# The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)

> A television comedy writer and his wife juggle the chaos of a writers room with the comedy of married life at home.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2021

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 158
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Carl Reiner
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, Larry Mathews, Jesse White, Jack Davis
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054533/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: warm, breezy, wholesome, cozy, playful

## What critics say

Widely regarded as a warm, sharply written classic sitcom whose early seasons set the standard for workplace and domestic comedy, with its quality viewed as strongest in the first seasons.

## Synopsis

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) is a American network sitcom created by Carl Reiner for CBS. Dick Van Dyke plays Rob Petrie, a head comedy writer for a fictional New York television variety program, who is caught between the demands of his boss and his fellow writers Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie). At home in suburban New Rochelle, his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and their young son Richie (Larry Mathews) bring the day's office mishaps back through the front door. Each episode is built from a workplace jam, such as a botched script, a fussy producer Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon), or a sketch that refuses to land, then ties it to the household rhythm of marriage and parenthood. The engine is simple: Rob wants a good script and a calm home, and the show finds comedy in the collisions. Across five seasons of roughly thirty episodes each, the series keeps a steady, multi-camera rhythm and a cozy, optimistic register. Fans of I Love Lucy and The Mary Tyler Moore Show will find resonance in its blend of backstage television satire and warm domestic farce.

## Shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show

- [Family Affair (1966)](https://ember.film/tv/473)
- [The Honeymooners (1955)](https://ember.film/tv/4220)
- [The Munsters (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/1610)
- [Newhart (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/2857)
- [Mister Ed (1961)](https://ember.film/tv/425)
- [Man with a Plan (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/59115)
- [That Girl (1966)](https://ember.film/tv/1817)
- [Everybody Loves Raymond (1996)](https://ember.film/tv/2029)
- [One Day at a Time (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/2078)
- [Green Acres (1965)](https://ember.film/tv/575)

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