''Kate & Allie'' 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 19, 1984, to May 22, 1989, starring

Susan Saint James Susan Saint James (born 1946) is an American former actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1976) and the sitcom '' Kate & A ...

and

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedienne. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards ...

as two divorced mothers who decide to live together and raise their children in the same home. The series was created by Sherry Coben.

Overview

The show stars

as the free-spirited Kate McArdle and

as her more conservative childhood friend, Allie Lowell. After both women divorce, they decide to share a

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...

in New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

and raise their families together. The show also starred

Ari Meyers Ari Meyers is an American former actress. She played the role of Emma Jane McArdle in the television series '' Kate & Allie'' (1984). Early years Meyers was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Jewish American parents who were touring on the isla ...

as Kate's daughter Emma, and

Frederick Koehler Frederick "Fred" Koehler (born June 16, 1975) is an American actor best known for his role as Chip Lowell on ''Kate & Allie'' as well as Andrew Schillinger on the HBO drama ''Oz''. Later life After ''Kate & Allie'', Koehler attended Carnegie Mel ...

and Allison Smith as Allie's children Chip and Jennie. Both Kate and Allie were portrayed as independent, smart women. Kate and Allie dated men regularly and were shown as wise to romantic games, but not averse to remarrying if the opportunity presented itself. ''Kate & Allie'' first aired on

as a mid-season replacement series and only six episodes were initially commissioned, but the favorable response from critics and viewers alike (its first episode ranked number 4 out of all the television shows airing that week) easily persuaded CBS to commit to a full season in the fall of 1984. The show was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed sitcoms of the 1980s, consistently ranking in the Top 20 shows until its final season. Curtin won two consecutive

Emmy Award 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 categor ...

s for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, out of 3 nominations and Saint James was nominated in the same category two times. Curtin and Saint James had previously worked together in the 1980 movie ''

How to Beat the High Cost of Living ''How to Beat the High Cost of Living'' is a 1980 American comedy heist film directed by Robert Scheerer and starring Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, and Jessica Lange. Set in the aftermath of the economic recession of the 1970s, the film foll ...

''.Lague, Louise. "Real Women Make a Tv Comeback Thanks to Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin in Kate & Allie," ''People'', May 7, 1984.
Retrieved November 28, 2017 At the beginning of the series, Kate was a

travel agent A travel agency is a private Retailing, retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related Service (economics), services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel supply chain, suppliers to offer different kin ...

and Allie worked to care for household's domestic needs and returned to college to complete the degree she had abandoned during her marriage. In the show's fifth season, Kate quit her job and teamed up with Allie to start a

catering Catering is the business of providing food services at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major service ...

service. In the show's next to last season, Allie dated Bob Barsky (

Sam Freed Sam Freed (born August 29, 1948) is an American actor who has performed on Broadway and television and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of '' Kate & Allie''. In the short-lived ser ...

), a television sportscaster who proposed to Allie in the season finale. In the final season, now-married Allie and Bob moved into a new apartment. Bob, however, took a job that involved regular travel and his frequent absences provided a reason for Kate to move into the new apartment too. This plot development, frequently cited as one of the canonical examples of a television show

jumping the shark The idiom "jumping the shark", or "shark jumping", or to "jump the shark"; means that a creative work or entity has evolved and reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with or ...

, led viewers to lose interest ''Kate and Allie''
from the website of the

Museum of Broadcast Communications The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum that showcases historic and contemporary radio and television content. It is headquartered in Chicago. Museum locations (1987–present) The Museum of Broadcast Communications wa ...

and CBS chose not to renew ''Kate & Allie'' for a seventh season.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Katherine "Kate" Elizabeth Ann (née Hanlan) McArdle. *

as Allison "Allie" Julia Charlotte (née Adams) Lowell. *

as Emma McArdle, Kate's daughter. Meyers left the show a few episodes into the fifth season to attend

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(although her name remained in the opening credits to the end of the season); she returned for the season-ending 100th episode retrospective, but did not appear in the sixth season. * Allison Smith as Jennie Lowell, Allie's daughter of similar age to Emma. *

as Charles "Chip" Lowell, Allie's son. *

as Bob Barsky, Allie's boyfriend who became her husband in Season 6. He was a sportscaster after retiring as a professional football player. Freed also played different characters in two separate episodes. In the second season he played a married candidate for office named Johnathan Conti who flirts with Allie. At the end of season three he played Keith in the episode "Late Bloomers", which was a

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

for a proposed spinoff which would have starred

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science fiction television series '' The Bionic Woman'' (1976–1978), in which she portrayed character Jaime Sommers. S ...

. *

Peter Onorati Peter Onorati (born May 16, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his TV roles as Charlie Howell on ''Civil Wars'' (1991–1993), Mr. Scotto on '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), Stanley Pearson on ''This Is Us'' (2017–2022), and Jeffrey Mumf ...

as Lou Carello, the superintendent in Kate and Allie's new apartment building in Season 6. He tries unsuccessfully to win Kate's affections.

Recurring cast

Greg Salata Gregory Salata (born July 21, 1949) is an American actor who first came to prominence in the 1975 film '' Deadly Hero''. He is an actor, known for ''Weekend at Bernie's'', ''The Pink Panther'' and ''Rock & Rule ''Rock & Rule'' (known as ''Ri ...

as Ted Bartelo, a plumber whom Kate gets involved with during the second season. The two break up in the season two finale. Ted returns for the fifth season, with he and Kate attempting to rekindle their relationship; by the end of this season, he is gone again. *

Paul Hecht Paul Hecht (born August 16, 1941) is an English-born Canadian stage, film, voice and television actor known for playing radio newsman Ross Buckingham in Howard Stern's ''Private Parts''. Early life and education Born in London, England, Hecht ...

as Dr. Charles Lowell, Allie's sometimes pompous ex-husband. * Harley Venton (previously John Heard) as Max McArdle, Kate's ex-husband. *

Jack Gilpin John Mitchell Gilpin (born May 31, 1951) is an American actor. He has portrayed Church the Butler in HBO's historical drama series '' The Gilded Age'' since 2020. He is the father of actress Betty Gilpin. Early life Gilpin was born on May 31, ...

as Roger, Kate & Allie's next-door neighbor during the series' first two seasons. * Michael Countryman as Louis, Chip's adult friend who has an

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

. *

Wendie Malick Wendie Malick (born December 13, 1950) is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom '' Dream On'' and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC sitco ...

as Claire Lowell, Charles' new wife. *

Alan North Alan North (December 23, 1920 – January 19, 2000) was an American actor. Early life North was born in Bronx, New York, and joined the United States Navy during the Second World War. Career After the war, he became a stage manager and made ...

as Mr. Sloan, Kate's boss at the travel agency. Notable guest stars included

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...

Mercedes Ruehl Mercedes J. Ruehl ( ; born February 28, 1948) is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. Ruehl won the Academy Award f ...

Ricki Lake Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film '' Hairspray'', for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for ...

Dick Cavett Richard Alva Cavett (; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States from the 1960s through the 2000s. In later years, Cave ...

Patricia Richardson Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'', for which she was nominat ...

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 Awa ...

Paul Gleason Paul Xavier Gleason (May 4, 1939 – May 27, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was known for his roles on television series such as ''All My Children'' and films such as '' The Breakfast Club'', ''Trading Places'', and ''Di ...

Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her perfo ...

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American and Canadian actress, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and '' Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), '' Wag the Dog'' (1 ...

, John Heard,

Debra Jo Rupp Debra Jo Rupp (born February 24, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Kitty Forman in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) and its Netflix sequel series ''That '90s Show'' (2023–2024). Rupp also ...

Marilyn Cooper Marilyn Cooper (December 14, 1934 – April 22, 2009) was an American actress known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage. Life and career Cooper was born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents, Benjamin Cooper and Edna Becker in New York City. ...

Susie Essman Susan Essman (born May 31, 1955) is an American comedian, actress, producer and writer. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000–2024), as the voice of Mittens in '' Bolt'' (2008), and as Bobbi Wexler o ...

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

Christa Miller Christa Miller-Lawrence (née Miller; born May 28, 1964) is an American actress known for her roles in television comedies. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien in the ABC sitcom ''The Drew Carey Show'', Jordan Sullivan in the NBC/ ABC com ...

(star Susan St. James' real-life niece), and

Peggy Pope Florence Margaret "Peggy" Pope (May 15, 1929 – May 27, 2020) was an American actress of stage, television and film. Early life Pope was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Her father was a notable doctor in the area. She graduated from Smith Coll ...

Spin-offs

''Kate & Allie'' gave birth to the

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

'' Roxie'', a short-lived comedy that aired only twice on CBS's schedule, on April 1 and 8, 1987. ''Roxie'' starred

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

TV programmer Roxie Brinkerhoff, who balanced her professional life at local

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

station WNYV with her married life. Martin had previously appeared as a similar version of the character, named Eddie Gordon, on two episodes of ''Kate & Allie'' ("Stage Mother", which aired December 1, 1986, and in "The Goodbye Girl", December 8, 1986), in which she was a friend of Allie's who worked as a producer on low-viewership public-access Channel G. Another attempted spin-off was ''Late Bloomer'', which was scheduled to be a midseason replacement in January 1987. Based on the similarly named Season 3 episode that guest starred

, the series was scrapped the day before its January 19, 1987, debut, which was an encore presentation of its

Production

The test name for the script was entitled ''Two Mommies'' and was seized upon by Saint James who was able to use the show as a way to work without relocating her family from Litchfield, Connecticut. Curtin initially was not interested in doing the sitcom, but after speaking with director Bill Persky she decided to take the role. ''Kate & Allie'' was taped on soundstages constructed at the

Ed Sullivan Theater The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th streets, in the Theat ...

(CBS Studio 50) and also at the

Teletape Studios Reeves Teletape Studios were a group of television studios located in Manhattan in New York City. Owned by Reeves Communications Corporation, it was formed in 1974 by the merger of Reeves Sound Services (a sound and video post-production company ...

at West 81st Street and Broadway in New York City, which at the time was the production facility for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''.

Cold opening A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North A ...

dialog sequences between Saint James and Curtin documenting city life were featured, shot on location in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

with no

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is an audio recording consisting of laughter (and other audience reactions) usually used as a separate soundtrack for comedy productions. The laugh track may contain live audience reactions or artificial laught ...

. The

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

played instrumentally over the title shot of the Empire State Building (the first season's titles opened in a different outdoor location per episode). Closing credits also included vocals with indicative lyrics, "just when you think/you're all by yourself/you're not." Under pressure from higher-ups at CBS to quash the suggestion that Kate and Allie were lesbians, the producers were instructed to show Kate and Allie entering separate bedrooms to sleep at the end of each episode. That pressure may have been the impetus for an episode showing Kate and Allie pretending to be lesbians when they were faced with a large increase in rent. Saint James was pregnant during the taping of the fourth season. Her pregnancy was hidden by taping her behind a desk, under a sheet in a hospital bed, or in a bubble bath. The exception was a 1960s flashback which showed both Kate and Allie pregnant. An episode broadcast in 1987, produced in cooperation with the

Coalition for the Homeless Coalition for the Homeless is a not-for-profit advocacy group focused on homelessness in New York. The coalition has engaged in landmark litigation to protect the rights of homeless people, including the right to shelter and the right to vote, ...

, was taped almost entirely outdoors, on the streets of Manhattan. The episode was prompted by the likely absence of Saint James, who had been hospitalized due to kidney stones, and featured Allie struggling to find a way home after accidentally leaving her keys and money in a taxi. The show's final season had been picked up with a number of other returning CBS shows for midseason premieres. The lack of inclusion on CBS' 1989–90 fall schedule announced on May 19, 1989, officially ended the series' run.

Ratings

Following are the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the show: * 1983–1984: #8 * 1984–1985: #17 * 1985–1986: #14 * 1986–1987: #19 * 1987–1988: #38 * 1988–1989: #48 According to an essay by Christine R. Catron from the

's Encyclopedia of Television, the decline in ratings for the show's last season is attributable to the fact that the show's premise had been fulfilled at the end of the previous season, when Allie accepted Bob Barsky's marriage proposal.

Syndication

The American syndication rights are held by

NBCUniversal Syndication Studios NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV (stylized as NBCUniversal SYNDICATION STUDIOS) is t ...

, the successor to the original distributor,

MCA Television NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV (stylized as NBCUniversal SYNDICATION STUDIOS) is t ...

; the show aired on RTN. ''Kate & Allie'' previously aired on WE tv, from 2007 to 2008.

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

owns the international rights, as they own

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

and have access to the

Reeves Entertainment Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP), later known as Reeves Entertainment Group and Reeves Entertainment, was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company produced '' In Search of...'' and ''That's Incre ...

product.

Reboot

In January 2021, it was announced that

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 ...

had given a

put pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

commitment to a reboot of the series. It will be produced by Fierce Baby Production, Propagate, 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 ...

with Erica Oyama writing and co-executive producing with

Nahnatchka Khan Nahnatchka Khan (born c. 1973) is an American television writer and producer. She created and executive produced the ABC comedy series ''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' (2012–2013) and ''Fresh Off the Boat'' (2015–2020), the NBC com ...

Ben Silverman Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universa ...

Howard T. Owens Howard Thomas Owens is an American media executive who is founder and Co-CEO of Propagate Content. Early life Born to Howard T. Owens Jr., an American politician, lawyer, and judge. Before launching his media career, Owens was an attorney in pr ...

, Rodney Ferrell, Gregory Lipstone, Peter Principato, Jen Carreras, and Brian Dobbins.

Home media

United States

Universal Studios Home Entertainment (now

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

, or UPHE) released the first season of ''Kate & Allie'' on DVD exclusively in the United States in May 2006. The extras include a blooper reel, a six minute interview with Bill Persky and Susan Saint James and a bonus episode from Season Two. On 23 May 2023, UPHE released the complete series on DVD.

Canada

For the Canadian market, Visual Entertainment (under license from

), has released all six seasons on DVD. On May 4, 2010, VEI released ''Kate & Allie: The Complete Series'', a 16-disc boxset featuring all 122 episodes of the series. Neither release include any extras.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kate and Allie 1984 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American multi-camera sitcoms American English-language television shows Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Television duos Television series about families Television series by Universal Television Television series by Alan Landsburg Productions Television shows filmed in New York City Television shows set in New York City CBS sitcoms