Phyllis (TV series) had higher overall ratings than "Rhoda" that season, as well as equal ratings with its parent show, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". The stigma of the deaths of several cast members during the show's run, as well as the ill health of actress Jane Rose, are also said to have been factors in the series' cancellation. The final episode ("And Baby Makes Six") had Bess announcing that she and Mark were expecting their first child. This installment aired Sunday, March 13, 1977. The same week, on Saturday, March 19, Leachman made her last appearance as Phyllis Lindstrom on the final
1977 World Series having been denied access to the Yankees' clubhouse during the series, asserting that her 14th Amendment right was violated. Ludtke won her case. The 1977 television movie "Murder at the World Series" centered around a fictionalized version of this year's Fall Classic, in which the Houston Astros were playing the Oakland Athletics. At the time, it had been three years since the A's last appeared in a World Series, and would be eleven years until their next appearance; the Astros did not make the playoffs until 1980, win their first pennant until , or their first championship until . 1977