The Mary Tyler Moore Show backdrop
Comedy

The Best Episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Every episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show!

Binge this in 3d 2h•Peaking at 9.4/10

30-year-old single Mary Richards moves to Minneapolis to start a new life after a romantic break-up. There she reacquaints with Phyllis who rents her a room, and meets her upstairs neighbor and new best friend

Airs on
CBS
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons7

All1234567

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 6 Episode 7 - Chuckles Bites the Dust
    9.4/10(580 votes)

    #1 - Chuckles Bites the Dust

    S6:E7

    Chuckles the Clown is crushed to death by a rogue elephant in a parade, which leaves all the newsroom staff in hysterics except Mary.

    Director:Joan Darling
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7 Episode 24 - The Last Show
    9.4/10(401 votes)

    #2 - The Last Show

    S7:E24

    WJM-TV has some personnel changes in the executive department (again), and everyone except Ted Baxter is fired. The new station manager wants to see the WJM News the highest-ranked in Minneapolis, and for some reason feels that Ted can help him make it happen. (Seems a little odd, eh?) The gang says goodbye to each other in the form of a long, hard cry. Mary thanks them all for being her surrogate family, and Lou finally sentimentally says, ""I cherish you people."" They bravely march out the office doors singing, ""It's a long, long way to Tipperary."" At the last moment, Mary leans back through through the WJM-TV doors and turns out the light. So long, WJM-TV.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writers:James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, David Lloyd, Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger, Bob Ellison

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 3 Episode 23 - Put On a Happy Face
    8.9/10(323 votes)

    #3 - Put On a Happy Face

    S3:E23

    Everything goes right for Rhoda and everything goes wrong for Mary on a disastrous day when she is due to go to the Teddies.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 1 - The Lars Affair
    8.9/10(361 votes)

    #4 - The Lars Affair

    S4:E1

    Phyllis finds out that Lars has been having an affair with Sue Ann Nivens, the star of WJM-TV's The Happy Homemaker show.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 10 - The Dinner Party
    8.9/10(309 votes)

    #5 - The Dinner Party

    S4:E10

    Mary invites Congresswoman Geddes to a fancy dinner at her home, trying hard to ensure that everything is perfect.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 Episode 1 - Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?
    8.8/10(245 votes)

    #6 - Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?

    S5:E1

    Mary refuses to reveal a news source for a story she produced and has to spend a night in jail.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    READ
  7. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 20 - Better Late . . . That's a Pun . . . Than Never
    8.7/10(215 votes)

    #7 - Better Late . . . That's a Pun . . . Than Never

    S4:E20

    To relieve her boredom, Mary jokingly writes a humorous obituary of one of the people in the WJM-TV file. Coincidentally, the same person dies the following day and the obituary is read on the air. Lou has no choice but to suspend Mary, but she threatens to quit in response.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Treva Silverman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 Episode 7 - A New Sue Ann
    8.7/10(238 votes)

    #8 - A New Sue Ann

    S5:E7

    A young fan, Gloria, persuades Sue Ann to hire her for The Happy Homemaker. Sue Ann is less than pleased when Gloria plays up to the station manager and gets a larger role on the show at the expense of her own.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 Episode 23 - Ted Baxter's Famous Broadcasters' School
    8.7/10(232 votes)

    #9 - Ted Baxter's Famous Broadcasters' School

    S5:E23

    A con-man tricks Ted into setting up a broadcasters' academy. When he finds out he's been had, he asks Lou, Mary and Murray to be the faculty and give the semester's opening lectures.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Michael Zinberg

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 6 Episode 18 - Once I Had a Secret Love
    8.7/10(200 votes)

    #10 - Once I Had a Secret Love

    S6:E18

    Lou has spent the night with Sue Ann, and confides in Mary. Their friendship is almost ruined when Mary is unable to keep the secret.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7 Episode 1 - Mary Midwife
    8.7/10(216 votes)

    #11 - Mary Midwife

    S7:E1

    Georgette gives birth at Mary's dinner party. With the hospital and doctor too far away, Lou and Mary help deliver the baby.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 8 - Lou's First Date
    8.5/10(235 votes)

    #12 - Lou's First Date

    S4:E8

    Lou gives Mary the task of finding him a date for an awards' ceremony. A name mix-up means that Lou winds up taking out an 80-year-old woman.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 21 - Ted Baxter Meets Walter Cronkite
    8.5/10(203 votes)

    #13 - Ted Baxter Meets Walter Cronkite

    S4:E21

    After a heavy self-promotion campaign, Ted wins his first Teddy Award. When Walter Cronkite comes to the newsroom, Ted assumes that he will be hired by the networks.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 6 Episode 9 - Ted's Wedding
    8.5/10(198 votes)

    #14 - Ted's Wedding

    S6:E9

    Out of pity for Ted, Mary invites him & Georgette over for brunch. While he as an onion ring in his mouth, he proposes to Georgette...again. When, for the first time, Georgette says no, she & Ted have a talk and decide they want to get married now. They invite all their friends: Lou, Murray (with mud on his sweatshirt from his son's football game), and Sue Ann (who, in a spectacularily comedic enterance, brings a veil, flowers, and rice, among several other things). Ted's mom can't make it (she's washing her hair), but the incompetent minister comes straight from his tennis match. Best man Lou helps Ted calm his wedding day jitters. When the minister asks Ted if he takes Georgette to be his lawfully wedded wife, he pauses for a moment. Finally, with a smile on his face, he says, ""I do."" When they are pronounced husband & wife, Sue Ann sings the wedding march...very poorly, of course. Once the wedding ends and Lou, Murray, & Sue Ann leave, Ted asks, as if nothing had happened,

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7 Episode 3 - Sue Ann's Sister
    8.5/10(225 votes)

    #15 - Sue Ann's Sister

    S7:E3

    Sue Ann becomes deeply depressed when her sister arrives and gets an offer to do a competing homemaker show in Minneapolis.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7 Episode 11 - Mary's Insomnia
    8.5/10(184 votes)

    #16 - Mary's Insomnia

    S7:E11

    Mary is having trouble sleeping and resorts to pills, which has Lou concerned that she's become addicted to them.

    Director:James Burrows
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 3 Episode 6 - Rhoda the Beautiful
    8.4/10(243 votes)

    #17 - Rhoda the Beautiful

    S3:E6

    After losing 20 pounds, Rhoda enters a beauty contest at work, but continues to put herself down.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Treva Silverman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 3 Episode 13 - Operation: Lou
    8.4/10(221 votes)

    #18 - Operation: Lou

    S3:E13

    Lou goes to hospital to have a piece of World War II shrapnel removed and, surprisingly, he and Ted become best friends.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writers:David Pollock, Elias Davis

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 Episode 9 - Not a Christmas Story
    8.4/10(237 votes)

    #19 - Not a Christmas Story

    S5:E9

    The entire newsroom staff is arguing with each other, and when they are trapped at the office due to bad weather, Sue Ann decides to serve her Christmas dinner early.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7 Episode 17 - Sue Ann Gets the Ax
    8.4/10(190 votes)

    #20 - Sue Ann Gets the Ax

    S7:E17

    Sue Ann's Happy Homemaker show is canceled but she is determined to stay at WJM and asks Mary to give her a job in the newsroom.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 1 Episode 1 - Love is All Around
    8.3/10(581 votes)

    #21 - Love is All Around

    S1:E1

    The classic series begins its classic 7-year run in Mary's apartment. Mary Richards, a 30-year-old single woman, has left her long-time boyfriend, Bill, to be with her old friend, Phyllis Lindstrom, in Minneapolis. (Mary originally lived in Roseburg, MN.) Why did Mary leave Bill? After promising to her that he would marry her right after his internship at the hospital, he said, ""Why rush into things???"" Meanwhile, she's already having troubles with her new apartment--a bitter upstairs neightbor, Rhoda Morgenstern, insists that she owns Mary's apartment!

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:James L. Brooks

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 3 Episode 9 - Farmer Ted and the News
    8.3/10(230 votes)

    #22 - Farmer Ted and the News

    S3:E9

    Ted refuses to sign his contract renewal until Lou agrees to let him pursue other ventures, a decision he soon regrets when Ted begins appearing in commercials.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 3 Episode 17 - My Brother's Keeper
    8.3/10(261 votes)

    #23 - My Brother's Keeper

    S3:E17

    Phyllis wants to set up her visiting brother with Mary, but instead he hits it off with Rhoda and begins spending time with her to Phyllis's disapproval.

    Director:Jay Sandrich
    Writer:Dick Clair

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 15 - Happy Birthday, Lou!
    8.3/10(192 votes)

    #24 - Happy Birthday, Lou!

    S4:E15

    Lou is closing in on fifty and today is his birthday. Mary can't stand the thought of the now-separated Lou celebrating his birthday all alone, so she arranges a surprise party for him. That evening, she invites Lou over for a drink and the doorbell rings just as he tells her how much he appreciated her not throwing an office party for him that afternoon. Gordy is at the door with an envelope...full of hats. Others are out in the hallway, too. Lou is furious and tries to get out using the back door...but there is no back door. Mary asks Lou's permission to invite Murray in. He enters, miffed at Lou's actions. Next Rhoda, and finally Ted, get to come in. Lou admits that he hates displays of affection...then reluctantly agrees to let the remainder of the guests in. While they all file in, he files out and down to MacKluskey's bar where....they throw a surprise party for him. Later he returns to Mary's place to apologize...evidently the guests opened his gifts (at Ted's urging) and they a

    Director:George Tyne
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 4 Episode 23 - Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer
    8.3/10(204 votes)

    #25 - Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer

    S4:E23

    Ted joins Mary at a night-school class in creative writing, and winds up plagiarizing her assignment.

    Director:Nancy Walker
    Writer:David Lloyd

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Chuckles Bites the Dust" is the best rated episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". It scored 9.4/10 based on 580 votes. Directed by Joan Darling and written by David Lloyd, it aired on 10/25/1975. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Last Show".