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
Phyllis (TV series) played Audrey Dexter) took ill. These events put Phyllis' home life in flux, which necessitated more new storylines. Daughter Bess's role became more prominent and she found romance with Mark Valenti (played by Craig Wasson), the nephew of Phyllis' boss, and they later married. By the middle of the 1976–77 season, the ratings for "Rhoda" had improved but "Phyllis" was still faltering. As a result, "Rhoda" was renewed for an additional season (it would ultimately be canceled in December 1978), but "Phyllis" was dropped by CBS in the spring of 1977, finishing in 40th place that season. The show actually