Rita Lakin
Writer · USA
Rita Lakin is an American screenwriter, with 474 produced television scripts spanning 30 productions. She is also a novelist and author of "The Only Woman In The Room," a memoire of her life as one of the first female show runners and one of the first women in television (released October 2015, Applause publishing). In fiction, Lakin created the Gladdy Gold Mystery seven-book series (published by Bantam Books), including Getting Old Is Murder, Getting Old Is The Best Revenge, and Getting Old Can Kill You. Lakin began writing regularly during the early 1960s for such television shows as The Doctors, Dr. Kildare and Peyton Place. In 1968, she began working as story editor and head writer of The Mod Squad. In 1972, she created The Rookies. In 1977, she served as executive producer of the CBS TV adaptation of the 1954 film Executive Suite. She wrote numerous "Movies of the Week" including Women in Chains, and such miniseries as Strong Medicine and Voices of the Heart. In 1981, she developed the TV series adaptation and served as show-runner of Flamingo Road. In 1989, she co-created the medical drama Nightingales. She also wrote or co-authored two original theatrical plays, No Language But a Cry and Saturday Night at Grossinger's.
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Biography from TMDB.
- USA
- Writer
- 7 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
What are Rita Lakin's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 1
Steady 3 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 1
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Rita Lakin's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Rita Lakin's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
25 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
Voice of the Heart(1989)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Nightingales (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Nightingales (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Strong Medicine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Strong Medicine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Dynasty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Flamingo Road (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Flamingo Road (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Torn Between Two Lovers(1979)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Hey, I'm Alive(1975)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Message to My Daughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
A Summer Without Boys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
The Rookies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
The Rookies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Women in Chains (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Death Takes a Holiday(1971)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The 48-Hour Mile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
The Mod Squad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Invaders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Family Affair(1966)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows
Daniel Boone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Peyton Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
The Virginian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Career shape
A full career of 25 titles from 1962 to 1989.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Rita Lakin's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 55th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 51/100 and the plot and story 52/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Rita Lakin work with?
People who share at least 2 of Rita Lakin's MovieCove titles; Michael D. Margulies shares the most, 2.
- Michael D. MarguliesShared titles: A Sensitive, Passionate Man (1977), Death Takes a Holiday (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Michael D. Margulies
- Michael EconomouShared titles: A Sensitive, Passionate Man (1977), Death Takes a Holiday (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Economou