 In test screenings prior to its premiere , reaction to the show was sharply divided . According to executive producer Stephanie Sills , the strongest negative reaction came from male executives . " They didn 't mind being portrayed by women . It was simply that they detest the way we depicted them . " Feminists were uncertain how to react to the series , with some being concerned that audiences would not perceive the show as satire but as an attempt to represent how a female @-@ dominated society would actually operate . Lear marketed the program through his company , TAT Syndication . The series ran five nights a week . 
