''Just Friends'', billed as ''Stockard Channing in Just Friends'' on the title card, 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 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 ...

from March 4, 1979 to June 24, 1979.

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...

, an accomplished stage actress who had entered the national consciousness with her role as Betty Rizzo in '' Grease'' a year prior, was the lead.

Gerrit Graham Gerrit Graham (born November 27, 1949) is an American stage, television, and film actor as well as a scriptwriter and songwriter. He is best known for his appearances in multiple films by Brian De Palma as well as appearances in two ''Star Trek'' ...

Mimi Kennedy Mary Claire "Mimi" Kennedy (born September 25, 1948) is an American actress, author and activist. Best known for her roles in television sitcoms, Kennedy co-starred in numerous short-lived sitcoms before her role as Ruth Sloan on '' Homefront'' ...

, Lou Crisculo and Sydney Goldsmith co-starred with her on the series. A year after ''Just Friends'' had ended, Channing starred in her self-titled '' The Stockard Channing Show''. Ostensibly, the two series were set in different

fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...

s with different character names but were largely identical in premise, with an identical home set, with Channing speaking in interviews as if the two shows were two seasons of the same series.

Plot

This series revolves around health spa assistant manager Susan Hughes, whose marriage is falling apart.

Cast

as Susan Hughes *

as Leonard Scribner *

as Victoria Chasen *Lou Crisculo as Milt D'Angelo *Sydney Goldsmith as Coral *Joan Tolentino as Mrs. Fischer *Albert Insinnia as Angelo D'Angelo *

Liz Torres Elizabeth Larrieu Torres (born September 27, 1947) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Torres is best known for her role as Mahalia Sanchez in the NBC comedy series '' The John Larroquette Show'' (1993–1996), for which she received tw ...

as Miranda D'Angelo * Rhonda Foxx as Mrs. Blanchard *Linda Rose as Miss Yarnell

Production

The pilot for ''Just Friends'' was videotaped before a live studio audience at

CBS Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District, Los Angeles, Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, United States. The facilities are located at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at ...

in Hollywood in November 1978. Production relocated to the Goldenwest Videotape Division also in Hollywood for the rest of the series. The series ranked 26th for the season with an average household share of 20.2. The following season, '' The Stockard Channing Show'' replaced ''Just Friends''.

Episodes

DVD release

10 of the 13 episodes of ''Just Friends'' were released on DVD in 2006 by the Canadian company ''

Visual Entertainment Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...

'' as part of the DVD set of Channing's following series, '' The Stockard Channing Show''.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0078693 1979 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings 1970s American multi-camera sitcoms American English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles CBS sitcoms