Trouble''

Four episodes of ''Fay'' ("Jack Remarries", "Mr. Wonderful", "Danny Falls In Love", and "Not Another Mother's Day") eventually were re-edited into an overseas theatrical feature, ''Man Trouble''. ''Man Trouble'' later was included in a syndicated package of other MCA/Universal "movies" stitched together from episodes of various short-lived television series.

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0072501, Fay
''Fay'' opening credits on YouTube

''Fay'' closing credits on YouTube
1975 American television series debuts 1976 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms Television series by Universal Television American English-language television shows Television shows set in San Francisco NBC sitcoms