Phyllis Lindstrom Phyllis Lindstrom Phyllis Lindstrom, nee Sutherland, portrayed by Cloris Leachman, is a fictional character on the television sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and subsequent spin-off, "Phyllis". Phyllis Lindstrom is the snobbish, acid-tongued wife of dermatologist Dr. Lars Lindstrom, who is often referenced but never seen by the audience. The Lindstroms manage the apartment building, actually a Victorian boarding house, in which Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mary and Rhoda develop a close relationship with Phyllis' daughter, Bess. Throughout the series, Rhoda and Phyllis maintain an adversarial but talkative relationship. Phyllis understandably despises Sue Ann Nivens,
Teen sitcom format to "The Wonder Years", which ended before "Boy Meets World" debuted in 1993, both of which focused on a boy dealing with the challenges that come with growing into adolescence) and "Family Matters" (which originated as a family sitcom spun off from the family-friendly though adult-centered "Perfect Strangers", but soon shifted more of its focus towards its teenage characters due to the popularity of the character of nerdy high school (and later, college) student Steve Urkel). Over time, the Big Three television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) began shifting away from family-oriented comedies toward comedy series focused on adults