The misadventures of the staff of a struggling Top 40 rock radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Genre: Comedy
Cast:Gary Sandy , Gordon Jump , Loni Anderson , Howard Hesseman , Richard Sanders , Frank Bonner , Tim Reid , Jan Smithers , Carol Bruce , Allyn Ann McLerie , Sam Anderson , Ian Wolfe , Edie McClurg , Hamilton Camp , Bill Dial , Michael Fairman , Julie Payne , George Wyner
Andy Travis joins the WKRP staff as program director and institutes sudden changes that most of the eccentric staff and the station's cantankerous owner don't immediately like.
Andy looks for a way to publicize the station's new format, while elderly listeners invade the station to protest the removal of their favorite music.
Les finds himself desperately distressed when he is mistaken for a homosexual.
WKRP promotes a concert for the well dressed and spoken, and gleefully violent, rock band, Scum of the Earth.
Herb manages to ensnare a new client, Del's Stereo Shop, by promising a live remote broadcast with the doctor, himself. The remote turns into a disaster when Bucky, the Union and Bobby Boogie all intervene.
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) at WKRP were all about forest fires before Bailey had her big idea: "Cincinnati Beat," where regular citizens are interviewed by the resident Doctor. Bailey is excited to be producing the show. But, when all of the prospective guests turn out to be freaks, aliens and weirdoes, Bailey has a crisis of confidence.
Feeling left out by all the recent changes, Mr. Carlson decides to launch his own Thanksgiving promotion. With the aid of Herb and Les, the Big Guy turns a routine turkey give-away into a comic catastrophe.
Andy's former struggling musician girlfriend, now a big country music star, shows up on tour in Cincinnati. The passion is rekindled and she wants Andy to quit WKRP and join her on tour. Can Andy turn his back on WKRP to chase love?
Mrs. Carlson comes to the station to review what has happened since Andy's start as Program Director.
Mr. Carlson has been on a tear writing memo after memo instituting new station policies. Amidst Mr. Carlson's memo-writing, Les announces that he has won the "coveted" Silver Sow award. Regardless of the cost cutting measures he's announced in memos, Mr. Carlson says that the station will pay for tickets to the awards banquet for Les and his date. With cues around him making him feel like he has no chance with women, Les asks any of the guys, like Herb or Andy, if they'd like to go to the banquet with him. Taking the bulls by the horns, Herb, as Les' pal, shows him how to ask women out so that he can get a real date for the banquet. Despite or because of Herb's smarmy pick-up tactics, Les is able to secure a date, specifically with Jennifer, who in large part wants to show Herb that decency, and not smarm, is what works. Les, in turn, wants to be what he considers a real man when he has Jennifer on his arm. Herb does a one hundred eighty degree turn in doing whatever he can to make the date with Jennifer not happen in his jealousy, he using an unwitting Mr. Carlson as his unsuspecting pawn.
Johnny causes considerable consternation at the station when he accidentally announces a contest prize of $5000 instead of $50.
The station staff finds themselves in danger when Herb unplugs a teleprinter just as it is receiving a local tornado warning.
Johnny gets a job offer and a chance to return to the Los Angeles radio market (the place of his greatest success.) The staff of WKRP try to trick Fever into staying by showing how much they mean to him.
Johnny returns to WKRP only to discover he has already been replaced by a DJ who is secretly taking payola in the form of cocaine.
Herb and his wife Lucille are getting a divorce, the first night after the decision Herb resorting to sleeping on the couch in the office. Herb may or may not be aware that Lucille's want for the divorce is because she thinks he takes her for granted as a woman. The divorce has an effect on everyone in the office. Herb needs a temporary place to stay until he gets his own place, with none of the guys, except Les, really wanting Herb, with Les out of the question solely because of the size of his apartment. And now that Herb is a "free" man, Jennifer feels more exposed, he who she could handle when she knew his talk was all bluster. He envisions his life now as a wild and crazy single, going out and partying all the time. While Jennifer works on Lucille, the guys try to show Herb without being obvious that he'd much rather be back at home with his family than all alone as a single.
A young mother, with no money, no friends, and nowhere to turn, leaves her baby for Johnny at the station.
The staff of WKRP is tasked with creating a commercial for a lucrative advertising contract with a funeral home, to Mr. Carlson's growing discomfort.
Venus is forced to confess his real name, and the fact that he is wanted for desertion from the Army.
T. J. Watson, a wannabe country music star and former childhood friend of Jennifer shows up at WKRP. Jennifer is nervous that he is trying to collect on a joking pledge for her to marry him. Jennifer claims to already by married to Johnny.
Mr. Carlson's son disappears from Prussian Valley Military Academy. When he turns up at the station with Mama Carlson, he is put to work at the station and promptly gets into trouble.
On the day Carlson and Travis are being interviewed by a newspaper, everything around them goes wrong in the silliest way possible.
Andy and Mr. Carlson must deal with an intimidating ex-wrestler now religious broadcaster whose merchandising during his show is getting out of hand.