Two years before the 1961 premiere of The Dick Van Dyke Show, veteran television writer Carl Reiner created a series for himself called Head of the Family. The pilot failed to sell but was seen by producer Sheldon Leonard, who suggested a casting change for the lead role. Although young comic and daytime TV host Johnny Carson was considered, the role of Rob Petrie went to the multifaceted entertainer Dick Van Dyke.
While Van Dyke’s name graced the title of the series, it was an ensemble that relied as much on costars Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, and occasionally Reiner as it did on the headliner himself. Additionally, it leaned on a more sophisticated humor than most of the comedies to that point.