Mulligan's Stew
Encyclopedia
Mulligan's Stew was an NBC
drama/comedy that was on the air in 1977. It focused on the lives of the Mulligan family. Lawrence Pressman
starred as Michael Mulligan, a high school teacher and football coach, and Elinor Donahue played his wife, Jane, who works as a school nurse. The series was set in the fictitious Southern California
community of Birchfield]].
another child, the Vietnamese
-born Kimmy, leaving the Mulligans to finalize the adoption.
cast member Suzanne Crough
, who had appeared as the youngest Partridge, Tracy. Julie Anne Haddock, who played Stevie's cousin, Melinda Mulligan, went on to appear as "Cindy Webster" in the first season of The Facts of Life
.
and Soap
on ABC
, and M*A*S*H and One Day at a Time
on CBS
. It suffered in the ratings, and it was cancelled before the end of the season.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama/comedy that was on the air in 1977. It focused on the lives of the Mulligan family. Lawrence Pressman
Lawrence Pressman
David M. Pressman, Senior is an American actor, probably best known for roles on Doogie Howser, M.D., Ladies Man, a recurring role on Profiler, the titular character on Mulligan's Stew and as a fictional scientist in the 1971 film The Hellstrom Chronicle.His first role was on the soap opera The...
starred as Michael Mulligan, a high school teacher and football coach, and Elinor Donahue played his wife, Jane, who works as a school nurse. The series was set in the fictitious Southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
community of Birchfield]].
Synopsis
Michael and Jane had three children, Mark, Melinda and Jimmy, and found it difficult to make ends meet. Things grew tighter financially and in terms of space when the Mulligans took in their nephew and nieces Adam (nicknamed Moose), Polaris (nicknamed Polly), and Starshine (nicknamed Stevie), after their parents were killed in a plane crash. The Freedmans had already been in the process of adoptingAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
another child, the Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
-born Kimmy, leaving the Mulligans to finalize the adoption.
Cast
The oldest niece, Stevie Freedman, was played by former Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
cast member Suzanne Crough
Suzanne Crough
Suzanne Crough is a former actress who is best known for her role in the hit television Sitcom The Partridge Family. The show ran from 1970 to 1974.-Career:...
, who had appeared as the youngest Partridge, Tracy. Julie Anne Haddock, who played Stevie's cousin, Melinda Mulligan, went on to appear as "Cindy Webster" in the first season of The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (TV series)
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
.
Reception
Mulligan's Stew was scheduled opposite four Top 20 hits: Three's CompanyThree's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
and Soap
Soap (TV series)
Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and M*A*S*H and One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. It suffered in the ratings, and it was cancelled before the end of the season.