A Gannett News Service syndicated article by Paul Henniger on 26 June 1979 stated the NBC network ("referred to by some wags as 'No Better Comedies'") would air two hours of unsold pilots the next day, beginning with "But Mother!", "about a madcap widowed mother (Dena Dietrich) and her newly-divorced daughter played by Amy Johnston; they're both out after a man. So what else is new in this era of liberated females?" ("NBC fills TV void with unsold pilots," The San Bernardino Sun, San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 26 June 1979, Volume 106, Number 177, page A-14.)