What Might've Been: The Man & The City (1971)

 The early 70's brought some movie stars to primetime television, with varying results. For example, Jimmy Stewart was given a self-titled sitcom on NBC. ABC renewed The Smith Family, Don Fedderson's final sitcom, with Henry Fonda & Ron Howard, hoping to get a full season after the series had launched the previous winter. CBS signed Dean Jones for the ill-fated Chicago Teddy Bears, fronting an ensemble that included John Banner (fresh from Hogan's Heroes), Art Metrano, Jamie Farr, & Marvin Kaplan. CBS also had Bearcats! with Rod Taylor.

ABC took a couple of chances. They first acquired the British series, The Persuaders!, with Tony Curtis & Roger Moore. Then, Universal sold them The Man & The City, with Anthony Quinn playing the mayor of a small Southwestern town. Mike Farrell, fresh from The Interns, was his deputy.

The common thread? All of the series mentioned were cancelled. In the case of Persuaders, of course, it'd long completed production, since most ITC series usually were one season & done, with the exception of the likes of Moore's last series, The Saint, as an example.

Following is a sample clip from The Man & The City, with guest Christopher Connelly (ex-Peyton Place):

The problem here was that Man was slotted opposite Night Gallery & Mannix. Ballgame over. The lack of clips online suggests the show ended up as lost media.

No rating. Just a public service.