Lou Grant Lou Grant Louis Grant is a fictional character played by Edward Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was the news director at fictional television station WJM-TV. A spinoff series, entitled "Lou Grant" (1977–1982), was an hour-long serious dramatic series which frequently engaged in social commentary, featuring the character as city editor of the fictional "Los Angeles Tribune". Although spin-offs are common on American television, Lou Grant remains one of a very few characters (played by the same
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