Alice (1976)

Comedy

Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to March 19, 1985 on CBS. The series is based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job working at a roadside diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the episodes revolve around events at Mel's Diner.

IMDb rating: 6.9 (6,387 votes)
Episode average: 7.0 ↑ +0.1 vs IMDb
Seasons: 9
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 9 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1976)

7.17 avg 24 episodes 6.8 → 6.8 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Pilot	6.8	165
2	Alice Gets a Pass	7.8	150
3	A Piece of the Rock	8.0	114
4	Pay the Fifty Dollars	7.2	98
5	A Call to Arms	6.6	91
6	The Last Review	7.6	93
7	Sex Education	6.8	94
8	Big Daddy Dawson's Coming	7.4	80
9	Good Night, Sweet Vera	7.0	86
10	The Dilemma	7.5	76
11	Who Killed Bugs Bunny?	6.9	73
12	Mother-in-Law: Part 1	7.4	83
13	Mother-in-Law: Part 2	7.5	79
14	Vera's Mortician	7.4	74
15	Mel's in Love	6.4	72
16	The Accident	7.6	76
17	The Failure	7.0	82
18	The Hex	6.9	82
19	The Pain of No Return	6.4	74
20	The Odd Couple	7.3	93
21	A Night to Remember	7.1	70
22	Mel's Cup	7.0	68
23	The Bundle	7.7	89
24	Mel's Happy Burger	6.8	71

Season 2 (1977)

7.00 avg 24 episodes 6.5 → 7.0 30 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Second Time 'Round	6.5	75
2	The Indian Taker	5.8	76
3	86 the Waitresses	6.5	73
4	Alice by Moonlight	6.8	66
5	Single Belles	6.9	72
6	The Sixty Minutes Man	7.2	65
7	That Old Back Magic	7.6	75
8	Love Is Sweeping the Counter	6.8	73
9	A Semi-Merry Christmas	8.2	99
10	Oh, George Burns!	7.5	76
11	The Eyes of Texas	8.1	81
12	Love Is a Free Throw	6.0	71
13	Close Encounters of the Worst Kind	8.1	88
14	The Pharmacist	6.5	69
15	Love Me, Love My Horse	6.3	63
16	Florence of Arabia	6.9	69
17	The Cuban Connection	6.8	73
18	Mel's Big Five-O	7.7	68
19	Don't Lock Now	7.1	66
20	The Star in the Storeroom	7.2	82
21	Mel's Recession	6.5	60
22	Earthquake	7.0	61
23	The Reporter	7.1	63
24	The Bus	7.0	70

Season 3 (1978)

7.43 avg 24 episodes 7.7 → 7.2 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Take Him, He's Yours	7.7	68
2	Car Wars	7.9	73
3	Citizen Mel	7.8	64
4	Vera's Popcorn Romance	7.7	63
5	Block Those Kicks	8.4	92
6	What Happened to the Class of '78?	7.1	59
7	Better Never Than Late	7.8	80
8	Mel's in a Family Way	7.0	58
9	Who Ordered the Hot Turkey?	7.0	79
10	The Happy Hoofers	6.9	56
11	A Slight Case of ESP	7.6	68
12	The Principal of the Thing	8.2	69
13	What're You Doing New Year's Eve?	8.4	82
14	Sweet Charity	6.7	62
15	The Fourth Time Around	7.1	62
16	Tommy's First Love	7.0	60
17	Mel Grows Up	7.3	57
18	Vera's Broken Heart	6.8	54
19	Alice's Decision	7.6	57
20	The Last Stow It: Part 1	7.9	60
21	The Last Stow It: Part 2	7.8	60
22	If the Shoe Fits	6.9	54
23	My Fair Vera	6.5	52
24	Flo Finds Her Father	7.2	62

Season 4 (1979)

7.18 avg 24 episodes 8.1 → 6.9 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Has Anyone Here Seen Telly?	8.1	98
2	Mona Lisa Alice	7.5	57
3	Mel Loves Marie	6.9	51
4	Vera Robs the Cradle	6.3	58
5	Flo's Chili Reception	7.4	59
6	Little Alice Bluenose	6.5	58
7	Carrie Sharples Strikes Again	6.7	52
8	Mel's in the Kitchen with Dinah	7.3	59
9	Cabin Fever	7.8	62
10	My Cousin, Art Carney	7.8	78
11	Mel, the Magi	8.2	76
12	Good Buddy Flo	8.0	74
13	Alice in TV Land	7.3	60
14	Alice Beats the Clock	7.2	57
15	Carrie's Wedding	6.4	65
16	My Funny Valentine Tux	7.2	56
17	Auld Acquaintances Should Be Forgot	6.3	53
18	Flo's Farewell	7.8	83
19	For Whom the Belle Toils	7.3	71
20	One Too Many Girls	6.9	49
21	Vera, the Vamp	7.2	55
22	Profit Without Honor	6.8	49
23	Cook's Tour	6.4	52
24	Here Comes Alice Cottontail	6.9	55

Season 5 (1980)

7.11 avg 20 episodes 8.1 → 6.5 30 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Mel and the Green Machine	8.1	70
2	Dog Day Evening	7.2	57
3	Hello Vegas, Goodbye Diner	8.2	66
4	Too Many Robert Goulets	7.3	62
5	Vera's Aunt Agatha	7.0	52
6	Tommy's T.K.O.	8.4	66
7	The New Improved Mel	7.3	52
8	Carrie Sings the Blues	7.1	55
9	Henry's Bitter Half	7.3	51
10	Alice Locks Belle Out	6.8	52
11	Vera Goes Out on a Limb	6.9	57
12	The Jerry Reed Fish Story	7.7	67
13	Bye Bye Birdie	6.7	55
14	Alice's Son, the Drop-Out	6.4	49
15	Carrie Chickens Out	6.7	52
16	Macho, Macho Mel	7.6	61
17	The Great Escape	6.3	57
18	Alice Strikes Up the Band	6.3	49
19	Who's Kissing the Great Chef of Phoenix?	6.4	44
20	Baby Makes Five	6.5	47

Season 6 (1981)

7.14 avg 24 episodes 7.1 → 7.2 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Bet a Million, Mel	7.1	50
2	Guinness on Tap	7.7	57
3	Comrade Mel	6.5	54
4	Alice's Halloween Surprise	8.2	72
5	Alice's Big Four-Oh!	7.2	52
6	Mel's Cousin, Wendell	6.9	58
7	Vera's Bouncing Check	7.0	54
8	After Mel's Gone	7.3	49
9	Mel's Christmas Carol	6.7	70
10	The Wild One	6.4	64
11	Alice Calls the Shots	7.5	49
12	Not with My Niece, You Don't	8.0	59
13	Vera, Queen of the Soaps	7.6	57
14	Sharples vs. Sharples	7.2	56
15	The Valentine's Day Massacre	6.8	48
16	The Best Little Waitress in the World	7.6	48
17	Alice and the Acorns	7.6	54
18	Jolene Hunnicutt, Dynamite Trucker	6.5	49
19	Mel Wins by a Nose	7.0	52
20	Give My Regrets to Broadway	6.7	48
21	Vera's Reunion Romance	7.5	47
22	Monty Falls for Alice	6.4	44
23	Spell Mel's	6.8	46
24	My Mother the Landlord	7.2	44

Season 7 (1982)

6.88 avg 23 episodes 7.8 → 6.6 30 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Sorry, Wrong Lips!	7.8	60
2	Do You Take This Waitress?	7.5	53
3	The Secret of Mel's Diner	7.5	69
4	Alice at the Palace	6.8	53
5	Joel Grey Saves the Day	7.4	52
6	Alice's Turkey of a Thanksgiving	6.7	51
7	Carrie on the Rebound	6.3	47
8	Jolene's Brother Jonas	6.6	51
9	Alice Sees the Light	7.1	52
10	Vera the Virtuoso	6.7	51
11	Alice Faces the Music	7.0	48
12	Tommy, the Jailbird	6.2	51
13	Jolene and the Night Watchman	6.8	54
14	Mel's Dream Car	6.7	49
15	Come Back Little Sharples	6.8	51
16	Vera, the Torch	6.5	51
17	The Grass Is Always Greener	7.1	49
18	Tommy Fouls Out	7.4	52
19	Vera on the Lam	6.7	46
20	Mel's Cousin Wendy?	6.5	51
21	Sweet Erasable Mel	6.9	52
22	Tommy Hyatt, Business Consultant	6.6	47
23	Jolene Lets the Cat Out of the Bag	6.6	48

Season 8 (1983)

6.72 avg 23 episodes 7.4 → 6.5 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Mel Is Hogg-Tied	7.4	67
2	Vera's Secret Lover	7.0	52
3	Jolene Gets Her Wings	6.5	50
4	Alice's Blind Date	7.3	52
5	It Had to Be Mel	7.3	51
6	The Over-the-Hill Girls	6.2	75
7	Vera Gets Engaged	7.6	47
8	Vera's Wedding	7.1	53
9	The Robot Wore Pink	6.4	55
10	Tis the Season to Be Jealous	7.0	56
11	Tommy Goes Overboard	7.4	50
12	Vera, the Horse Thief	6.5	55
13	Jolene Throws a Curve	6.5	45
14	Lies My Mother Told Me	6.0	45
15	Alice and the Devoted Dentist	6.2	44
16	Alice's Hot Air Romance	6.8	43
17	Dollars to Donuts	6.6	43
18	My Dinner with Debbie	6.2	48
19	Vera's Fine Feathered Friends	6.7	43
20	Jolene Is Stuck on Mel	6.6	45
21	Don't Play It Again, Elliot	6.3	43
22	Mel Spins His Wheels	6.5	41
23	Be It Ever So Crowded	6.5	42

Season 9 (1984)

6.63 avg 16 episodes 6.7 → 7.7 30 min avg

Season 9 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Romancing Mr. Stone	6.7	46
2	Space Sharples	6.5	50
3	Big Bad Mel	7.3	50
4	Houseful of Hunnicutts	5.8	44
5	Tommy's Lost Weekend	7.3	50
6	Undercover Mel	6.9	46
7	Footloose Mel	6.9	50
8	Vera's Anniversary Blues	5.6	54
9	Kiss the Grill Goodbye	7.1	47
10	Vera, the Nightbird	7.6	52
11	Alice Doesn't Work Here Anymore: Part 1	6.7	45
12	Alice Doesn't Work Here Anymore: Part 2	6.4	48
13	The Night They Raided Debbie's	5.6	44
14	One on One	5.2	41
15	Vera's Grounded Gumshoe	6.8	39
16	Th-th-th-that's All Folks	7.7	79