# Alice (1976)

> A widowed single mother starts over with her son and finds a second family among the staff and regulars of a Phoenix roadside diner.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/464

## Facts

- Seasons: 9
- Episodes: 202
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Robert Getchell
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Linda Lavin, Philip McKeon, Vic Tayback, Beth Howland, Celia Weston, Polly Holliday, Diane Ladd, Charles Levin
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073955/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: warm, breezy, comforting, wistful, good natured

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series as mixed, with the early seasons and the later seasons praised for their warmth and comic ensemble.

## Synopsis

Alice (1976-1985) is an American network sitcom created by Robert Getchell for CBS and based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Linda Lavin plays Alice Hyatt, a widow who moves west with her young son Tommy (Philip McKeon) to rebuild her life and takes a waitressing job at Mel's Diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. Mel Sharples (Vic Tayback) runs the place with a gruff patience, while fellow waitresses Vera Louise Gorman-Novak (Beth Howland) and Florence Jean Castleberry (Polly Holliday) supply loud, colorful friction across the counter. Each episode is built from the small crises of the diner: tips that run short, romantic misfires, customers who overstay their welcome, and the everyday money pressures of a single parent holding down a job. The engine is Alice's stubborn determination to make a stable life for her son without surrendering her sense of humor. The series runs for nine seasons as a episodic multi-camera sitcom, with its laughs rooted in character and the restaurant's steady rhythm rather than a continuing plot. The tone is warm, breezy and comforting, with a wistful undercurrent about loss and second chances. Fans of Cheers, One Day at a Time and Flo will find resonance in its workplace ensemble and its good-natured view of working-class life in 1970s America.

## Shows like Alice

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- [One Day at a Time (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/60520)
- [Empty Nest (1988)](https://ember.film/tv/2682)
- [Cybill (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/2567)
- [Step by Step (1991)](https://ember.film/tv/2486)
- [That Girl (1966)](https://ember.film/tv/1817)
- [Mum (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58530)
- [The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)](https://ember.film/tv/2816)
- [The Partridge Family (1970)](https://ember.film/tv/12984)
- [227 (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/1830)

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