The pilot episode of a pilot episode is to figure out what works and what doesn’t work about a potential series before committing to making more episodes and going for a full season. Pilot episodes are becoming a thing of the past in the streaming era, but they’re an important part of the process.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s iconic double act Hitchcock and Scully were originally a triple act; in the pilot, they were introduced alongside a cop named Detective Daniels who was never seen again. Between Seinfeld’s pilot episode and the rest of season 1, sardonic waitress Claire was replaced by Jerry’s sardonic ex-girlfriend Elaine. It’s not uncommon for a pilot to introduce a major character who mysteriously disappears in season 1, episode 2. Cheers cut a character named Mrs. Littlefield after the pilot episode.

Cheers' First Episode Included Mrs. Littlefield, But She Was Cut From The Show

The Creators Decided She Didn't Fit The Tone Of The Show

The pilot episode of Cheers, “Give Me a Ring Sometime,” introduces most of the fan-favorite characters, from Sam to Diane to Norm to Cliff, but there’s one character who never came back. There was a regular customer introduced called Mrs. Littlefield, played by Margaret Wheeler. She was characterized as a horribly racist elderly wheelchair with an unpleasant demeanor. Her scenes were filmed as part of a rough cut of the pilot, but the creators decided to cut her from the episode entirely.

Cheers ran for 275 episodes across 11 seasons.

They felt that Mrs. Littlefield didn’t mesh with the rest of the Cheers cast or the tone of the series. Cheers was a feel-good show about the staff and regulars of a bar who find a kinship with each other, and that’s what made audiences love the show and stick with it for over a decade. Having a mean old racist around went against that. The writers had to rewrite the next few episodes to excise Mrs. Littlefield, but it was arguably worth it.

It Sounds Like Cheers Was Better Off Without Mrs. Littlefield

Mrs. Littlefield Wasn't A Good Fit For The Ensemble

A promotional image of the cast of Cheers

It sounds like Cheers’ creators made the right decision by cutting Mrs. Littlefield out of the series. Having a despicable racist in the bar every episode would’ve made the show needlessly uncomfortable. What made Cheers such a great TV show was the cozy feeling that audiences got when they tuned in to spend time at that bar with those lovable characters; Mrs. Littlefield would’ve ruined that. Filling every episode with ugly racial remarks also would’ve hurt the timelessness of the show, like the Major from Fawlty Towers.

Cheers TV Series Poster

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Cheers
TV-PG
Sitcom
9/10
31
8.6/10
Release Date
1982 - 1993-00-00
Network
NBC
Showrunner
James Burrows, Glen Charles, Les Charles, Ken Estin, Sam Simon, David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee, Bill Steinkellner, Cheri Steinkellner, Phoef Sutton, Tom Anderson, Dan O'Shannon

Cast

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WHERE TO WATCH

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One of the most well-known American sitcoms of the 1980s and 90s, Cheers is primarily set in Boston at the Cheers bar, and features and ensemble cast that includes Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Pearlman, Kelsey Grammer, and George Wendt. Danson's Sam Malone acts as the bar's proprietor, and episodes depict the lives of Cheers' staff and patrons during the bar's operating hours. The series ran for 11 seasons and gave rise to popular spin-off shows such as Frasier. 

Directors
James Burrows, Andy Ackerman
Seasons
11