In that era, it wasn't unusual for unsold pilots to be broadcast as filler during the summer – replacing low-rated reruns – as a means of recouping the money that was spent to produce them. The original hour-long pilot was split in two and re-edited, then packaged with the second pilot (titled "Town and Garden"), and the now-trio of episodes were billed as a "limited run" series which was broadcast on Monday nights following reruns of "M*A*S*H" in August 1982. Much to CBS's surprise, the show topped the weekly Nielsen ratings for three consecutive weeks. CBS Entertainment President Donald "Bud" Grant later commented, "I think we conned ourselves into thinking "Filthy Rich" was a hot show." The network scrambled to find a place on the fall schedule for the show, ultimately opting to bump the new series "Mama Malone" off the schedule altogether ("Mama Malone" eventually aired in 1984).