Thomas fared better on the small screen. Her children's special "Marlo Thomas and Friends in Free to Be . . . You and Me" (ABC, 1974) focused on building young people's self-esteem and spawned several small screen sequels. As a dramatic actress, Thomas began to prove herself in roles ranging from a woman hounded by authorities after she has a brief relationship with a suspected terrorist in "The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck" (CBS, 1984) to a mother coping with her son's homosexuality in "Consenting Adult" (ABC, 1985) to her Emmy-winning turn as a former mental patient who had been incorrectly institutionalized in the based-on-fact drama "Nobody's Child" (CBS, 1986). More recently, she was the guilt-ridden mother of a boy who had died in "Reunion" (CBS, 1994) and made a return to comedy with a recurring role as the mother of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) on the hit NBC sitcom "Friends".
Thomas also became a sometime TV producer in the 70s, beginning with "It Happened One Christmas" (ABC, 1977), a distaff remake of Frank Capra's 1946 classic "It's a Wonderful Life". In the 80s, she formed Hart, Thomas & Berlin productions with partners Carole Hart and Kathie Berlin. The trio's ventures have included the TV-movies "Leap of Faith" (CBS, 1988) and "Taken Away" (CBS, 1989) and the short-lived sitcom "Wish You Were Here" (CBS, 1990).