 bridget loves bernie is an american television comedy program created by bernard slade, the creator of the 1970â74 abc sitcom the partridge family and the 1967-70 sitcom the flying nun. bridget loves bernie was based loosely on the premise of the 1920s broadway play and 1940s radio show abie's irish rose. it stars meredith baxter and david birney as the title characters. it ran for one season, from 1972 to 1973, on cbs. baxter and birney married in real life after the program went off the air. ==overview== the series was regarded, at the time, as somewhat controversial since the premise featured the marriage between a wealthy irish catholic teacher (bridget) and a jewish cab driver (bernie) whom she met at a bus stop. with a primetime slot between all in the family and the mary tyler moore show on saturday nights, the situation comedy was #5 in the ratings among all shows for that television season and obtained a 24.2 rating, tying with the nbc sunday mystery movie. nevertheless, cbs executives decided to cancel the show in response to hate mail from viewers who objected to the inter-religious marriage depicted on the series. it was the highest-rated television program ever to be canceled after only one season."'live from baghdad': the cameras of war", by tom shales, washington post, december 7, 2002, citing brilliant but canceled documentary on trio (tv network) cable network. retrieved 2007-11-12. thumb|150px|father mike picking up the archbishop's weekly bagel supply. supporting cast members included audra lindley, david doyle, harold j. stone, ned glass, and bibi osterwald. lindley and doyle played bridget's wealthy parents, walter and amy fitzgerald, and stone and osterwald played bernie's mor
1970s_American_television_series 1972_American_television_series_debuts 1973_American_television_series_endings American_television_sitcoms CBS_network_shows English-language_television_programming Jewish-related_television_programs Television_series_by_Sony_Pictures_Television Television_shows_set_in_New_York_City