ABC’s Reaction To A Dirty Joke Caused Barney Miller To Shoot Up In The Ratings

When “Barney Miller” made its debut as part of ABC’s primetime lineup in 1975, it wasn’t exactly a hit right out the gate. The workplace sitcom, which starred Hal Linden as the titular level-headed captain of New York’s fictional 12th Precinct, offered a gritty yet hilarious look at Greenwich Village’s beat cops — including Max Gail’s naive Detective Wojciehowski (“Wojo”) and the late Ron Glass’ suave Detective Harris. But during its freshman season, ratings were off to a sluggish start. Then came the courtesans.

In the fifth episode, appropriately titled “The Courtesans,” Wojo busts a local brothel and hauls five prostitutes into the squad room. While booking a sex worker named Linda (Nancy Dussault), he becomes smitten with her. This scene led to a controversial bit of dialogue that triggered a heated backstage war between co-creator Danny Arnold and ABC. As Hal Linden later recalled to the Television Academy: “We weren’t an instant success. Then came our fifth episode [“The Courtesans”], where Wojo fell for a hooker … He asks the girl he’s stuck on for a date. ‘Sure, 50 bucks,’ she says. He’s destroyed. Starting to leave, he turns back and says to Barney, ‘Can you lend me 50 bucks ’til payday?’ The network said, ‘You can’t say that.'” According to Linden, Arnold told ABC, “‘I’m shooting the show the way it’s written. If you don’t put it on, I’m not going to make any more.'”

Faced with Arnold’s ultimate ultimatum, ABC caved — but not without a form of retaliation. Hoping to shield themselves from backlash, the network slapped a parental advisory warning on the February 20, 1975 broadcast, marketing the episode with the dreaded “X” rating. But viewers didn’t react the way ABC expected. Instead of scaring them away, the salacious warning did the opposite: it drove curiosity through the roof. Viewers tuned in en masse to see what kind of filth the 12th Precinct was peddling, and continued to tune in for following episodes of the ABC TV show. “Word got out there was an X-rated sitcom, and we went from about 51st place to 21st,” Linden noted. That single, dirty joke seemingly rescued Barney Miller from the brink of cancellation, setting it up for an acclaimed eight-season run.

Fans of “Barney Miller” — one of the best-written shows ever, according to the Writers Guild – not only liked the episode (it has a 7.9 rating in IMDb), but have memories of the controversy. “‘The Courtesans’ marked the turning point for ‘Barney Miller,’ since the controversial subject of prostitution is always good for ratings,” wrote user kevinolzak in their positive review. “‘The Courtesans’ is a standout from Barney Miller’s first season, blending humor and heart in a way few sitcoms could,” wrote user themightyd1, adding that the episode “captures the soul of Barney Miller: gentle humor wrapped around real human feeling. It’s funny, honest, and quietly moving — one of Season 1’s best.”