Lou Grant

Lou Grant runs the WJM-TV newsroom in Minneapolis with a growl and a bottle in his desk drawer. He hires Mary Richards on the spot, unimpressed by pleasantries, allergic to sentiment, and instantly, gruffly protective of the people who work for him. He barks. He means less by it than he lets on.

Edward Asner makes gruffness a delivery system for warmth rather than a substitute for it, so every gravelly put-down lands as affection in disguise. The writing trusts the audience to hear what Lou won't say out loud. That gap between his bark and his actual decency is the joke, and it never once feels cheap.