| Genre: | Situation comedy |
| Creator: | Don Nicholl Michael Ross Bernie West |
| Developer: | Norman Lear |
| Starring: | James Coco Geraldine Brooks |
| Open Theme: | "Two By Two, Side by Side", performed by Steve Lawrence |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 11 (1 unaired) |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Producer: | Don Nicholl Michael Ross Bernie West George Sunga |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Company: | T.A.T Communications Company[1] |
| Channel: | NBC |
The Dumplings is an American sitcom starring James Coco and Geraldine Brooks that aired on NBC during the 1975–76 television season.[2] [3] The series was based on a syndicated comic strip of the same name by Fred Lucky that ran in newspapers from 1975 to 1977.[4]
Joe and Angela Dumpling are a very happily married and overweight couple who are very much in love with each other and with life, never have a bad thing to say about one another, and exude good cheer and enthusiasm. They operate Dudley's Take-Out, a luncheonette on the ground floor of a Manhattan skyscraper owned by the Bristol Oil Company. Charles Sweetzer, who works upstairs as executive vice president of Bristol Oil, is a regular customer, as are New York city councilman Frederic Steele, Mr. Sweetzers secretary Bridget McKenna[3] (or Norah McKenna, according to some sources[1] [2] [5]), and Angelas sister Stephanie. Cully is the Dumplings employee at the luncheonette and works as the cashier. The Dumplings obesity is a source of much humor as they interact with customers, friends, and family.[1] [2] [3] [6] [7]
The show originated as a syndicated comic strip created by Fred Lucky.[4] Norman Lear developed the series for television and Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernie West created and produced it, with George Sunga also serving as a producer.[1] [2] [6] [8] Episode directors were Paul Bogart, Hal Cooper, and Dennis Steinmetz.[8] Nicholl, Ross, and West all wrote for the show, as did Joseph Bonaduce, Bill Davenport, Fred S. Fox, Gary David Goldberg, Seaman Jacobs, Fred Lucky, Barry Sand, and Alan Uger.[6] [8]
Angela Dumpling was the final role of Geraldine Brooks career; she died in 1977.
Steve Lawrence sang the shows theme song, "Two By Two, Side By Side."[9]
NBC broadcast the pilot episode of The Dumplings on October 4, 1975. The Dumplings joined NBC's regular lineup on January 28, 1976, with a rebroadcast of the pilot in the show's regular time slot at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Its tenth and final episode aired on March 31, 1976.[2] [3] An eleventh episode was never broadcast.[6]