Mary Tyler Moore Show (only Mary)
Bob Newhart Show (only Bob and Suzanne Pleshette)
Green Acres (only Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor)

Gomer Pyle USMC - only Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton

Home Improvement (early seasons) - only Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson (I think)

going way back - Our Miss Brooks - only Eve Arden

My Three Sons (seasons 1 - 5) - only Fred MacMurray and William Frawley (later William Demarest)

The Odd Couple - Only Tony Randall & Jack Klugman

I think The Lucy Show credited only Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance in the early years, and Ball and Gale Gordon in the later years.

Sanford and Son credited only Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson.

Some of the ones we're mentioning probably wouldn't be considered ensemble casts, though.

The Andy Griffith Show

The Brady Bunch

This seems to be especially common in the 50's and 60's.

WKRP In Cincinnati

It was more common for the child actors to be relegated to the closing credits in the early days of television. Even Eight is Enough, which aired in the 1970s, originally only billed the parents and the actor playing the eldest son in the intro. It wasn’t until season 3 when the other seven actors were moved into the opening credits.

WKRP In Cincinnati

WKRP finally added the full cast in the opening in Season 3. This was rare for MTM sitcoms, which usually only credited the star, except Bob Newhart where Suzanne Pleshette was also front-credited. Newhart did credit the full regular cast, but only with names, not pictures or scenes w/ the actors.

It was more common for the child actors to be relegated to the closing credits in the early days of television. Even Eight is Enough, which aired in the 1970s, originally only billed the parents and the actor playing the eldest son in the intro. It wasn’t until season 3 when the other seven actors were moved into the opening credits.


Yep. When the show originally aired, my family would always joke about how only the oldest son mattered to the parents on the show, based on those credits. :lol:


It was the same with The Waltons, as I recall. What was it about that era when only the oldest son mattered?

IIRC, most (if not all) of the MTM sitcoms of the 70s only billed the main actor/actress, with some crediting one supporting actor/actress. As jehobden noted, WKRP started crediting the full cast in season 3 (1980).

Not sure if you could count it as an ensemble comedy, but Buffalo Bill from the early-80s.

Home Improvement (early seasons) - only Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson (I think)



Nope they always had the full cast in the intro :)

Unintentionally, a confusion developed with the start of this thread, many of the shows mentioned are not ensemble shows.

The Odd Couple is about Felix and Oscar, Green Acres is about Oliver and Lisa. Remember just because there are other characters in a series doesn't make it an ensemble show. None of the series Lucy starred in come close to fitting the definition.
Gomer Pyle does not fit the definition.

Here's a working definition:

"There is no one protagonist. The plot and its narrative don't revolve around a single, "most important" main character. Instead, it shares a cast of characters with (almost) equal screentime and importance to the plot".


Facts of Life, yes, Golden Girls, yes, Maude, no! It's A Living, yes, Friends, yes, Our Miss Brooks, no! 30 Rock, yes, NewsRadio, yes, Dick Van Dyke Show, no!