Series Description:

The Flo TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on CBS about a diner waitress who got a new job as a restaurant hostess in another city. On her way there, she stopped in her hometown to visit family. She ended out buying a worn down roadhouse there instead of continuing on to the new job and fixed up her new business as best she could. The episode plots dealt with her business problems and dealing with her customers, employees, mother, and sister.

Flo TV Show Cast:

Polly Holliday ........... Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry
Geoffrey Lewis ........... Earl Tucker
Jim Baker ................ Farley Waters
Stephen Keep ............. Les Kincaid
Leo Burmester ............ Randy Stumphill
Mickey Jones ............. Chester
Lucy Lee Flippin ......... Fran Castleberry
Sudie Bond ............... Velma "Mama" Castleberry
Joyce Bulifant ........... Miriam Willoughby
Terry Wills .............. Wendell Tubbs (Season 1)

Flo Theme Song Lyrics:

Title: "Flo's Yellow Rose"

Composed and Performed By: "Hoyt Axton"

Rowdy redhead headin' for the big time
Lookin' like a Texas sequin star
Makin' eyes at every tag team cowboy
Sassin' good ole boys around the bar.

Flo's Yellow Rose
Flashin' neon every trucker knows
The door is always open and the beer is always cold
At Flo's Yellow Rose
Flo's Yellow Rose.

Flo TV Show Trivia:

The Flo TV show was a "spin-off" of the series, "Alice". On that series Flo had been a waitress at an eatery named Mel's diner.

Flo's roadhouse was located in the Fort Worth, Texas area which Flo always referred to as "Cowtown" as do many of the real-life residents of Fort Worth.

The roadhouse was named, "The Yellow Rose". Sometimes this series is referred to as "Flo's Yellow Rose".

When Flo would get upset with something or someone she'd tell them, "Kiss my grits".

Polly Holliday stated in several interviews that they discussed the possibility of having her play her role as Flo and also play Flo's bumbling sister Fran but they decided against it.

The Flo TV show did pretty well in the ratings during its first season. It was on CBS, Monday nights from 9:30 to 10:00 PM with little competition on ABC and NBC. Then Flo was moved to 8:00 PM on Monday nights in competition with NBC's hit series, "Little House on the Prairie". Flo's rating plummeted and the show was cancelled!

It may have helped Flo if they had swapped guest stars with it "mother series", "Alice". Vic Tayback guest-starred on just one episode of Flo. Otherwise, there were no crossover episodes.

Polly Holliday starred briefly on "Private Benjamin" as a substitute for Eileen Brennan when she nearly died in an automobile accident!

Polly Holliday was nominated for an Emmy in 1980 but lost it to Cathryn Damon on "Soap". She was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1981 but lost that one to Katherine Helmond, also on "Soap".

Geoffrey Lewis (who played Earl Tucker, the bartender at the Yellow Rose) also got a Golden Globe nomination in 1981. There were two winners for that "Best Supporting Actor" award. Ironically, one of the winners was Vic Tayback for "Alice". The other winner was Pat Harrinton Jr. who played the maintenance man/superintendent on "One Day at a Time".

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

Flo - The First Season

Homecoming (3/21/1980)
Showdown at the Yellow Rose (3/27/1980)
Happy Birthday, Mama (4/1/1980)
Take My Sister, Please (4/9/1980)
The Reunion (4/14/1980)
The Hero of Flo's Yellow Rose (4/16/1980)

Flo - The Second Season

The Enemy Below (10/22/1980)
Farley, the People's Choice (10/27/1980)
Bull Is Back in Town (11/14/1980)
A Castleberry Thanksgiving (11/19/1980)
Willoughby Versus Willoughby (11/24/1980)
So Long, Shorty (12/3/1980)
Deserted Islands (12/10/1980)
The Miracle of Casa de Huevos (12/19/1980)
Grey Escape (12/31/1980)
Pretty Baby (1/8/1981)
Not With My Sister, You Don't (1/23/1981)
Gunsmoke at the Yellow Rose (2/4/1981)
The Price of Avocados - Part 1 (2/6/1981)
The Price of Avocados - Part 2 (2/12/1981)
Welcome to the Club (2/12/1981)
What Are Friends For? (3/9/1981)
Just What the Doctor Ordered (3/16/1981)
Footsie (3/23/1981)
You Gotta Have Hoyt (3/25/1981)
No Men's Land (4/22/1981)
The Daynce (4/22/1981)