Thursday Threads: Norman Lear as America's TV Grandpa. What show would you have loved to have worked on?

Pretend you're a TV staff writer in the mid 70s early 80s, what show would you have loved to be in the writer's room on? Or on set?

Hello, Lovelies,

So, picking this thread up again… the other day we lost a giant in American creative cultural production and thought leadership—Norman Lear.

As a legendary TV producer, writer, and director, Lear challenged networks and audiences on almost every subject from the Vietnam War to racism to class to mental health to homophobia to a woman’s right to choose—creating over 100 shows over his lifetime.

In return, the networks tried to f*ck Lear every which way possible and sideways—constantly shifting the timeslots of his shows so viewers would miss them, burying their promos in the ad lineups, arguing every last line of dialogue—until he became so freakin’ good, they could no longer ignore him. He’d have eight shows going at any given time and he was breaking boundaries on multiple fronts.

While I’m super intrigued by the subject matter of shows like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman—in that it dealt with the soap opera as a form, mental health, sexuality, and domestic violence. My dilemma is that I adore projects where you get to write a character’s journey evolving toward the full 180 (the detective becomes the criminal, the mother becomes the daughter, there’s a reversal of fortune that sets her on a path, etc.), but for that to work and to feel completely “earned” and authentic, you need multiple seasons. Mary Hartman ran only one season.

The MOST fun you can have as a writer and just LOOK at Louise’s hair!

Our next show will be dedicated to Lear as we are going to talk to everybody about something that no one wants to talk about and we’re going to do it while not talking about it in the funniest way we know how. 😂