Updated: March 09, 2025

Despite the low ratings, Bewitched still had a contract for two more seasons on ABC. The network was willing to honor that contract by renewing the sitcom for a ninth season. Montgomery had grown tired of the series and wanted other roles. She and her husband William Asher had separated and divorced in 1974. Asher pitched an idea to ABC for a sitcom starring Paul Lynde. The concept was based on the play Howie, about a lawyer, Paul Simms ( Played by Paul Lynde ), whose daughter marries a slacker named Howard, or "Howie." Paul's character despises him, as he is not interested in earning money or traditional pursuits. In creating a series for Paul Lynde, Asher decided to resurrect the Howie concept for ABC and Screen Gems as a replacement for Bewitched the following year. Asher designed The Paul Lynde Show to be ABC's counterpart to CBS's All in the Family but the show lacked the controversial and topical issues brought up by that series, due to ABC's restriction on social realism.[citation needed] This was despite Lynde's rewrite of the show's dialog to make the series more lively and comedic. When The Paul Lynde Show debuted on ABC in the fall of 1972, it inherited Bewitched time slot during its last season on Wednesday nights opposite the first half of the Top 30 hit The Carol Burnett Show on CBS and the Top 20 hit Adam-12 on NBC. While the first episode of The Paul Lynde Show did well in the ratings, strong negative reactions not only to Lynde's character but also the premise of the series led to bad word of mouth and a collapse in viewership.

The show bore some similarities to Bewitched. Some of the sets used for the Simms house and backyard were used from Samantha and Darrin Stephens home. The name of Paul's law firm McNish & Simms was very similar to the name of Darrin Stephens's advertising agency McMann & Tate. Many actors regularly seen on Bewitched were also used on Lynde's series including Mabel Albertson, Herb Voland, Jack Collins, Richard X. Slattery, and Dick Wilson.

At the same time, to help fulfill the network's contract with Bewitched, Asher and Harry Ackerman created another ABC sitcom for the 1972 to 1973 season called Temperatures Rising. The series starred James Whitmore and Cleavon Little. In its first year, the sitcom was not only struggling with its format but with ratings. In mid-season, Asher was replaced as producer by Bruce Johnson and Duke Vincent. Despite its challenges, the series ended its first year with a respectable 29 share and was renewed for the 1973 to 1974 season. To improve ratings and help Paul Lynde fulfill his contract with the network, ABC wanted to make some changes. When The New Temperatures Rising Show debuted in September 1973, Whitmore was replaced by Lynde and the emphasis on black comedy in the show became more prominent. Ratings for the series fell well below those of the previous season.

When Screen Gems head John Mitchell and ABC chief programmer Barry Diller noticed that The New Temperatures Rising Show was failing, they contacted William Asher and asked him to come back and salvage the series. The show was resurrected on July 18, 1974, after a six-month hiatus with its original title Temperatures Rising. Joining Lynde and Little in the cast was Bewitched alum Alice Ghostley. Despite the changes in cast and format, the attempt to resuscitate the series failed and ABC finally cancelled it. The final episode of Temperatures Rising aired on August 29, 1974, which ended William Asher's original contract with Bewitched and ABC.