Maude is a CBS television sitcom that aired from September12, 1972 through April22, 1978. Bea Arthur plays Maude Findlay, an opinionated, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with her fourth husband, domestic appliance company owner Walter Findlay. Maude believed in women's liberation, consistently voted for Democratic Party politicians, was a staunch supporter of legal abortion, and pushed for civil rights, racial and gender equality. However, her assertive and occasionally demanding demeanor frequently got her in trouble when she spoke out on these topics. The show was a spin-off of All in the Family, in which Beatrice Arthur first appeared as Maude, Edith Bunker's cousin; like All in the Family, Maude was a sitcom with topical stories written by producer Norman Lear. Several episodes of Maude and Walter were half-hour "two-hander" teleplays, which was unusual for a US sitcom. "The Analyst," from Season 4, was Bea Arthur's solo episode, in which she delivered an episode-length monologue to an unseen psychotherapist.
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