She left "Barney Miller" to star in the lead role in "Alice". The show was a popular hit for CBS and ran from 1976 to 1985. The series was based on the Martin Scorsese-directed Ellen Burstyn film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Lavin portrayed Alice Hyatt, a waitress and singer, the character that Burstyn had played. Lavin performed the series' theme song, "There's a New Girl in Town," which was written by David Shire and Alan and Marilyn Bergman and was updated for each of the first six seasons. During the series' nine-season run, Lavin earned two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and gained experience directing, especially during the later seasons. Lavin also played a dual role in "Alice", as Debbie Walden, the wizened and former landlady of the character Vera Louise Gorman-Novak. Lavin also made numerous television appearances outside of "Alice", including hosting her own holiday special for CBS, "Linda in Wonderland" (1980). She acted in two sitcoms, "Room for Two" (1992–93) and 1998's "Conrad Bloom". In "Room for Two", she played a mother who moved in with her daughter, played by Patricia Heaton, who has a show on a local television station. The daughter gives Lavin's character her own segment, called Just a Thought, at the end of her program.