''Hanging In'' is an American
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series that aired for four episodes on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
on Wednesday nights from August 8, 1979, to August 29, 1979.
Summary
After his failed attempt to launch the sitcom ''
Mr. Dugan'',
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
reworked the project, finally coming up with ''Hanging In'', the story of Lou Harper, a former professional football star who becomes president of fictional Braddock University.
Bill Macy (who had played Maude's husband, Walter Findlay, in ''
Maude'') resurfaced as the star of the version that finally did air, in August 1979.
Most of the supporting cast of ''Mr. Dugan'' and its several different incarnations (including the final three episodes of ''Maude'' and the unsold pilot ''Onward and Upward'', which featured ''
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...
'' star
John Amos
John Allen Amos Jr. (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series ''Good Times''. His other well known roles were as the adult Kunta Kinte in the l ...
) also appeared in ''Hanging In''. As ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946–Present'' by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh dryly put it, "the actors must have known their lines pretty well by this point", as the scripts on each project were nearly identical.
Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle F.
''''
In the end, ''Hanging In'' lasted just four weeks on CBS, leaving the air after its August 29, 1979 broadcast.
Cast
* Bill Macy as Louis "Lou" G. Harper
*Barbara Rhoades
Barbara Rhoades is an American actress, known primarily for her comedy and mystery roles, especially as lady bandit Penelope ("Bad Penny") Cushings in '' The Shakiest Gun in the West'' (1968) with Don Knotts.
She had a recurring role on ''Soap ...
as Maggie Gallagher
* Dennis Burkley as Sam Dickey
* Nedra Volz as Pinky Nolan
*Darian Mathias as Rita Zefferelli
Episodes
References
External links
*
1979 American television series debuts
1979 American television series endings
1970s American sitcoms
1970s American college television series
American English-language television shows
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television series created by Norman Lear
Television shows set in Connecticut
CBS sitcoms
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