• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, March 19, 2025

Linda Lavin was a busy lady in her final year, capping a 50-year TV career with a starring role in a new Hulu comedy series being released posthumously later this month.

And what a role it is. In the show, titled “Mid-Century Modern” and premiering March 28, Lavin plays Nathan Lane’s mother -- a bit of casting that might be the canniest of this century so far.

That alone should arouse interest in this new show about three gay men living together in Palm Springs, where mid-century modern homes are prevalent.

Lavin died on December 29 at the age of 87. According to obituaries, the cause of death was lung cancer. It was reportedly diagnosed at a late stage. 

Nevertheless, in 2024 alone she was seen in a guest-starring role on “Elsbeth” and a recurring role in the Netflix real estate comedy “No Good Deed." She was also filming her starring role in “Mid-Century Modern.”

In the show, she plays Sybil Schneiderman, mother of Bunny Schneiderman, played by Nathan Lane, 69. Bunny is described by Hulu as a successful businessman “with one foot in retirement.”  

The rest of the four-member ensemble are Matt Bomer, 47 (above photo far left), and Nathan Lee Graham, 56 (second from right).

Bomer plays “Jerry Frank,” an airline flight attendant who was once a Mormon married to a woman, until his wife told the congregation he was guy. Graham plays “Arthur Broussard,” who is “dignified, elegant, brilliant,” says Hulu. 

Although the three friends are of different ages, circumstances in each of their lives bring them together in the same household -- the home Bunny shares with his mom, golden girl Sybil.

“Mid-Century Modern” consists of 10 episodes. Spoiler alert: Lavin is seen in most of them.

Lavin was a very successful, versatile actress in a career that dated back to the Broadway stage in 1962. In 1987, she won a Tony Award for the Neil Simon play “Broadway Bound.”

She was best-known for playing the title role in the fondly remembered 1970s and ’80s sitcom “Alice,” which ran for nine seasons on CBS (1976-85). 

The show was a made-for-TV adaptation of the 1974 movie “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” starring Ellen Burstyn and directed by Martin Scorsese, his fourth movie.

At least two other TV veterans from the world of sitcoms are seen in guest-starring roles in “Mid-Century Modern” -- Rhea Perlman (“Cheers”) and Judd Hirsch (“Taxi”).

“Mid-Century Modern” was created and co-produced by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, co-creators of “Will & Grace.”