Why Did ‘Valerie’ Become ‘The Hogan Family’? Inside the Legal Battle That Changed the Show

Remember the TV sitcom Valerie? Or was that Valerie’s Family: The Hogans? Or maybe it was just The Hogan Family? Actually, the TV series went by all three titles as NBC and production company Lorimar Telepictures navigated a messy and expensive breakup with onetime lead star Valerie Harper.

Harper, an Emmy-winning alum of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, was initially the namesake star of the show, playing a career woman raising her sons — including one played by a young Jason Bateman — during her pilot husband’s absence. But the offscreen drama following Season 2 didn’t have anyone laughing…