[7] A storyline concerning the engagement and marriage of oldest daughter Doris Bonino, intended to play out over four months, had to be accelerated when actress Lenka Peterson became pregnant before the show's premiere.

[13] The solution was to turn two of the child characters (portrayed by Lucille Graygor and Paul Jonali) into non-speaking roles, essentially making them "extras" with much lower pay.

[15] After the premiere aired, Kay Gardella in the New York Daily News said that Pinza acquitted himself well as an actor, while "the first installment, while not brilliant, proved promising".

[16] However, columnist Jack O'Brian felt the premiere episode was overburdened with comedy cliches, and that the series would stand or fall on Pinza's personal appeal.

[17] Columnist Dwight Newton noted how similar were the first episode premises of Bonino and another new series called Make Room for Daddy; in each case a professional singer decides to stay home with the children he's been neglecting.