Mary's workload gets too much so Lou allows her to hire an assistant. She chooses Phyllis who hinders more than she helps.

Mary gets a tempting offer from a rival television station, but becomes reluctant to leave when her WJM-TV colleagues throw a farewell party for her.

Lou and his wife Edie separate and Mary becomes involved when she is asked for advice.

When Lou is fired, Mary goes to confront the station owner, Wild Jack Munroe.

In the second-season premiere, after Mary Richards produces a ""What's Your Sexual IQ?"" documentary for the Six O'Clock News, Rhoda confesses to failing and Phyllis says that young Bess watched it. Phyllis calls on Mary to teach Bess the facts of life, but it turns out that Bess already had learned it from her friends. Meanwhile, the WJM-TV newsroom is shelled with phone calls responding to the documentary. According to Mary, more people are appalled by it than anything else.

Mary and Rhoda take an unplanned vacation to Mexico but have to do a strange favor for a Mexican restaurant owner for reservations.

The writing and technical unions go on strike, leaving only Lou, Mary, and Ted in the newsroom. WJM-TV makes Lou be second cameraman on ""The Chuckles the Clown Show"". Because an upset Murray is on strike, Mary has to write the news stories. They are terrible, and when Lou criticizes them, she starts crying.

Things take a turn for the worse: Ted's union strikes, and Lou has to fill in as anchorman! On his first brodcast, he has ""clammy hands"", and he bombs. At a local bar, Murray, Gordy, & Mary share a laugh over this. After drinking before his 2nd brodcast, he is ""as cool as a cucumber""--that is, until he falls asleep at breaktime. Herb fills in for Lou for the rest of the brodcast.

The next day, the unions come to an agreement, and everything goes back to normal. Rhoda Morgenstern & Phyllis Lindstrom do not appear in this episode.

When Rhoda's apartment is destroyed by fire, she moves in with Mary. The two find that while they are best friends, they make awful roommates.

Mary is given the task of making The Six O'clock News more upbeat, and her plans are on target to succeed until they're frustrated by Ted.

When Lou's trip to Las Vegas is cancelled, Mary organizes a poker game at the office where Murray loses a substantial amount to Ted.

Phyllis persuades Ted to stand for local government. Ted agrees and goes so far as to quit his job at WJM-TV.

Lou is closing in on fifty and today is his birthday. Mary can't stand the thought of the now-separated Lou celebrating his birthday all alone, so she arranges a surprise party for him. That evening, she invites Lou over for a drink and the doorbell rings just as he tells her how much he appreciated her not throwing an office party for him that afternoon. Gordy is at the door with an envelope...full of hats. Others are out in the hallway, too. Lou is furious and tries to get out using the back door...but there is no back door. Mary asks Lou's permission to invite Murray in. He enters, miffed at Lou's actions. Next Rhoda, and finally Ted, get to come in. Lou admits that he hates displays of affection...then reluctantly agrees to let the remainder of the guests in. While they all file in, he files out and down to MacKluskey's bar where....they throw a surprise party for him. Later he returns to Mary's place to apologize...evidently the guests opened his gifts (at Ted's urging) and they a

WJM's former weatherman, Gordy Howard, returns to visit Minneapolis after becoming a highly successful network presenter in New York. Ted is desperate for a chance to join Gordy.