Series Description

The Mothers-In-Law TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on NBC about two suburban Los Angeles couples who were next door neighbors and had vastly different lifestyles. Despite their differences, they were forced to interact when one of their daughters married the other couple's son. To make matters worse, the newlyweds lived right in the midst of the chaos in the garage! Of course, the two mothers-in-law each had dramatically different ideas about how their kids should live their lives and neither one had any problem voicing their opinion.

Mothers-In-Law Cast

Eve Arden .... Eve Hubbard
Herbert Rudley .... Herb Hubbard
Kaye Ballard .... Kaye Buell
Jerry Fogel .... Jerry Buell
Deborah Walley .... Suzie Hubbard Buell
Desi Arnaz .... Raphael Del Gado
Roger C. Carmel .... Roger Buell (Season 1)
Richard Deacon .... Roger Buell (Season 2)

Mothers-In-Law Trivia

Eve Arden was already a seasoned comedienne when The Mothers-In-Law premiered. She had starred on the classic TV sitcom "Our Miss Brooks" for 130 episodes from 1552-1956 and on "The Eve Arden Show" for 26 episodes during the 1957-1958 season. Eve portrayed a fast talking, wise cracking character that audiences loved throughout most of her career. Eve was a great actress, however, and could perform dramatically to perfection when necessary. Her Academy Award nomination for her role in the 1945 classic theatrical film, "Mildred Pierce" is a testimonial to that talent! Eve also appeared in numerous other films and TV series. Her personality was so appealing that she was highly sought out by producers, directors and TV stars to appear as a guest star on their shows.

The Mothers-In-Law was the only series successfully produced by Desi Arnaz Productions. Desi was already acknowledged as a genius in the television industry by this time. While President of Desilu studios he developed the three camera method of shooting sitcoms which is today generally accepted as the standard method of production. His ex-wife, Lucille Ball ("I Love Lucy") was interviewed by a reporter after she and Desi had decided to divorce. The reporter congratulated Lucille as being the driving force behind the highly successful Desilu studios. Lucy angrily defended her ex by saying that he was the greatest comedic straight man of all time and that he was without a doubt the brains behind Desilu! You may have heard of some of Desilu's greatest productions. They include "Mission Impossible" and "Star Trek".

There was an unfortunate situation that resulted in the cancellation of The Mothers-In-Law. After season one, NBC agreed to renew the series that had achieved reasonable but not great ratings only if production costs did not increase. All of the Cast agreed to getting no raise except Roger C. Carmel whose original contract stated that he would get a raise if his contract was renewed. As a result, he was replaced with Richard Deacon ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") taking over his role as Roger Buell. Fans apparently didn't accept a new face on the popular character and The Mothers-In-Law dove to the bottom of the ratings and the series was canceled. Carmel turned down a very respectable salary at the time of $2,000 per episode plus residuals and was not offered any substantial roles for a dozen years.

Ann Sothern ("Private Secretary") was originally conceived as the character that became Kaye Buell but NBC and Desi Arnaz ("The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour") reached the conclusion that her style of comedy was too similar to that of Eve Arden so Kaye Ballard got the part. That seems strange to this author as my memory of Kaye's style is that it also similar to Eve's.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

Season 1

1. On Again, Off Again, Lohengrin (9/10/1967)
2. Everybody Goes On a Honeymoon (9/17/1967)
3. All Fall Down (9/24/1967)
4. A Night to Forget (10/1/1967)
5. The Newleyweds Move In (10/8/1967)
6. The Career Girls (10/15/1967)
7. Who's Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor? (10/22/1967)
8. My Son, the Actor (10/29/1967)
9. How Do You Moonlight a Meatball? (11/5/1967)
10. I Thought He'd Never Leave (11/12/1967)
11. The Great Bicycle Race (11/19/1967)
12. Through The Lurking Glass (11/26/1967)
13. Divorce-Mother-In-Law Style (12/3/1967)
14. The Not Cold Enough War (12/10/1967)
15. You Challenge Me to a What? (12/17/1967)
16. Everybody Wants to Be a Writer (12/31/1967)
17. The Kids Move Out (1/7/1968)
18. The Hombre Who Came to Dinner - Part 1 (1/14/1968)
19. The Hombre Who Came to Dinner - Part 2 (1/21/1968)
20. Don't Give Up the Sloop (1/28/1968)
21. I'd Tell You I Love You, But We're Not Speaking (2/4/1968)
22. Herb's Little Helpers (2/11/1968)
23. Bye, Bye Blackmailer (2/25/1968)
24. The Wig Story (3/3/1968)
25. It's Only Money (3/10/1968)
26. I Haven't Got a Secret (3/17/1968)
27. Jerry's Night Out with the Boys (3/24/1968)
28. The Long, Long Weekend (3/31/1968)
29. Jealousy Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (4/7/1968)
30. How Not to Manage a Rock Group (4/28/1968)

31. Here Comes the Bride, Again (9/15/1968)
32. The Match Game (9/22/1968)
33. A Little Pregnancy Goes a Long Way (9/29/1968)
34. Love Thy Neighbor, If You Can't Get Him to Move (10/6/1968)
35. I Didn't Raise Myself to Be a Grandmother (10/13/1968)
36. Even Mothers-in-Law Have Mothers-in-Law (10/20/1968)
37. The Matador Makes a Movie (10/27/1968)
38. It's a Dog's Life (11/10/1968)
39. The First Anniversary is the Hardest (11/24/1968)
40. The Birth of Everything but the Blues (12/1/1968)
41. Nome, Schnome, I'd Rather Have It at Home (12/8/1968)
42. Hail, Hail, the Gang's Still Here (12/15/1968)
43. Didn't You Use to Be Ozzie Snick? (12/22/1968)
44. Make Room for Baby (1/5/1969)
45. Haven't You Had That Baby Yet? (1/12/1969)
46. And Baby Makes Four (1/19/1969)
47. Nanny Go Home (1/26/1969)
48. Double Trouble in the Nursery (2/2/1969)
49. Void Where Prohibited by In-Laws (2/9/1969)
50. Guess Who's Coming Forever? (2/23/1969)
51. Every In-Law Wants to Get Into the Act (3/2/1969)
52. Two on the Aisle (3/16/1969)
53. Take Her, He's Mine (3/23/1969)
54. Show Business is No Business (3/30/1969)
55. The Charge of the Wife Brigade (4/6/1969)
56. The Not-So-Grand Opera (4/13/1969)