Moore portrayed Mary Richards, an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career as associate producer of a news show at the fictional local station WJM in Minneapolis.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show proved to be a groundbreaking series in the era of second-wave feminism; portraying a central female character who was neither married nor dependent on a man was a rarity on American television in the 1970s.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show received consistent praise from critics and high ratings during its original run and earned 29 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row (1975–1977).

Characters introduced later in the series include the acerbic, man-hungry hostess of WJM's Happy Homemaker show, Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White), and soft-voiced, sweet-natured Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), as Ted Baxter's girlfriend (and eventual wife).

At the beginning of season 6, after both Rhoda and Phyllis move away (providing a premise for two spinoffs), Mary relocates to a one-bedroom apartment in a high-rise building; Minneapolis's Riverside Plaza was used for establishing shots.

In the third season, issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality are woven into the show's comedic plots.

[4] The show's final seasons explore death in "Chuckles Bites the Dust" and juvenile offenders in "Mary's Delinquent"; Ted suffers a heart attack; Ted and Georgette contend with intimate marital problems, deal with infertility, and adopt a child; and Mary overcomes an addiction to sleeping pills.

In addition, CBS was afraid viewers might think that Mary had divorced Rob Petrie, Laura's husband on The Dick Van Dyke Show, so the premise was changed to that of a single woman with a recently broken engagement.

According to co-creator Allan Burns, Minnesota was selected for the show's location after "one of the writers began talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the Vikings".

A television newsroom was chosen for the show's workplace because of the supporting characters often found there, stated co-creator James Brooks.

[13] The fictitious address was 119 North Weatherly, but the exterior establishing shots were of a real house in Minneapolis at 2104 Kenwood Parkway.

In the real house, an unfinished attic occupied the space behind the window recreated on the interior studio set of Mary's apartment.

[15] To discourage crews from filming additional footage of the house, the owners placed an "Impeach Nixon" sign beneath the window where Mary supposedly lived.

The sequence changed each season, but always ended with Mary tossing her hat into the air in front of what was then the flagship Donaldson's department store at the intersection of South 7th Street and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.

[17] On May 8, 2002, Moore was in attendance when basic cable network TV Land dedicated a statue to her that captured her iconic throw.

The ending sequences show snippets of the cast, as well as any major guest stars in that episode, with the actors' names at the bottom of the screen.

Other on-location scenes are also shown during the closing credits, including a rear shot of Mary holding hands with her date, played by Moore's then-husband, Grant Tinker, and Moore and Valerie Harper feeding ducks on the bank of a pond in a Minneapolis park (this shot remained in the credits, even after Harper left the show).

[26] Co-creator Marta Kauffman said that the last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the "gold standard" and that it influenced the finale of Friends.

[27] The show spun off three television series, all of which aired on CBS: the sitcoms Rhoda (1974–78) and Phyllis (1975–77), and the one-hour drama Lou Grant (1977–82).

Winfrey, a longtime admirer of Moore and the show, had her staff recreate the sets of the WJM-TV newsroom and Mary's apartment (seasons 1–5) for the reunion.

[30][31] The show did not do well initially in syndication, never being shown in more than 25% of the United States at a time, according to Robert S. Alley, the co-author of a book about the series.

Critics consensus reads: "An exceptional ensemble and a smart sense of humor suggest, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its titular star may just make it after all".