All the seasons were in color. Mary Richards is a single woman who, at age 30, moves to Minneapolis after breaking off an engagement with her boyfriend of two years. She applies for a secretarial job at TV station WJM-TV, only to find it has already been filled. To her surprise, she is offered the position of associate producer for the station's Six O'Clock News. The show portrays the growing freedom for women to shape their own lives, accompanied by a new sense of limits. In the show, Mary Richards is treated as a secretary because being treated as equals did not come to women immediately; it was a gradual process. There was still pressure for them to be married by the time they turned 30. This groundbreaking sitcom makes the “Career Woman” label acceptable. The show’s theme song was “I’m Gonna Make it After All”.
The series takes place in the city of Minneapolis. The scenes usually take place in the TV station or anywhere in the city.
Mary Richards is a well-integrated, genuinely nice, non-narcissistic character who is stuck with a less than ideal life, for a new, less optimistic, age. The character of Mary Richards was closely tied to the growing women's movement sweeping the country. For millions of women, Mary Richards made it acceptable to be 30 and single, to be career-minded, to relate honestly to friends and co-workers, and to not be dependent on a spouse for happiness. By design or by accident, this character created by Mary Tyler Moore became a heroine for young women who were carving out their independence in the real world.
Ted Baxter, is the vain, pompous, dim-witted news anchor. It is a miracle that he has not been fired, as there has rarely, if ever, been a night where he has broadcast the news without making one, or several, mistakes. His main stumbling blocks are mispronouncing words and reading large words. He also tends to let personal situations get in the way of his job. Despite these downfalls, he is very vain and self-centered and considers himself to be the best newscaster ever. He believes that he is very important – on one occasion he sent a Christmas card to the president and was upset when he didn't receive one back. He also considers himself to be quite a "ladies man", although quite the opposite is true. The role was written with actor Jack Cassidy in mind, but Cassidy did not feel the part was right for him and turned it down. Cassidy later appeared as a guest star in a 1971 episode as Ted's highly competitive and equally egocentric brother, Hal.
Lou Grant is Mary's tough, work-oriented boss whose soft-hearted nature comes through even though he stro
ngly tries to suppress it. He treats Mary like a daughter and always looks out for her. As producer of the news, he is responsible for the news ratings, which makes him despise Ted's mistakes and often criticize him, although it appears that he has a soft spot for Ted too. Following the end of the series, Asner continued to play the same character in the long-running dramatic series Lou Grant. This is one of the few times in TV history that a situation comedy spun off a dramatic series. In 2005, Asner reprised his character, though never identified as Lou Grant, in commercials for Minneapolis–St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP's Eyewitness News.Murray Slaughter, the head copy writer, who saves his quips for Ted Baxter's mangling of his news reports, and Sue Ann Nivens' aggressive, man-hungry attitude. He also has a soft spot for Mary and the two are good friends, able to share their feelings and discuss things with each other. Murray enjoys his work most when he gets to write a big story or when he is able to tease Ted about Ted's many mistakes and his pompous attitude.
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