Q: What was the experience like of taking your beloved character of Lou Grant from the realm of comedy into a dramatic series?

A: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” was always a joy, always fun. It was the top of the world. It was a phenomenally easy schedule and very rewarding to perform those wonderful scripts in front of that audience. “Lou Grant” became work, hard work. No live audience, single camera, and still an occasional attempt to get a laugh, which would not be rewarded with a response. It took a good long while for people to accept the show because no one had gone from being a comedic actor, supposedly, to a dramatic actor. So we tried to create a so-called dramedy with “Lou Grant.” Mostly, though, it dealt with the issues that [the characters] were covering. No show had ever succeeded in portraying the daily [creation] of a newspaper before, and I think we did that. When we presented the issues, we presented them while giving a nod to the opposing side, which I think was fairly rare as well. I asked Allan Burns and Jim Brooks, the producers of “Mary Tyler Moore,” to be my producers on “Lou Grant,” and they accepted. It was their decision to go where no man or woman had trod before, and where no one will tread again — taking a character from a half-hour comedy into an hour-long drama.

http://www.thewoodstockindependent.com/news/story.php?id=823

http://www.bookotron.com/agony/images/2004/04-columns/10-25-04/lou_grant.jpg

I would say that Ed Asner was and is Lou Grant - right from the moment he said, "I hate spunk!"

I would say that Ed Asner was and is Lou Grant - right from the moment he said, "I hate spunk!"
I agree. But networks recently have shown a real propensity for remaking old shows and updating them so to speak. So it would not surprise me in the least to see a Lou Grant remake. It also wouldn't surprise me to see some other comedic character updated into a dramatic character. :rolleyes:

I remember when the Lou Grant series first started. I'll bet the premiere got some huge ratings. In those years, as a sitcom addict I watched very few dramas, but you can bet I was glued to the set for the new show.

I agree with Ed; it was an extremely rare situation, unlikely to be seen again any time soon.

What's amazing is, we all know how hilarious the Lou Grant character was on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and "Lou Grant" was well done, always topical, and I can tell you it very accurately reflected the newspaper business.

And on a side note, I agree with Ed when he says the other sides of issues did get play on "Lou Grant", even though Ed has rather well-known political leanings!