The show follows the lives of the waitresses at the posh restaurant Above the Top, located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. At the helm was supervisor Nancy Beebe, the restaurant's maître d’, who sometimes fraternized with the girls but usually gave orders. More often than not the scheme of the week involved upsetting Nancy in some way because all she wanted was an orderly wait staff. Adding to the chaotic working environment was a wisecracking pianist named Sonny Mann, who made rude comments to the women, Nancy included, and got insulted in return. The kitchen was the domain of Chef Mario, then Dennis Hubner, and finally Howard Miller, who eventually married Nancy.
Cast
also appeared as recurring character Richie, Jan's new husband, in seasons 3 through 6.
Episodes
The show's two broadcast seasons produced 27 episodes. An additional 93 episodes were produced for the syndication run, making a total of 120 episodes.
Title changes
Like many other sitcoms that aired during the 1980–81 television season, It's a Living felt the effects of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike that occurred in 1980. This caused the show to have an abbreviated first season of only thirteen episodes. The series was not a ratings success. For season 2 the cast was retooled extensively, and the series was given a new title: Making a Living. Two of the five waitresses from the first season - Lois Adams and Vicki Allen, played by actresses Susan Sullivan and Wendy Schaal, respectively - were replaced with waitress Maggie McBurney, portrayed by actress Louise Lasser. Airing in 1981 under the title Making a Living, this iteration did not catch on either, and the show was canceled after two seasons. In syndication, the second season airs under the original title It's a Living. Of all the cast, only Gail Edwards, Marian Mercer, Barrie Youngfellow, and Paul Kreppel lasted through the show's network and syndicated runs. Ann Jillian appeared during the network run and the first year of syndication. Crystal Bernard and Richard Stahl were on for the entire syndicated run.
Syndication
While the show was never a hit on network TV, its fortunes would later turn in 1983 when all 27 episodes went to syndication. The series began to attract a following along with surprising ratings for the reruns, which prompted the producers and Golden West Television to bring it back. Another factor in its sudden rediscovery was Ann Jillian's public disclosure that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984, the same year as the announcement of the show's revival. In 1985, the show was revived under its old name for the syndicated market. Most of the cast remained intact from the former version. A new waitress, Amy Tompkins, arrived at the restaurant and was immediately accepted by the group. When Jillian decided to leave the show in 1986, her character was written out as having married and started a family. She was replaced by Ginger St. James. With these core cast members in place, the show continued to produce episodes for syndication until it ended in 1989. From 2000 to 2001, TV Land aired the series occasionally for special programming blocks. In April 2018, Logo TV began to carry the series in marathon form several times a month. Antenna TV began airing the series on January 2, 2020. The first three seasons can be viewed on the Tubistreaming service as of June 2020.
