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
James L. Brooks the short-lived series "Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers" in 1974. He and Burns moved on to "Rhoda", a spin-off of "Mary Tyler Moore", taking Valerie Harper's character Rhoda Morgenstern into her own show. It was well received, lasting four years and earning Brooks several Emmys. The duo's next project came in 1977 in the shape of "Lou Grant", a second "Mary Tyler Moore" spin-off, which they created along with Tinker. Unlike its source however, the series was a drama starring Edward Asner as Grant. James Brown of the Museum of Broadcast Communications said it "explore[d] a knotty issue facing