January 18, 2024 – Mama’s Family

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we’re featuring the year 1983, the year that Mama’s Family debuted on NBC. The show was a spin-off of a series of sketches called “The Family” that were on The Carol Burnett Show. The popularity of the skits led to a made for TV movie, Eunice, and eventually the TV show.
Thelma Harper, aka Mama, was played by Vicki Lawrence. The character was based in part on Lawrence’s southern ex-mother-in-law and her own grandmother. The show was set in Raytown, and while it was never explicitly stated where that was, Lawrence later revealed it to be Raytown, Mississippi.
Because the characters were already so popular, the show was sold to NBC without a pilot. It debuted on January 22, 1983. It only ran for 2 seasons before being canceled. Reruns were broadcast until September 1985, which did unexpectedly well in the ratings.
Pre-Golden Girls, Rue McClanahan and Betty White worked together on Mama’s Family. McClanahan played Mama’s sister, Fran Crowley, while White was Mama’s eldest daughter, Ellen. The early cancellation of the show proved to be fortuitous, as it allowed both actresses to join the cast of Golden Girls. 
Two years after its cancellation, Mama’s Family was revived with new episodes in first-run syndication. It had much higher ratings than the first run, and eventually became the highest-rated sitcom in first-run syndication.
Vicki Lawrence has continued to reprise her role of Mama over the years in her touring stage show called Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show. She’s also appeared in character on several TV shows, including episodes of Hollywood Squares. If you want to watch the show, the last 3 seasons are streaming on the free Pluto TV app. Learn more here.