Goldberg, Stapleton to Star in CBS’ Midseason ‘Bagdad’

Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton will star in a comedy series based on the 1988 film “Bagdad Cafe,” CBS said Friday. The adaptation, “Bagdad Gas and Oil,” is one of four shows that the network said it has ordered as mid-season replacements for the coming season.

“Bagdad Gas and Oil” features Stapleton, who formerly starred as Edith Bunker on “All in the Family,” and Goldberg as women of different backgrounds who develop “a reluctant friendship” as they work together in a remote roadside restaurant.

Two other comedies in the works, CBS said, are “His and Hers,” starring Martin Mull and Stephanie Faracy as marriage counselors who are married to each other, and “Normal Life,” starring real-life siblings Dweezil and Moon Zappa as a teen-age brother and sister dealing with life in “a slightly off-center but very real household in the Hollywood Hills.”

Also ordered is “Loose Cannon,” a “humorous action series” starring Shadoe Stevens as a Los Angeles policeman with an unconventional personal and professional life.

CBS also reiterated Friday that “Beauty and the Beast,” which made its debut in 1987 but did not find a place on this fall’s schedule, will resume production and is scheduled to return during the season. CBS Entertainment President Kim LeMasters has said the show will undergo creative re-vamping before being put back on the air.