{
  "id": 13795316,
  "title": "Law & Order Star Maura Tierney's Big TV Break Was In A Dick Van Dyke Sitcom",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/law-order-star-maura-tierneys-big-tv-break-was-in-a-dick-van-dyke",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-11T20:12:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TVLine",
    "slug": "tvline",
    "url": "https://www.tvline.com/2280945/law-and-order-maura-tierney-tv-break-dick-van-dyke-sitcom/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Maura Tierney's path to her iconic role in Law & Order began at the set of The Van Dyke Show. From 1988 to 1989, the actress portrayed Jillian, an amusing office assistant, in the short-lived sitcom. The Van Dyke Show followed Dick Van Dyke as Dick Burgess, a former Broadway star who moved to Pennsylvania to live with his son Matt Burgess, who owned a theater. Tierney appeared in all ten episodes of the show, which only lasted one season. The sitcom was one of several projects that Dick Van Dyke worked on alongside his real-life son Barry, who made his TV debut as a nine-year-old violinist in a 1962 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Despite her successful career in Law & Order and other series, Tierney still cherishes her early days on The Van Dyke Show, recalling her co-star as a very entertaining man with a wealth of stories to share.",
  "summary": "Maura Tierney's spent the last few years in the Law & Order universe, but back in the late '80s, she got her start thanks to TV legend Dick Van Dyke.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}