WKRP in Cincinnati: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of WKRP in Cincinnati Season 2.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
The Airplane Show
Nov 1, 1980 · 25 min
Trying to compete with WPIG's traffic helicopter, Les starts doing traffic reports from a World War I biplane piloted by a crazy war veteran.
Jennifer Moves
Nov 8, 1980 · 25 min
The staff helps Jennifer move into her new $125,000 house in the quiet suburb of Landersville. But she soon finds out that life in Landersville isn't as pleasant as she thought it
Real Families
Nov 15, 1980 · 25 min
When Herb's family is featured in the show ""Real Families"", he is sure that they can serve as an example of a clean living family. Unfortunately, the image Herb wants to convey i
The Baby
Nov 22, 1980 · 25 min
Mr. Carlson's wife goes into labor and the WKRP staffers all visit the hospital to be there when she gives birth.
Hotel Oceanview
Nov 29, 1980 · 25 min
Andy, Mr. Carlson and Herb visit Dayton to try and land the advertising account for Vicky Von Vickey jeans. While Mr. Carlson worries about the notorious Dayton poisoner, Herb roma
A Mile in My Shoes
Dec 6, 1980 · 25 min
When Herb is called for jury duty, Andy takes over as sales manager and soon discovers just how tough it is trying to sell advertising time or collect from deadbeat clients. Meanwh
Bah, Humbug
Dec 20, 1980 · 25 min
Once again, Mr. Carlson plans to give the staffers almost no Christmas bonuses. But in a dream brought on by eating one of Johnny Fever's brownies, the ghosts of Christmas past, pr
Baby, It's Cold Inside
Jan 3, 1981 · 25 min
On a day when the furnace has broken down, Mama Carlson pays a surprise visit to the station and catches Johnny drinking in the broadcast booth.
The Painting
Jan 10, 1981 · 25 min
At Mr. Carlson's church auction, Herb buys a painting that Bailey loves. He tries to get Mr. Carlson or Bailey to buy it from him...until he learns that it might be valuable.
Daydreams
Jan 17, 1981 · 25 min
When Mr. Carlson rehearses a dull speech in front of the WKRP staff, all the staffers drift off into daydreams about what they would most like to be: Herb as a Latin-American dicta
Frog Story
Jan 24, 1981 · 25 min
Herb has accidentally spray-painted his daughter's pet frog Greenpeace pink, and brings the frog to the station trying to find a way to save its life. Meanwhile, Les convinces John
Venus and the Man
Jan 31, 1981 · 25 min
The station's cleaning woman asks Venus to convince her big, tough teenage son not to drop out of school.
Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide: Part 1
Feb 7, 1981 · 25 min
Johnny signs a contract to host a music TV program unaware that the songs will be disco.
Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide: Part 2
Feb 7, 1981 · 25 min
Johnny signs a contract to host a music TV program unaware that the songs will be disco.
Ask Jennifer
Feb 14, 1981 · 25 min
When Herb's choice as host of a new call-in advice show proves unable to go on the air, Jennifer takes over and becomes an instant success.
I Am Woman
Feb 21, 1981 · 25 min
When it is announced that the Flimm Building is to be torn down, Bailey starts a campaign to have the building declared a Cincinnati landmark. Everyone pitches in to help, until Mr
Secrets of Dayton Heights
Feb 28, 1981 · 25 min
The Secret Service refuses to grant Les credentials for a Presidential press conference, suspecting him of having radical affiliations. It turns out that the man who raised Les was
Out to Lunch
Mar 14, 1981 · 25 min
Herb's three-martini business lunches with an ad agency representative are causing him to mess up even more than usual, and it begins to seem that his use of alcohol as a sales too
A Simple Little Wedding
Mar 21, 1981 · 25 min
In honor of their 25th anniversary, Arthur and Carmen Carlson plan to get married again. They want a small, private ceremony, but Mama Carlson has other ideas.
Nothing to Fear But...
Mar 28, 1981 · 25 min
Everyone is in the grip of urban paranoia after the station is robbed.
Til Debt Do Us Part
Apr 5, 1981 · 25 min
When Johnny learns that his first ex-wife is planning to remarry, he is overjoyed at the thought of not having to pay alimony, and celebrates by inviting Bailey to take a trip with
Clean Up Radio Everywhere
Apr 12, 1981 · 25 min
Dr. Bob Halyers, head of the organization Clean Up Radio Broadcasting (CURB), visits Mr. Carlson with a list of obscene songs that he wants the station to stop playing.