ABC wouldn't give them a second-season renewal unless they went a little "quirkier" with the characters (https://ibb.co/Wk0V6mV). Tony Thomas, the producer said of Louise "She did a great job, but it wasn't what we felt our show (https://ibb.co/gTWGP2R) was." Here's an preview article from October 1985, when It's a Living back back for the syndication market:
https://ibb.co/v3nSTJ0

Great article! I never knew Ann had her pick of the two roles between Bosom Buddies and IAL. I do know that she seemed to be good friends with BB star Donna Dixon, as I have seen lots of candid shots of them together, smiling and laughing, and they appeared on the Battle of the Network Stars in fall 1981.

Louise Lasser was probably a very poor fit for It's a Living (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080233/reviews). She had a very slow (https://books.google.com/books?id=GuQCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=slow+nasal+voice+louise+lasser&source=bl&ots=doD6_smEiK&sig=ACfU3U3rJtg7N4SwlxlysVBfJbFQIGKOCw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwit96S-3I3_AhWjkmoFHRDaBVQQ6AF6BAgfEAM) delivery and nasally voice, which didn't mesh well (https://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/showthread.php?24226-Jennifer-Slept-Here-The-weird-Ann-Jillian-sitcom-which-only-lasted-one-season&p=1057549&viewfull=1#post1057549) with the show's otherwise, frantic pacing.

Great article! I never knew Ann had her pick of the two roles between Bosom Buddies and IAL. I do know that she seemed to be good friends with BB star Donna Dixon, as I have seen lots of candid shots of them together, smiling and laughing, and they appeared on the Battle of the Network Stars in fall 1981.

Here's the article in full:
https://i.ibb.co/zXvzBSq/ial2.png

The network suits totally mishandled this show's timeslot and also meddled in the casting. This should've been a 7 year hit for ABC if they hadn't gotten in their own way. These creators knew what they were doing and eventually went on to create The Golden Girls.

ABC did the same thing with Too Close for Comfort that went on to have big ratings in first run syndication.