The Montefuscos

It aired on NBC, which chose to run a total of eight episodes (a ninth was pre-empted by Game 5 of the 1975 World Series) from September 4 to October 23, 1975 despite its earlier cancellation notice.

Created by executive producers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, the comedy centered on three generations of an Italian-American family that lived in New Canaan, Connecticut and their weekly gatherings for Sunday dinner.

"[5] Gary Deeb of the Chicago Tribune was much less tactful in his analysis, saying that it was "a program built around an alleged Italian family in which each member talked with his hands, drank gallons of red wine, and said 'AY!'

[5] Three weeks later on September 25, NBC announced that The Montefuscos and Fay would be dropped from its primetime schedule after October 23 because of poor showings in the Nielsen ratings.

[7] ABC Television president Fred Pierce spoke out against NBC's swift cancellations, pointing out that the ratings for Barney Miller in its first season were no better than those of The Montefuscos under the similar circumstance of going opposite The Waltons in the same time slot.