# The Associates (American TV series)

The Associates is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1979, to April 17, 1980. Despite being cancelled after nine of its thirteen episodes aired, it was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

## Synopsis

The show is centered on a group of three young novice lawyers who worked at a Wall Street law firm. Based on the novel of the same name by John Jay Osborn Jr., the series stars Martin Short, Alley Mills, Shelley Smith, as associates, Joe Regalbuto, as partner, Wilfrid Hyde-White, as senior partner, and Tim Thomerson, as mailboy/gofer.

## Cast

* Martin Short as Tucker Kerwin
* Joe Regalbuto as Eliot Streeter
* Tim Thomerson as Johnny Danko
* Alley Mills as Leslie Dunn
* Shelley Smith as Sara James
* Wilfrid Hyde-White as Emerson Marshall

## Production

The series was based on the book, The Associates, by John Jay Osborn, Jr., author of The Paper Chase, but he was "not intimately connected with it". Episode six featured guest star John Houseman reprising his role as Professor Kingsfield.

## Release

The Associates, from the producers of Taxi, was critically acclaimed in the fall of 1979. But, ABC-TV fell from its ratings perch that fall when they moved their schedule around. Mork & Mindy was moved to Sunday night to challenge CBS's most established night of the week. The Associates was scheduled to follow Mork & Mindy as a promising new comedy series. Mork & Mindy, however, was crushed by CBS's Archie Bunker's Place. ABC moved Mork & Mindy back to Thursday, but it would never recover its ratings glory. One Day at a Time was the direct competition to The Associates. After five episodes of The Associates, a later four weekly episodes were shown in 1980 on Thursdays at 9:30. The press heavily criticized ABC for not giving the show a chance.

## Episodes

| Nº | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | "The First Day" | James Burrows | Story by : Charlie Hauck Teleplay by : Michael Leeson | September 23, 1979 (1979-09-23) |
| The associates learn the ropes on their first day at the firm while the founder decides between two attorneys seeking partnership. |||||
| 2 | "Is Romance Dead?" | Tony Mordente | David Lloyd | September 30, 1979 (1979-09-30) |
| Tucker uses tips from a book on romance to try and impress Sara. |||||
| 3 | "Tucker's Courtroom Coup" | Tony Mordente | David Lloyd | October 7, 1979 (1979-10-07) |
| Marshall asks Eliot to defend a client whose ex-lover is suing him. |||||
| 4 | "Mr. Marshall's Love Affair" | Tony Mordente | David Lloyd | October 14, 1979 (1979-10-14) |
| Marshall's intended helpmate flirts with Eliot. |||||
| 5 | "The Deadly Serve" | Tony Mordente | John Steven Owen | October 28, 1979 (1979-10-28) |
| Eliot accidentally kills a partner in a game of squash. |||||
| 6 | "Eliot's Revenge" | James Burrows | Story by : Rich Reinhart Teleplay by : David Lloyd | March 27, 1980 (1980-03-27) |
| Eliot argues with his former professor about a case. |||||
| 7 | "Danko's a Daddy" | James Burrows | David Lloyd | April 3, 1980 (1980-04-03) |
| Johnny tries to see his illegitimate son over the mother's objections. |||||
| 8 | "The Censors" | Tony Mordente | Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger | April 10, 1980 (1980-04-10) |
| Tucker defends a network censor being sued by a producer. |||||
| 9 | "The Party" | James Burrows | Earl Pomerantz | April 17, 1980 (1980-04-17) |
| Leslie falls for a teacher who despises conservative lawyers. |||||
| 10 | "A Date with Johnny" | Tony Mordente | Earl Pomerantz | N/A |
| Johnny goes on a date with a married co-worker. |||||
| 11 | "Tucker's Co-Op" | Charlotte Brown | David Lloyd | N/A |
| Tucker moves into a co-op apartment, Marshall buys the penthouse above, and shows up unexpectedly. |||||
| 12 | "Inferno" | Charlotte Brown | David Lloyd | N/A |
| The lawyers try to find escape routes when a fire starts in the building. |||||
| 13 | "The Out of Town Trip" | Tom Trbovich | Rich Reinhart | N/A |
| The associates defend the head of a tire company accused of misusing funds, while Leslie quits the firm thinking it represents criminals. |||||

## Syndication

The series had a complete run on BBC Two in the UK in 1982. The series was rerun on USA Network in 1985, A&E in 1988, followed by reruns on Comedy Central and TV Land in the 1990s.
In Italy, the series aired on Rete 4 as I novellini (Newbies) in 1982.

## Award nominations

| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
| 1980 | Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series | Stan Daniels and Ed. Weinberger (for episode "The Censors") |
| 1980 | Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series | Michael Leeson and Charlie Hauck (for episode "The First Day") |
| 1980 | Golden Globe Award | Nominated | Best TV-Series - Musical/Comedy | - |
| 1980 | Golden Globe Award | Nominated | Best TV Actor - Musical/Comedy | Wilfrid Hyde-White |