Dianne Carroll played the lead role of a widowed single mother working as a nurse at an aerospace company in this sitcom. This is notable because at the time, most series portrayed African Americans solely as servants or criminals. Julia challenged those stereotypes by having Carroll become the first African-American performer to star as a suburban professional in a primetime sitcom.
She went on to win a Golden Globe for this role in 1969 and received a Primetime Emmy nomination that same year. Because Carroll was already a movie star and Tony Award winning singer long before her role as Julia, the television series ended after three seasons so that she could pursue other projects.