Why did "The Mothers-in-Law" producers - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Rezny@gmail.com · 04-19-2010, 12:30 AM

Replace Roger C.Carmel,who played Roger in season one,with Richard Deacon in season two?Both men were great playing Roger,but I'm just curious.Was Richard Deacon the producers'first choice or was Roger C.Carmel?

TV Knowledge Fan · 04-19-2010, 02:11 AM

....because of less-than-expected ratings ("THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW" was opposite the second half of CBS' "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW" and ABC's "THE FBI"), NBC was reluctant to renew the series for a second season for the fall of 1968. However, after sponsor Procter & Gamble strongly hinted they might move it to "another network", NBC agreed to renew the program...without an increase in their "licensing fee" to Desi Arnaz Productions [and distributor United Artists Television] for the rights to air it. In turn, Desi asked the cast to return under the same salary they worked for in season one. Everyone agreed...except Roger C. Carmel. He claimed he was entitled to a salary increase. Despite most of the cast trying to convince him that the show might have been cancelled without their accepting a "salary freeze", Carmel quit. Desi was forced to replace him with Richard Deacon (for the same salary)...and ultimately, the ratings sank even lower, and NBC {as well as Procter & Gamble} cancelled the series after season two.

jehobden · 04-22-2010, 06:05 PM

Maybe I haven't seen the show enough to know the difference, but does anyone think that Roger C. Carmel could've saved the show beyond Season 2 by returning? I've actually seen more Season 2 than Season 1 eps (I've only seen the Season 1 finale w/ The Seeds.), and the show was still just as funny the 2nd year, though Richard Deacon was admittedly very different from Roger C. Carmel as Roger Buell. As we've discussed in another thread on this board, NBC never had a show go beyond 2 seasons in this particular Sunday night slot, and Bill Cosby still would've likely been more appealing than another season of this series to NBC by 1969.

04-19-2010, 12:30 AM	#1
Rezny@gmail.com Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 20, 2007 Location: Nebraska Posts: 2,675	Why did "The Mothers-in-Law" producers Replace Roger C.Carmel,who played Roger in season one,with Richard Deacon in season two?Both men were great playing Roger,but I'm just curious.Was Richard Deacon the producers'first choice or was Roger C.Carmel?

04-19-2010, 02:11 AM	#2
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	It was a matter of money... ....because of less-than-expected ratings ("THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW" was opposite the second half of CBS' "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW" and ABC's "THE FBI"), NBC was reluctant to renew the series for a second season for the fall of 1968. However, after sponsor Procter & Gamble strongly hinted they might move it to "another network", NBC agreed to renew the program...without an increase in their "licensing fee" to Desi Arnaz Productions [and distributor United Artists Television] for the rights to air it. In turn, Desi asked the cast to return under the same salary they worked for in season one. Everyone agreed...except Roger C. Carmel. He claimed he was entitled to a salary increase. Despite most of the cast trying to convince him that the show might have been cancelled without their accepting a "salary freeze", Carmel quit. Desi was forced to replace him with Richard Deacon (for the same salary)...and ultimately, the ratings sank even lower, and NBC {as well as Procter & Gamble} cancelled the series after season two.

04-22-2010, 06:05 PM	#3
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	Maybe I haven't seen the show enough to know the difference, but does anyone think that Roger C. Carmel could've saved the show beyond Season 2 by returning? I've actually seen more Season 2 than Season 1 eps (I've only seen the Season 1 finale w/ The Seeds.), and the show was still just as funny the 2nd year, though Richard Deacon was admittedly very different from Roger C. Carmel as Roger Buell. As we've discussed in another thread on this board, NBC never had a show go beyond 2 seasons in this particular Sunday night slot, and Bill Cosby still would've likely been more appealing than another season of this series to NBC by 1969.