The George Carlin Show

The George Carlin Show is an American sitcom that aired Sunday at 9:30 pm on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created by Sam Simon, who executive produced the show jointly with the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin.^[1][2] On the show, Carlin played a New York City taxicab driver.

The George Carlin Show
Promotional image of the cast members from The George Carlin Show
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	George Carlin Sam Simon
Written by	Sam Simon
Directed by	Jeffrey Melman Rob Schiller Sam Simon
Starring	George Carlin Alex Rocco Paige French Anthony Starke Christopher Rich Susan Sullivan Mike Hagerty
Theme music composer	Chandler Travis
Composer	Roger Boyce
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	27
Production
Executive producers	George Carlin Sam Simon Jerry Hamza
Producer	Michael Stanislavsky
Cinematography	Gregg Heschong
Editor	Brian K. Roberts
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Sweet Freedom Productions Main Sequence Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	January 16, 1994 – July 16, 1995

The action was centered on George O'Grady (George Carlin), a taxicab driver living in New York City. Most of the scenes took place in The Moylan Tavern, owned and run by bartender Jack Donahue (Anthony Starke), who had inherited the establishment from his father. The setting's real-life basis was the actual, now-defunct Moylan Tavern, a bar that existed during Carlin's childhood on Broadway between La Salle Street and Tiemann Place in the Morningside Heights neighborhood, and owned by the grandparents of film critic and author Maitland McDonagh.^[3] As Carlin recalled in 1994, "It was where I saw Oswald shot. It was where I headed during the [1965] blackout. The Moylan is where I came of age."^[4] The name of the show's bartender character, Jack Donahue, was taken from that of real-life owner Jimmy Donahue, who bought the bar from the original owners.^[4] The set itself, however, resembled another upper-Broadway bar, Carlin said: "Cannon's—where my father used to drink."^[4]

• George Carlin as George O'Grady, a New York city cabdriver and regular patron of The Moylan Tavern
• Alex Rocco as Harry Rossetti, George's best friend, an ex-con bookie
• Paige French as Sydney Paris, waitress at The Moylan, and aspiring model/actress
• Anthony Starke as Jack Donahue, bartender/owner of The Moylan
• Christopher Rich as Dr. Neil Beck, a plastic surgeon who is quite unlike the blue-collar Moylan regulars
• Mike Hagerty as Frank MacNamara, a working-class Moylan's regular

The following characters appeared in at least 5 episodes:

• Susan Sullivan as Kathleen Rachowski, a pet-shop owner and George's girlfriend
• Phil LaMarr as Bob Brown, a friend of George's during season 1
• Matt Landers as Larry Pinkerton, an ex-cop who lives in George's building and hangs out with George at The Moylan
• Iqbal Theba as Inzamamulhaq Siddiqui, a fellow cabdriver of George's

Note that while Sullivan appeared in publicity cast photos, she appeared in only 7 episodes, receiving "Special Guest Star" billing in the closing credits.

Carlin noted on his website:

January, 1994 - "The George Carlin Show" premieres on Fox Television. Lasts 27 episodes. Lesson learned: always check mental health of creative partner beforehand. Loved the actors, loved the crew. Had a great time. Couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there. Canceled December, 1995.^[5]

He later elaborated in his posthumously published autobiography Last Words:

I had a great time. I never laughed so much, so often, so hard as I did with cast members Alex Rocco, Chris Rich, Tony Starke. There was a very strange, very good sense of humor on that stage...The biggest problem, though, was that Sam Simon was a fucking horrible person to be around. Very, very funny, extremely bright and brilliant, but an unhappy person who treated other people poorly...I was incredibly happy when the show was canceled. I was frustrated that it had taken me away from my true work.^[6]

He went on to speak in the book of not enjoying the committee-style writer's room, which he felt alienated anyone who was not a professional television writer.

Simon in 2013 addressed Carlin's comments, saying:

I think the cancellation [of the show] affected George's attitude towards the work in retrospect, because he was always just a complete doll [to work with], and I know that he had some bitterness... that I heard later on. Which made me feel really bad, because we got along really well, I loved him, and I consider it a very special period of my life... He was just fantastic.^[7]

The show received an approval rating of 88% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on eight reviews.^[8]

Todd Everett of Variety, gave the show a positive review, saying: "The Moylan Tavern -- and Carlin's aging hipster character translates well to the sitcom stage. This is the comic without much of the acid that frequently flows in his standup routines. It's a half hour that's easy to take, and Carlin fans won't be disappointed."^[9]

David Hiltbrand of People Magazine, also gave a positive review of the show, saying: "The sitcom’s flavor is somewhat bland, with just a whiff of desperation about it. But the mix of characters is likable, and how many Fox shows can you say that about?”^[10]

• The George Carlin Show at IMDb
• The George Carlin Show at epguides.com