WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
TV Series
7.6
1978 4 Seasons

WKRP in Cincinnati

So just sit right down, relax, open your ears real wide and say, "Give it to me straight, Doctor. I can take it!"

WATCH

Storyline

When a Cincinnati radio station switches from sedate music to top-40 rock 'n' roll, its staff of oddball characters is forced to switch gears quickly. New programming director Andy Travis brings in a new DJ named Venus Flytrap to work with the station's burned-out veteran, Dr. Johnny Fever. Neurotic newsman Les Nessman, eager beaver Bailey Quarters, sleazy salesman Herb Tarlek, blonde bombshell Jennifer Marlowe, who serves as the station's ultra-capable receptionist, and station manager Arthur Carlson, whose domineering mother owns WKRP, round out the eccentric bunch.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 1

22 Episodes Aired 1978

No overview available for this season.

Pilot (1)
25 min
E1

Pilot (1)

Sep 18, 1978

Andy tries to convince WKRP's owner that rock and roll will cure the station's ailing ratings.

Pilot (2)
25 min
E2

Pilot (2)

Sep 25, 1978

Andy faces a fiscal crisis: Carlson won't finance a breaking-in period for the new format.

Les On a Ledge
25 min
E3

Les On a Ledge

Oct 02, 1978

Les is barred from locker-room interviews when his manhood is questioned.

Hoodlum Rock
25 min
E4

Hoodlum Rock

Oct 09, 1978

Andy books a rock band whose members attack their audiences.

Hold-Up
25 min
E5

Hold-Up

Oct 16, 1978

A broadcast from a stereo shop is disrupted by a holdup.

Bailey's Show
25 min
E6

Bailey's Show

Oct 23, 1978

Bailey's show brings out the weirdest people in town.

Turkeys Away
25 min
E7

Turkeys Away

Oct 30, 1978

Carlson thinks up a wacko Thanksgiving promotional gimmick.

Love Returns
25 min
E8

Love Returns

Nov 06, 1978

Andy may have to leave WKRP when he rekindles his love for a touring rock star.

Mama's Review
25 min
E9

Mama's Review

Jan 15, 1979

In flashbacks, Andy and Carlson update WKRP's owner Mrs. Carlson on recent station happenings.

A Date With Jennifer
25 min
E10

A Date With Jennifer

Jan 22, 1979

Les invites Jennifer to a banquet, then suspects she only accepted out of pity.

The Contest Nobody Could Win
25 min
E11

The Contest Nobody Could Win

Jan 29, 1979

Johnny accidentally offers listeners $5000 instead of $50 as a contest prize.

Tornado
25 min
E12

Tornado

Feb 05, 1979

A tornado strikes while Japanese businessmen are touring the station.

Goodbye, Johnny
25 min
E13

Goodbye, Johnny

Feb 19, 1979

Johnny is offered a job in California, so the staff devises a scheme to keep him in Cincinnati.

Johnny Comes Back
25 min
E14

Johnny Comes Back

Feb 26, 1979

Johnny comes back to WKRP expecting to get his job back. Instead, he is assigned to the predawn show.

Never Leave Me, Lucille
25 min
E15

Never Leave Me, Lucille

Mar 05, 1979

Temporarily separated from his wife, Herb envisions a fanciful bachelorhood.

I Want to Keep My Baby
25 min
E16

I Want to Keep My Baby

Mar 12, 1979

Johnny refuses to relinquish an abandoned baby left at WKRP until he can contact the mother.

A Commercial Break
25 min
E17

A Commercial Break

Mar 26, 1979

Andy has doubts about an upbeat ad campaign for a mortician.

Who is Gordon Sims?
25 min
E18

Who is Gordon Sims?

Apr 02, 1979

Venus refuses to pose for an ad because he's wanted by the law.

I Do, I Do... For Now
25 min
E19

I Do, I Do... For Now

Apr 23, 1979

Jennifer tries to discourage a beau by revealing she's married--to Johnny Fever.

Young Master Carlson
25 min
E20

Young Master Carlson

Apr 30, 1979

Momma Carlson insists her grandson be allowed to roam around the station after he's booted out of military school.

Fish Story
25 min
E21

Fish Story

May 28, 1979

Andy tells a journalist that WKRP is just a "run-of-the-mill" station, even though a staffer is running around in a "carp" suit.

Preacher
25 min
E22

Preacher

Jun 04, 1979

A wrestler turned preacher uses his radio sermon to sell merchandise.

Season 2

Season 2

24 Episodes Aired 1979

No overview available for this season.

For Love or Money (1)
25 min
E1

For Love or Money (1)

Sep 17, 1979

Johnny forgets about his date with Bailey when he gets a call from Buffy, his old girlfriend from California. He borrows Jennifer's apartment to impress Buffy; however, that plan ends when she tells him she's suing him for palimony.

For Love or Money (2)
25 min
E2

For Love or Money (2)

Sep 24, 1979

Johnny calls his friends over to Jennifer's apartment to help him deal with Buffy and her threat of a lawsuit. Buffy arrives and, after having a drink with Johnny, tells him that she put poison in his drink.

Baseball
25 min
E3

Baseball

Oct 15, 1979

The staff plays against the team from rival station WPIG in a softball game.

Bad Risk
25 min
E4

Bad Risk

Oct 22, 1979

Herb starts selling insurance as a sideline, and sells a comprehensive policy to Les, who promptly has an accident.

Jennifer Falls in Love
25 min
E5

Jennifer Falls in Love

Oct 22, 1979

For the first time in her life, Jennifer is in love, with a penniless but handsome repairman who turns out to be even more of a gold digger than she is. Meanwhile, Les tries to get a raise, and Johnny becomes convinced that he's the man Jennifer is in love with.

Carlson for President
25 min
E6

Carlson for President

Nov 05, 1979

Mr. Carlson runs for Cincinnati City Council. When Bailey discovers a potentially damaging piece of information about the front-runner in the election, Mr. Carlson considers using that information in a televised debate.

Mike Fright
25 min
E7

Mike Fright

Nov 12, 1979

During a citywide garbage strike, Johnny jokingly suggests that his listeners dump their garbage on the steps of City Hall. The joke is on him, and the station, when hundreds of listeners take him seriously. Johnny becomes aware of his power and develops a serious case of mike fright.

The Patter of Little Feet
25 min
E8

The Patter of Little Feet

Nov 26, 1979

Mr. Carlson's wife Carmen announces that she is pregnant. Mr. Carlson is overjoyed, and certain that Carmen feels the same way. However, Mama Carlson points out the potential dangers of middle-aged pregnancy and recommends an abortion.

Baby, If You've Ever Wondered
25 min
E9

Baby, If You've Ever Wondered

Dec 03, 1979

The new ratings book arrives, and WKRP has climbed from 16th to 14th place in the Cincinnati market. Everyone is happy about the gain except Andy, who knows that the station has not improved enough, in part because of his own unwillingness to fire incompetent employees like Herb and Les.

Bailey's Big Break
25 min
E10

Bailey's Big Break

Dec 10, 1979

When WKRP needs an assistant news reporter, Bailey applies for the job and gets it. Les, who doesn't want to work with anyone, least of all a woman, tries to keep Bailey from going on the air.

Jennifer's Home for Christmas
25 min
E11

Jennifer's Home for Christmas

Dec 17, 1979

Jennifer tells her friends that she has nothing special planned for Christmas, and that she doesn't have a tree this year. Everyone begins to suspect that she might be alone for the holidays.

Sparky
25 min
E12

Sparky

Dec 24, 1979

Mr. Carlson hires legendary baseball manager Sparky Anderson as the host of a new sports interview show. But when the show proves a complete disaster, it falls to Mr. Carlson to fire his hero.

God Talks to Johnny
25 min
E13

God Talks to Johnny

Dec 31, 1979

When Johnny thinks he's heard God's voice talking to him, everyone, including Johnny, thinks he's going insane.

A Family Affair
25 min
E14

A Family Affair

Jan 07, 1980

Andy's sister Carol visits Cincinnati, and Andy sets up a date for her and Johnny. But Carol winds up going out with Venus instead, and Andy becomes instinctively angry about it.

Herb's Dad
25 min
E15

Herb's Dad

Jan 14, 1980

Herb's father, a lifelong salesman who shares Herb's taste in clothes, runs away from the Shady Hills Rest Home and visits the station.

Put Up or Shut Up
25 min
E16

Put Up or Shut Up

Jan 21, 1980

Bailey convinces Jennifer to accept a date with Herb in the hope that he'll get scared and back down.

The Americanization of Ivan
25 min
E17

The Americanization of Ivan

Jan 28, 1980

Bailey and Les attend a press conference given by a group of visiting Russian hog experts. One of the Russians falls for Bailey and asks her to help him defect to the United States.

Les' Groupie
25 min
E18

Les' Groupie

Feb 04, 1980

Les goes out on a date with a female fan, who proceeds to move into his apartment and take over his life.

In Concert
25 min
E19

In Concert

Feb 11, 1980

At a concert by the Who in Cincinnati on December 3, 1979, eleven kids were trampled to death when the crowd rushed to get seats. The first part of this episode takes place before that concert; the second act takes place the day after, and presents the characters' reactions to the tragedy.

The Doctor's Daughter
25 min
E20

The Doctor's Daughter

Feb 18, 1980

Johnny's daughter shows up and moves in, and Johnny has to decide whether to express his disapproval of the shiftless boyfriend she's brought along.

Filthy Pictures (1)
25 min
E21

Filthy Pictures (1)

Mar 03, 1980

Mr. Carlson convinces Jennifer and Andy to pose in bathing suits for a ""Surf's Up in Cincinnati"" poster. After the photo session, the photographer secretly takes nude photos of Jennifer while she's changing.

Filthy Pictures (2)
25 min
E22

Filthy Pictures (2)

Mar 03, 1980

Mr. Carlson convinces Jennifer and Andy to pose in bathing suits for a ""Surf's Up in Cincinnati"" poster. After the photo session, the photographer secretly takes nude photos of Jennifer while she's changing.

Venus Rising
25 min
E23

Venus Rising

Mar 10, 1980

Venus is offered a job as program director of WREQ radio, but is disillusioned when he discovers how the station is run and why they want to hire him. Meanwhile, Herb circulates a rumor that he, too, has received a job offer.

Most Improved Station
25 min
E24

Most Improved Station

Mar 31, 1980

Everyone starts bickering after the station loses a broadcasting award.

Season 3

Season 3

22 Episodes Aired 1980

No overview available for this season.

25 min
E1

The Airplane Show

Nov 01, 1980

Trying to compete with WPIG's traffic helicopter, Les starts doing traffic reports from a World War I biplane piloted by a crazy war veteran.

25 min
E2

Jennifer Moves

Nov 08, 1980

The staff helps Jennifer move into her new $125,000 house in the quiet suburb of Landersville. But she soon finds out that life in Landersville isn't as pleasant as she thought it would be.

25 min
E3

Real Families

Nov 15, 1980

When Herb's family is featured in the show ""Real Families"", he is sure that they can serve as an example of a clean living family. Unfortunately, the image Herb wants to convey is different from the reality shown on screen.

25 min
E4

The Baby

Nov 22, 1980

Mr. Carlson's wife goes into labor and the WKRP staffers all visit the hospital to be there when she gives birth.

25 min
E5

Hotel Oceanview

Nov 29, 1980

Andy, Mr. Carlson and Herb visit Dayton to try and land the advertising account for Vicky Von Vickey jeans. While Mr. Carlson worries about the notorious Dayton poisoner, Herb romances an old high school acquaintance and Andy has trouble with his slide projector.

25 min
E6

A Mile in My Shoes

Dec 06, 1980

When Herb is called for jury duty, Andy takes over as sales manager and soon discovers just how tough it is trying to sell advertising time or collect from deadbeat clients. Meanwhile, Venus becomes acting program director and has to deal with Les's plan to disguise himself as a black man so that he can do a series of reports based on the book Black Like Me.

25 min
E7

Bah, Humbug

Dec 20, 1980

Once again, Mr. Carlson plans to give the staffers almost no Christmas bonuses. But in a dream brought on by eating one of Johnny Fever's brownies, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future visit him to show him the error of his ways.

25 min
E8

Baby, It's Cold Inside

Jan 03, 1981

On a day when the furnace has broken down, Mama Carlson pays a surprise visit to the station and catches Johnny drinking in the broadcast booth.

25 min
E9

The Painting

Jan 10, 1981

At Mr. Carlson's church auction, Herb buys a painting that Bailey loves. He tries to get Mr. Carlson or Bailey to buy it from him...until he learns that it might be valuable.

25 min
E10

Daydreams

Jan 17, 1981

When Mr. Carlson rehearses a dull speech in front of the WKRP staff, all the staffers drift off into daydreams about what they would most like to be: Herb as a Latin-American dictator, Jennifer as a '30s movie star, Les as a reporter covering the Blitz in 1940, Bailey as the President of the United States, Andy as a radio Mafioso, Venus as a standup comedian, and Johnny as a rock star.

25 min
E11

Frog Story

Jan 24, 1981

Herb has accidentally spray-painted his daughter's pet frog Greenpeace pink, and brings the frog to the station trying to find a way to save its life. Meanwhile, Les convinces Johnny that he is suffering from the dreaded ""schistosomiasis.""

25 min
E12

Venus and the Man

Jan 31, 1981

The station's cleaning woman asks Venus to convince her big, tough teenage son not to drop out of school.

25 min
E13

Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide: Part 1

Feb 07, 1981

Johnny signs a contract to host a music TV program unaware that the songs will be disco.

25 min
E14

Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide: Part 2

Feb 07, 1981

Johnny signs a contract to host a music TV program unaware that the songs will be disco.

25 min
E15

Ask Jennifer

Feb 14, 1981

When Herb's choice as host of a new call-in advice show proves unable to go on the air, Jennifer takes over and becomes an instant success.

25 min
E16

I Am Woman

Feb 21, 1981

When it is announced that the Flimm Building is to be torn down, Bailey starts a campaign to have the building declared a Cincinnati landmark. Everyone pitches in to help, until Mr. Carlson gets his mother's permission to build a new and better building.

25 min
E17

Secrets of Dayton Heights

Feb 28, 1981

The Secret Service refuses to grant Les credentials for a Presidential press conference, suspecting him of having radical affiliations. It turns out that the man who raised Les wasn't his father, and that his real father was a card-carrying Communist.

25 min
E18

Out to Lunch

Mar 14, 1981

Herb's three-martini business lunches with an ad agency representative are causing him to mess up even more than usual, and it begins to seem that his use of alcohol as a sales tool is turning into a drinking problem.

25 min
E19

A Simple Little Wedding

Mar 21, 1981

In honor of their 25th anniversary, Arthur and Carmen Carlson plan to get married again. They want a small, private ceremony, but Mama Carlson has other ideas.

25 min
E20

Nothing to Fear But...

Mar 28, 1981

Everyone is in the grip of urban paranoia after the station is robbed.

25 min
E21

Til Debt Do Us Part

Apr 05, 1981

When Johnny learns that his first ex-wife is planning to remarry, he is overjoyed at the thought of not having to pay alimony, and celebrates by inviting Bailey to take a trip with him. But he feels less happy about the situation when he meets the obnoxious womanizer his ex-wife is going to marry.

25 min
E22

Clean Up Radio Everywhere

Apr 12, 1981

Dr. Bob Halyers, head of the organization Clean Up Radio Broadcasting (CURB), visits Mr. Carlson with a list of obscene songs that he wants the station to stop playing.

Season 4

Season 4

22 Episodes Aired 1981

No overview available for this season.

25 min
E1

An Explosive Affair (Part 1)

Oct 07, 1981

After the station receives a bomb threat, Andy sends Johnny and Venus to broadcast from the transmitter tower while the station is being searched.

25 min
E2

An Explosive Affair (Part 2)

Oct 14, 1981

Andy is unable to warn Johnny and Venus when he realizes that the bomb is at the transmitter.

25 min
E3

The Union

Oct 21, 1981

The staff of WKRP considers joining a union. Mr. Carlson is furious and rushes to his mother for advice, while Andy tries to appear neutral in this labor-management conflict.

25 min
E4

Rumors

Oct 28, 1981

While his apartment is being fumigated, Johnny accepts Bailey's offer to stay at her place, causing everyone at the station to think that the two are sleeping together. Johnny's also afraid that he's in danger of losing his time slot to Rex, the afternoon DJ, and when Bailey tries to cheer him up, he mistakes her friendliness for a come-on.

25 min
E5

Straight from the Heart

Nov 04, 1981

Herb tells everyone that he's going on vacation, but Les and Jennifer discover that he's actually checked into the hospital for heart tests.

25 min
E6

Who's on First?

Nov 11, 1981

With Herb in the hospital, Mr. Carlson pretends he is Herb and is impersonated by Les for an advertising client.

25 min
E7

Three Days of the Condo

Nov 18, 1981

When Johnny receives $24,000 in a legal settlement, Venus convinces him to use the money to invest in a condominium at Gone With the Wind Estates.

25 min
E8

Jennifer and the Will

Dec 02, 1981

Colonel Buchanan, Jennifer's elderly gentleman friend, dies suddenly. As executrix of his will, Jennifer must deal with the press and with the Colonel's money-grubbing, rumor mongering relatives.

25 min
E9

The Consultant

Dec 30, 1981

Mama Carlson hires a professional radio consultant to evaluate WKRP. The man she's hired, Norris Breeze, is an old friend of Andy's who also runs a radio programming service. Andy soon realizes that Breeze intends to give the station a bad report unless it subscribes to the service.

25 min
E10

Love, Exciting and New

Jan 06, 1982

Andy starts taking Mama Carlson out after hours in the hopes of getting her to pay for a new transmitter for the station. But he begins to suspect that she might have more-than-businesslike expectations of him.

25 min
E11

You Can't Go Out of Town Again

Jan 13, 1982

Mr. Carlson goes with Carmen to a college reunion where he learns the disillusioning truth about how he and Carmen first met; Bailey is frustrated in her attempts to get a computer for billing; Venus can't get a moment alone in the booth with his latest date.

25 min
E12

Pills

Jan 20, 1982

Herb sells ad spots to a seller of ""diet pills""; after it turns out that the pills are a legalized way of selling speed to teenagers, it also turns out that the station can't legally get out of running the ads.

25 min
E13

Changes

Jan 27, 1982

When Venus learns that he's going to be interviewed by a militant black magazine, he adopts a new wardrobe and manner in order to seem more in touch with black culture. Meanwhile, Jennifer offers to change Herb's image, starting with picking out new, tasteful clothes for him.

25 min
E14

Jennifer and Johnny's Charity

Feb 03, 1982

When a fire destroys the kitchen at the Vine Street Mission, Johnny recruits Jennifer to help raise the $40,000 dollars to rebuild it. Jennifer throws a party for her rich friends and asks them to contribute, and everything is going fine until the contributors meet the people involved.

25 min
E15

I'll Take Romance

Feb 17, 1982

Herb fixes Les up with a date through his latest client, the I'll Take Romance Dating Service. Les hits it off with his date immediately, not knowing that the dating service is a front for prostitution.

25 min
E16

Circumstantial Evidence

Feb 24, 1982

Venus's latest date gives him an expensive diamond earring as a gift and then runs out on him; it turns out that she's a thief who has used the stolen earring to frame Venus as her accomplice.

25 min
E17

Fire

Mar 17, 1982

Herb and Jennifer are trapped in an elevator when a fire breaks out in the Flimm Building.

25 min
E18

Dear Liar

Mar 24, 1982

When Bailey writes a news story on the Northside Children's Clinic, Les steals it and reads it on the air. This turns out to be a blow to the station's integrity in more ways than one when Bailey admits that she fictionalized part of the story.

25 min
E19

The Creation of Venus

Mar 31, 1982

When Venus lets it slip that he was a schoolteacher before he came to WKRP, Andy has to tell Mama Carlson the truth about how he hired Gordon Sims as a DJ and how they came up with the persona of Venus Flytrap.

25 min
E20

The Impossible Dream

Apr 07, 1982

On his birthday, Les announces that he's going to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a world-famous broadcast journalist by auditioning for The CBS Evening News.

25 min
E21

To Err is Human

Apr 14, 1982

After Herb screws up an important advertising account, Mr. Carlson finally intends to fire him, but Jennifer takes pity on Herb and tries to help him keep his job.

25 min
E22

Up and Down the Dial

Apr 21, 1982

Just as WKRP hits #6 in the ratings, Mama Carlson announces that she plans to switch the format of the station to 24 hours a day of news.

Series Info

Status

Ended

Seasons

4

Episodes

90

Language

en

Networks

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