The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC from May 21, 1987, to June 29, 1988, and on Lifetime from April 17, 1989, to April 13, 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and stars Blair Brown in the title role.
Contents
Premise
The show depicts the life of Molly Bickford Dodd, a divorced woman in New York City with a lifestyle that could be described as both yuppie and bohemian. Molly seems to drift from job to job and relationship to relationship. Her ex-husband, a ne'er-do-well jazz musician, still cares for her. In fact, nearly every man (and the occasional woman) she meets adores her. Her warmth and emotional accessibility are the root cause of most of Molly's problems in life. The BBC's Radio Times characterized the show as "A comedy series from America starring Blair Brown – Intelligent, attractive and independent, Molly Dodd has the world at her feet - so why must it always trip her up?"
Cast
Blair Brown as Molly Dodd
James Greene as Davey McQuinn, elevator operator/doorman
Allyn Ann McLerie as Florence Bickford, Molly's mother
William Converse-Roberts as Fred Dodd, Molly's ex-husband
Richard Lawson as Det. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of Molly's romantic interests
David Strathairn as Moss Goodman, one of Molly's romantic interests
Additional cast
Maureen Anderman as Nina, Molly's best friend
Sandy Faison as Mamie Grolnick, Molly's younger sister
Victor Garber as Dennis Widmer
Richard Venture as Edgar Bickford, Molly's father
George Gaynes, John Pankow, J. Smith-Cameron, and Lewis Black
Episodes
NOTE: Production Codes were taken from the Library of Congress.
Production
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd had story lines that often did not resolve in a single episode.
The show was filmed using a single camera.
Production took place in Hollywood for the first two seasons before moving to Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York in season 3.
Tarses wrote and directed many of its episodes (and made a number of cameo appearances).
Blair Brown was given special billing above the title in the opening credits on the Lifetime episodes.
Reception and network change
NBC first aired the series as a summer replacement in 1987, running 13 episodes. Molly Dodd was critically acclaimed and a moderate ratings success (it was featured in the network's then-powerhouse Thursday night lineup), but was not featured in the network's fall schedule. It again was a mid-season replacement for NBC in spring 1988 with 12 episodes (a season-ending 13th episode was produced but not aired). NBC canceled Molly Dodd after the second season.
After its NBC cancelation, cable network Lifetime picked up the series, first re-airing the 26 episodes originally produced, and then commissioning three more 13-episode seasons for 1989, 1990, and 1991. When they were rerun on Lifetime, the original 26 episodes were time-sped (usually during both acts), and the opening titles trimmed. After production ceased, Lifetime continued to air Molly Dodd in reruns until 1993.
Awards and nominations
The show earned Brown five Emmy Award nominations as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, one for each year of the show's run. Brown won a CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series in 1991, during the fifth and final season's airing. Tarses was also the recipient of multiple nominations.
Music rights
Despite some demand for the show on DVD or streaming services, the original producers did not clear music rights for subsequent broadcast. Although Brown often sang as Molly, the cost to secure the rights to the music itself would be substantial. In an interview, Brown indicated "all the songs that I sang, they never got the rights. So [the show is] in a vault somewhere and will never see the light of day."