Louis "Lou" Grant is a fictional character played by
Edward Asner in two television series produced by
MTM Enterprises for
CBS. The first was
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was the
news director at fictional television station
WJM-TV. A spinoff series, entitled
Lou Grant (1977–1982), was an hour-long serious dramatic series which frequently engaged in
social commentary, featuring the character as
city editor of the fictional
Los Angeles Tribune. Although spin-offs are common on American television, Lou Grant remains the only character to have a leading role on both a popular comedy and a popular dramatic series.