The series begins with Peter Christopher (Michael Callan, "Cat Ballou"), a bachelor who enjoys single life, but feels the world is against single people. As he does every Friday, he sits down to dinner at his mother's (Sara Seegar, "The Music Man", Mrs. Wilson on "Dennis the Menace"). She feels he should be married by now and questions if he is "eccentric", which angers him into leaving. He goes to see a girl he likes named Marilyn (beach blonde actress Chris Noel) for a romantic evening, but her analyst tells her she only needs a meaningful relationship. At work at Brahms Baby Food Company, the men are having meetings with their boss Max Brahms (character actor Jack Collins, "The Towering Inferno"), a big proponent of family men, about advancement into an open position. Peter isn't being considered since he is a bachelor. At a bar, Peter meets young hat check girl Greta Patterson (Patricia Harty), an aspiring artist who wishes to go to school to be a dress designer. She explains that the wedding ring she wears is "protection" against some of the men who come into the bar and that it "fools a lot of people". This gives Peter an idea of having a "fake wife" and he offers to pay for Greta's art lessons and for an apartment two floors above his. They start their fake marriage by going to the jewelry store where Greta insists on a new ring. Greta isn't amused by her unfurnished apartment and talks him into furnishing it- albeit cheaply. He next shows her the fire escape to get to his apartment, past the apartment and man in the middle (Bryan O'Byrne) who offers hilarious expressions to their coming and going throughout the series. They run through their staged background of their relationship in pretending to just having been married. They prepare to entertain Mr. Brahms and his co-workers and their wives who arrive just after Marilyn. She is excited to tell Peter that her analyst says she is ready for a superficial relationship. Now they must try out their rouse while hiding Marilyn from the guests. The opening episode does a nice job of laying the groundwork for the series while keeping a plot of its own with nice touches of comedy.
"Occasional Wife" ran for one season on NBC from September 13, 1966 until May 9, 1967. The series was one of the first to forego the use of a laugh track. Its narration is by legendary sportscaster Vin Scully. "Occasional Wife" got off to a good start, tying at 18 in the Nielsen ratings with "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.". It began facing tougher competition from rival networks, dropping to 64 and was cancelled after 30 episodes.
The show centers around Peter Christopher (Michael Callan), a happy bachelor who is pressured to find a wife to please his family and to advance his career. His boss Max Brahms (Jack Collins) of Brahms Baby Food Company is a firm believer in family men. Peter enlists the help of a young hat check girl Greta Patterson (Patricia Harty), in exchange for paying for her art lessons and setting her up with an apartment two floors above his, to be his wife whenever needed. The series rides this plot with the complications of hiding the fact they aren't married from their colleagues, friends and family.