Nov
Why a Good Times Episode Gave Wendi McLendon-Covey Nightmares as a Child
The St. Denis Medical star shares her top seven sitcoms, including Cheers, Veep, Arrested Development, and Happy Days.
Wendi McLendon-Covey, star of the upcoming workplace comedy St. Denis Medical (premiering Nov. 12 on NBC), reveals her favorite sitcoms and some unforgettable memories tied to them. Among her top picks is Happy Days, where she was captivated by Fonzie’s iconic season 4 girlfriend, Pinky Tuscadero. For young McLendon-Covey, the appeal wasn’t just about Fonzie; it was Pinky herself, played by Roz Kelly, who stole her heart.
“Oh, I wanted to be Pinky Tuscadero so badly it made me cry,” McLendon-Covey recalls. As a second-grader, she even begged her parents for a pink motorcycle, matching boots, and a silver jumpsuit like Pinky’s. “I don’t think I was asking for too much,” she jokes.
Watching a scene of Pinky riding her motorcycle, McLendon-Covey laughs at the extended stunt sequences. “Yes, another wheelie, we get it, Pinky,” she quips, noting that Happy Days captured a “nostalgic version of the past that couldn’t possibly be real, but that’s part of the fun.”
Other sitcoms on McLendon-Covey’s list include Arrested Development, which she says “should be studied in universities,” and Cheers, where she praises Rhea Perlman, Shelley Long, and Kirstie Alley for their comedic talent. “They went head-to-head with the boys humor-wise, and they always delivered,” she says. Also on her list are Too Close for Comfort, The Comeback, and Veep, where she admires Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “I bow down to her.”
Rounding out her top seven is Good Times, a show McLendon-Covey remembers not just for laughs, but for its impactful storytelling grounded in real-life issues. One storyline involving new neighbors Lynnetta and her daughter Penny, played by a young Janet Jackson, struck a particularly intense chord with her.
“Penny was being abused, and it really upset me,” McLendon-Covey says, recalling a scene where Penny pleads with her mother not to burn her with a hot iron. “This was my first exposure to child abuse, and I thought being burned by an iron was all that child abuse was. It actually gave me nightmares.”
These moments and memories reflect McLendon-Covey’s deep connection to the sitcoms that shaped her and continue to inspire her today.
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