Maude | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Norman Lear |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Theme music composer | |
Opening theme | "And Then There's Maude" Performed by Donny Hathaway |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 141 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Norman Lear |
Producers |
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Production locations |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Tandem Productions |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 12, 1972 April 22, 1978 | –
Related | |
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) |
Maude is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972, until April 22, 1978. The show was the first spin-off of All in the Family, on which Bea Arthur had made two appearances as Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker's favorite cousin. Like All in the Family, Maude was a sitcom with topical storylines created by producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin.
Maude stars Bea Arthur as Maude, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, New York with her fourth husband, household appliance store owner Walter Findlay (Bill Macy). Maude embraces the tenets of women's liberation, always votes for Democratic Party candidates, and advocates for civil rights and racial and gender equality. Her overbearing and sometimes domineering personality often gets her into trouble when speaking about these issues.
Unusually for an American sitcom, several episodes (such as "Maude's Night Out" and "The Convention") featured only the characters of Maude and her husband Walter, in what amounted to half-hour "two-hander" teleplays. In the season four episode "The Analyst" (sometimes referred to as "Maude Bares Her Soul"), Arthur as Maude, speaking to an unseen psychiatrist, was the sole actor on screen for the entire episode.[1]
The show's theme song, "And Then There's Maude", was written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Dave Grusin, and performed by Donny Hathaway.