Reed Show or Leave It to Beaver as the perfect housewives, often doing their chores in designer clothing, never failing to have dinner on the table, and totally dedicated to home and family. The image has evolved as social attitudes have changed. In the 1970s the situation changed somewhat as programmers attempted new types of program with new roles for women. The situation comedy now included a number of shows featuring women, such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which explored the status of the main character as a single, professional woman who did not have marriage uppermost in her mind. Most formerly-married women in situation comedies at the time were typically widowed, though two programs in the 1970s featured divorced women--Fay and One Day at a Time. Women have always been more frequently portrayed in comedy roles than in serious roles on television and still are today. The domestic role remains important in television comedy precisely because the family remains a central focus for many such shows, and many women in these shows still do not work outside the home.
For much of television's early years, the America reflected
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