Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Cybill: Cast Photo

Cybill aired from January 1995 until July 1998 on CBS.

Cybill ( Cybill Shepherd)was a wisecracking actress in Las Angeles whose professional and personal life was in constant turmoil. At fourtysomething, the roles she was offered were mostly small parts for older women-each episode opened with her filming a scene from a movie or tv show in which she had a small part-not the glamorous roles she had been offered when she was a young beauty. She wasn't unattractive, she was just starting to show her age. Then there were the leftovers from her 2 failed marriages. Her first hubby was Jeff ( Tom Wopat), a handsome stuntman currently living on the couch in Cybill's living room. Their married daughter Rachel ( Dedee Pfeiffer), had recently announced that mom was going to be a grandmother. Zoey ( Alicia Witt), the moody 16 year old from her second marriage, was also living with her. Zoey's father Ira ( Alan Rosenberg), a successful but incredibly neurotic novelist, still had strong feelings for Cybill and was hoping to rekindle their romance. Fat Chance. Cybill's best friend was Maryann( Christine Baranski), a cynical divorcee whose ex-husband had left her quite well off. Maryann had been to the Betty Ford Clinic to cure her drinking problem but desperately needed a booster shot. The 2 of them dished the dirt, which included their respective dating problems, at the trendy reastaurant where they lunched in almost every episode.

Maryann's obsession with making life miserable for her ex, the notorious Dr. Dick, continued to get her and Cybill into precarious situations in slapstick adventures reminiscent of I Love Lucy. In the fall of 1995 Rachel gave birth to a son, and 2 years later to a daughter. Jeff moved out of Cybill's home in late 1995 and was seen only occasionally from 1996 on. In the spring of 1996, Ira and Maryann started dating ( it didn't last )and Zoey broke up with Sean ( Jay Paulson ), the busboy.

That fall Rachel and her family moved in with Cybill, while Kevin ( Peter Krause), looked for a new job, and Zoey got her own apartment. Cybill starred for a time in a new science-fiction series and when Jeff's career got hot, he gave Rachel and Kevin money for a down payment on a new home. Early in 1997, Maryann started dating a nice veterinarian who-ugh-was another Dr. Dick.

In the spring of 1998, Maryann's son Justin (Danny Masterson), who had been friendly with Zoey moved to San Francisco for a new job. In the series finale Maryann was left broke after Dr. Dick bribed her business manager into having her sign a form giving him power of attorney. He cleaned her out and at the episode's end, she and Cybill were arrested for murdering Dr. Dick. He had apparently been in the Chris-Craft boat that among other things, they had gleefully blown up on his property. As they were led off, " to be continued" flashed on the screen, but since Cybill had been canceled, there was no resolution.

Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner were the Executive Producers of this series.

A Review from The New York Times

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: January 9, 1995

The makers of "Cybill," which is laden with five executive producers, clearly get a kick out of the BBC sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" and its off-the-wall portrait of two women boozing their way through New Age lunacies. Cybill is an actress, mostly in bit parts on soaps. ("There are no small parts, only small checks," she says.) She has two former husbands: Jeff (Tom Wopat), a stunt man ("I call all my ex-wives Pumpkin"), and Ira (Alan Rosenberg), a novelist whose midlife crisis includes dating very young women and buying German sports cars. She also has two daughters, and the older one is pregnant, raising the specter of grandmotherhood.

Cybill's dearest friend and confidante is Maryann (Christine Baranski), a multi-martini divorcee who insists that her son is "standing in a mesa in New Mexico with a suitcase and a flashlight trying to hitch a ride off this planet." Meanwhile, Cybill and Maryann do their best to survive in a California in which coyotes eat cats and earth tremors come with lunch. Maryanne is convinced a woman's life has only three stages: virgin, mother and crone.

"Cybill" tries hard -- sometimes too hard -- to be outrageous. Breast jokes abound, and at one point George Hamilton pops up for a doggie-poop routine. "Absolutely Fabulous" is grandly bawdy and uninhibited; "Cybill," more restrained for American sensibilities, ends up too often being only vulgar. Still, Ms. Shepherd and Ms. Baranski have their delightful moments. And the series appears to be getting stronger. Next week's episode, with Morgan Fairchild providing competition for Cybill on the soap scene, is hilarious.

An Article from The New York Times

TELEVISION; Through Thick and Thin (Thin? I Could Kill Her)

By ANITA GATES
Published: April 30, 1995

Where would Cybill Shepherd's character on "Cybill" be without her best friend? Drink in hand, Maryann is always there to share wit and wisdom about Cybill's daughters and ex-husbands. And Cybill is there for Maryann, who has been known to telephone her friend from her walkin closet, nervous that she is seconds from going to bed with a new man. Cybill and Maryann lunch together, work out at the gym together, stalk Maryann's ex-husband together and commiserate on the trials of life after 40. They're part of a long line of sitcom female best friends. But oh, how those twosomes have evolved! They've always been women of their times. ANITA GATES Lucy and Ethel, 1951-57 Era -- Life revolved around home and husbands when Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) were pals on "I Love Lucy" (CBS). The girls always wanted to go to a nightclub; the boys always wanted to go to the fights. Living Arrangements -- The same New York Apartment building. Specialty -- Silly capers. Balance of Power -- The Mertzes own the building, but Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel are round and middle-aged while Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Lucy have youth and beauty on their side. Lucy is a little nuts, but Ethel almost always goes along with her schemes, from dressing up as Martians to sneaking into Richard Widmark's backyard. Lucy returns the favor at least once, posing as the Mertzes' maid to impress a visiting friend of Fred's. Togetherness -- The couples go everywhere together (Hollywood, Europe), and when the Ricardos move to Connecticut, the Mertzes soon follow. Loyalty -- Stong, but when Lucy loses her bit part in an Italian movie by soaking up local color literally (during a fight with a fellow grape stomper), Ethel accepts the movie part herself. Gleefully. Mary and Rhoda, 1970-74 Era -- In the 70's, when Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore, right) and Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) were best friends on CBS's "Mary Tyler Moore Show," working women who were over 30 and single had to stick together. Living Arrangements -- Apartments in the same Minneapolis house. Specialty -- Moral support. Balance of Power -- Mary is prettier and thinner and has a better job (television news producer; Rhoda is a window dresser) and a nicer apartment. Even Rhoda's mother likes Mary better. But Rhoda is braver (she even calls Mary's boss by his first name). Togetherness -- Largely home-base, although Rhoda does turn up at Mary's office now and then. Loyalty -- Strong. Mary takes in Mrs. Morgenstern when Rhoda decides she can't deal with one more maternal visit. Rhoda stays up all night helping Mary meet a deadline for writing obituaries. Still, after four seasons, Rhoda dumps her and leaves town faster than you can say "spinoff." Laverne and Shirley, 1976-82 Era -- ABC's "Laverne and Shirley" was set in the 1950's (as seen nostalgically from the feminist 70's), when single women shared a single goal: as Shirley says just after Laverne has gone face-down into a chopped-liver sculpture, "I just thought that we might meet a couple of rich guys." Living Arrangements -- Laverne De Fazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) share a modest apartment in Milwaukee. Specialty -- Silly man-hunting capers. Laverne gets her hand stuck in a crematory urn while trying to impress a handsome mortician. Balance of Power -- Shirley is naive. Laverne is manipulative. Togetherness -- They work together at a brewery and double-date a lot. When Shirley really, really wants to attend a cocktail party at the Pfister Hotel to meet businessmen, Laverne accompanies her, even though she has just completed a sleep-deprivation experiment and keeps sliding to the floor. Loyalty -- After the characters relocate to California, Shirley marries and moves overseas, leaving Laverne to face cancellation alone. Kate and Allie, 1984-89 Era -- On CBS's "Kate and Allie," 1980's women had problems that Lucy and Ethel could barely have imagined. Living Arrangements -- Kate McArdle (Susan Saint James, right) and Allie Lowell (Jane Curtin), both divorced, live with their total of three children in a big New York apartment. At one point, they pretend to be lesbians so the landlady won't throw them out for being a two-family household. Specialties -- Hugs and late-night talks about love, children and life. Balance of Power -- Kate is cooler, more worldly; Allie is old-fashioned and keeps tranquilizers in the spice rack. Togetherness -- Allie stays home to cold-shower Kate out of an accidental sedative overdose. Kate rushes home from work when Allie calls, panicked about her 17-year-old daughter's intentions to have sex. Eventually the two women open a catering business. Loyalty -- Even after Allie remarries, Kate moves in with her. Patsy and Edina, 1992- Era -- The 90's, but the dissolute, self-indulgent heroines of "Absolutely Fabulous" (BBC; shown here on Comedy Central since 1994) refuse to leave the 60's. Living Arrangements -- No one understands Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders, left), who lives in a chic London house. Thank God for Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), who lives somewhere within taxicab distance and keeps moving in. Specialties -- Drinking (Bollinger is a favorite), drug use (Patsy smuggles marijuana into Morocco in her Ivana Trump hairdo), shopping, belittling Eddy's annoyingly sensbile teen-age daughter, Saffron (Julia Sawalha), and complaining in spoken italics ("Why can't life just be made a little easier?" Eddy asks a traffic court judge). Balance of Power -- Patsy, a magazine fashion director who often can't find her office, has the more glamorous job and looks. But Eddy, a publicist, holds all the cards, as her daughter and her best friend fight for her love. Togetherness -- Absolute. When Eddy was hospitalized for foot surgery (a lost acupuncture needle), Patsy checked in for moral support -- and a face-lift. Loyalty -- Total. Who but Patsy would call Saffron pretending to be the Betty Ford Clinic confirming Edina's reservation? Hope and Gloria, 1995- Era -- Here and now (NBC's "Hope and Gloria"). Living Arrangements -- The same apartment building in Pittsburgh. Specialty -- Too soon to tell. Balance of Power -- Mixed. Hope Davidson (Cynthia Stevenson), recently dumped by her unfaithful husband, is a television producer so meek she accepts applying cream cheese to her boss's bagel as part of her job. Gloria Utz (Jessica Luncy) is a twice-divorced hairdresser and mother of one who carries a tote bag the size of a coffee table and talks back to just about anyone. Togetherness -- Growing. They do visit each other's apartments constantly. Loyalty -- Promising, but Hope could have been alittle more supportive when she hired Gloria at the television station, then pretty much took the job offer back.

An Article from The New York Times

TELEVISION; Bantering and Lolling Her Way to the Top

By JILL GERSTON
Published: April 30, 1995

WRAPPED IN SPANDEX AND midlife neuroses, swilling a martini and tossing off tart one-liners, Christine Baranski sparkles in the role of Maryann Thorpe, the madcap, shriekingly chic best friend on "Cybill," a sitcom that is delighting its supporters at CBS.

Ms. Baranski's zesty banter with Cybill Shepherd, who plays a twice-divorced, almost-over-the-hill actress, recalls the repartee dished up by wisecracking dames in Hollywood's vintage screwball comedies.

CYBILL: I lost a great part in a movie. Hooker with a heart of gold.

MARYANN: Oh, that's novel.

CYBILL: They thought it would be more of a family film if they cast a younger, perkier whore. Apparently, middle-aged prostitutes are depressing.

MARYANN: So much for my plans to re-enter the work force.

At a time when many of television's yummiest female parts are those of blue-collar moms or single careerists, Maryann is the unexpected petit four: a rich Brentwood divorcee who lolls away her days getting apricot facials and harassing her ex-husband, a plastic surgeon. "She's audacious," sums up Ms. Baranski, who can be seen in the role on Mondays at 9:30 P.M., right after "Murphy Brown."

Arriving for lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel, Ms. Baranski, makes a Maryann-like entrance in dark sunglasses and a snug bubble-gum-pink suit, with a publicity agent and a makeup artist in tow.

She has been up since 6:30 A.M. getting "fluffed and glossed" in her Litchfield, Conn., farmhouse for an appearance on ABC's "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." "I have to uphold my image," she explains, after ordering a cold Heineken in a wine glass. "Why be my everyday self when I can be the witty, haute couture Maryann?"

With her chiseled cheekbones, retrousse nose and wide, pointy grin, the bone-thin actress calls to mind Kay Kendall, the British comedian. A lively conversationalist, she speaks in a grand, throaty voice with the clipped diction of someone more accustomed to Shakespeare than to sitcoms.

Ms. Baranski says she is learning to talk more quietly in restaurants because "in Hollywood, you never know who in the business is sitting behind you."

Eavesdropping on deals hatched over caffe latte is new to Ms. Baranski, a theater actress whose professional roots are firmly planted in New York. A Juilliard graduate who appeared in the American Shakespeare Festival and regional theater before landing on Broadway, she has won two Tony Awards for featured actress (in 1984, as Jeremy Irons's discarded first wife in Tom Stoppard's "Real Thing," and in 1989, as an agitated nouveau riche party guest in Neil Simon's farce "Rumors").

For years, she endured a three-hour commute between New York theaters and her Connecticut home , where she lives with her husband, the actor Matthew Cowles, and two young daughters. Her unwillingness to give up her East Coast life style kept her from accepting television parts in Hollywood. She says she even declined to audition for "Grace Under Fire," Brett Butler's ABC sitcom hit.

"It's only been this specific character, this show and this writing that has gotten me to make the jump to sitcom land," she said. "I'm still ambivalent about having a life on both coasts, but the show was such a great opportunity. And the visibility television gives you is pretty wonderful."

Indeed, Ms. Baranski's flamboyant alter ego has not only touched off a media flurry; it has also attracted hordes of new fans, one of whom wrote: "Who are you? Where did you come from?" Ms. Baranski marvels: "It's as if I'm being discovered at the age of 42."

She has a disconcerting habit of gazing around the room as she speaks, leaving her interviewer to communicate with one of her jeweled pink earrings.

"In the theater I was used to playing immensely challenging roles, and I feared that on television I'd be playing the same one-note character over and over," she said, staring at the opposite table. "But to my delight, Maryann is turning out to be a three-octave role. She doesn't just wallow in her martinis."

Chuck Lorre, the show's creator, said: "Christine brings a vulnerability and intelligence to the character that isn't on the page. She has terrific instincts about Maryann."

Still, the role of a lonely, divorced dropout from the Betty Ford Center is perhaps more poignant than comedic. Has Ms. Baranski been criticized for pushing the boundaries of good taste?

"I haven't received a single letter saying, 'How can you set such a bad example?' " she replies. "This is a sophisticated adult comedy, not educational television."

Ms. Baranski said the onscreen chemistry between Cybill and Maryann exists in real life too.

"I don't think the characters would work if we didn't get along so well," she said. "And considering that Maryann is such a scene-stealing part, I think Cybill has been exceptionally generous and supportive." (Ms. Shepherd declined to discuss the relationship for this article.)

To get their "vibrations" in sync before a scene, Ms. Baranski and Ms. Shepherd bark at each other. But it's all in fun, not like the bickering on the set of "Moonlighting," the 1985-89 series that starred Ms. Shepherd and Bruce Willis.

Ms. Baranski was born in Buffalo, where her father was the editor of a Polish newspaper. She displayed a theatrical flair as a teen-ager, starring in "Auntie Mame" in high school.

Her theater credits include Terrence McNally's 1991 Off Broadway comedy "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" (as a neurotic suburbanite who can't stop talking) and, in the same year, the ill-fated Broadway musical "Nick and Nora" (as an egomaniacal movie queen). She has also popped up in such films as "Reversal of Fortune" and "Addams Family Values."

This summer, Ms. Baranski will film "Birds of a Feather," Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of the French farce "La Cage aux Folles." She describes her character as "very chic, sophisticated, a bit like Maryann," a description that may also be said of the socialite she portrays in the film "Jeffrey," based on Paul Rudnick's comedy, due in August.

Does she worry about being typecast as a smart-mouthed fashion plate? No, she said. "I spent so many years doing theater in New York that when I want to, I know I can come back and do any number of things."

Not that she'll be on Broadway any time soon. With "Cybill" often placing in the top 20 of the Nielsen ratings, it looks as if Ms. Baranski will be accruing hundreds of thousands of frequent-flier miles.

"I always thought of television as a Faustian bargain," she said. "But so far I'm having a ball."

For a great review of Cybill go to www.televisionheaven.co.uk/cybill.htm