New York is the home of the Brill Building, a place where songwriters worked their craft in the 1950s, 60s and 70s... and created the hits that would eventually spread across the country and around the world.
New York was (and continues to be) a headquarters for music publishing companies, so it was only natural that there would be a series that touched on that element, and maybe a bit of the flavor of the sound, if I can mix a metaphor.
"Throb" owes a lot to another sitcom. The template is mostly based on "WKRP in Cincinnati," which gave viewers a behind the scenes glimpse of what went on at a rock radio station. Here, we're seeing how things happen at a rock record label ( Throb Records: the Throb of "Throb"). Diana Canova plays Sandy, the person we're seeing the events through, much like Gary Sandy's character, Andy Travis was, for "WKRP:"
This Sandy is a newly divorced, first time hire for the company who is learning the ropes about the music business as she is negotiating New York and dealing with being a single mom.
Her boss (Jonathan Prince) is very much interested in her, her son Jeremy (Paul Walker) is hitting puberty, so he's starting to get interested in all the things related to rock, and her co-workers are there to add some texture and color to the proceedings, most especially Blue, played by Jane Leeves, who is apparently "a favorite" (or maybe I should say "favourite," since she's British) with a number of famous rockers and who eventually moves in with Sandy to provide more hilarity between their two very different lifestyles, with Sandy needing to be a good mom and Blue free to jet off to anywhere for whatever party is happening next!
New York plays a part because of the acts that blow through the office are oh so cutting-edge, there's the scene - nightclubs, restaurants, coffee shops, the fast pace and the action that it promises, all part of the landscape of this record label.
One reason "Throb" hasn't been seen much since the mid 1980s relates to something that also affected "WKRP": the use of music and the royalty rights to allow it as a part of an episode.
"Throb" used actual hit songs on its soundtrack and when it came to working out the rights to use that music on a home video release, that wasn't a consideration back in the 1980s, when the series first aired, but certainly is now, and that's cost prohibitive.
But the likely more important reason why "Throb" is seldom seen is that they didn't quite nail it. Where "WKRP" had a brilliant ensemble of comedic actors, any and all of whom could carry a scene with hilarious ability, "Throb" just didn't. The show's comedy star became Ms. Leeves, who always seemed to have a great line, or a brilliant delivery of a not-so-great line. Had the show centered on her character, I think it might have become a hit, or at least lasted a little longer than it did.
