Loretta Swit played the role of Christine Cagney in the original television movie (1981), but she was forced to decline the role in the series when the producers of M*A*S*H (also airing on CBS) refused to let her out of her contract. The movie was then picked up as series, first airing with six episodes as a midseason replacement in the spring of 1982, with Meg Foster playing the role of Cagney. The show was then picked up for a regular season beginning with the 1982-83 season, but Foster was replaced by Sharon Gless because CBS deemed Foster too aggressive, too similar in appearance to Tyne Daly and too likely to be perceived as lesbian by the viewers.
CBS executives hoped that Sharon Gless would portray Christine Cagney as more conventionally “feminine” and attempted to pressure the producers to remake Christine into a more “high-class,” snobbish woman from wealthy parents. Barney Rosenzweig and Barbara Corday stood their ground, refusing to change Christine Cagney from a tough, witty, working-class woman. Their stand proved wise, as the working class character’s enduring popularity with millions of fans was a significant factor in the show’s success.
