Betty White's Second Sitcom Was Canceled Thanks To A Meddling Sponsor
It only takes one bad apple to spoil a series with potential, which is exactly what happened to Betty White when a major sponsor ruined her second sitcom.
Betty White's second sitcom, "Date With the Angels," faced cancellation due to meddling from her sponsor, Plymouth, the Chrysler car line. The show, which premiered on ABC on May 10, 1957, was a domestic comedy with fantasy elements, loosely inspired by the 1940s play "Dream Girl." However, Plymouth criticized the show's fantasy segments, leading to the removal of imagination scenes in favor of more traditional home situations.
White lamented that without the dream sequences, the show "flattened out and became just one more run-of-the-mill domestic comedy."
The series ran for two seasons, with the final episode airing on January 29, 1958. Despite the dream sequences being seen as a feminist critique of 1950s society, the show received poor reviews and low ratings. Plymouth and ABC had contractual obligations towards White, leading her to transition from the sitcom to a live variety show. Her second series under this name, "The Betty White Show," aired in 1958, receiving mixed reviews. White herself considered "Date With the Angels" a unique low point in her television career.
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