When “All in the Family” debuted Jan. 12, 1971, on CBS, it was exactly the TV show America needed — though America didn’t realize it at the time.
Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin had taped two ABC pilots of the script, both starring Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, starting in 1968. But ABC was reluctant to commit; as Lear told Variety’s Army Archerd, it was “too controversial.”
Lear and Yorkin took the show to CBS, which surprisingly bought it.
The show was carefully tested for a long time. On July 22, 1970 — six months before the debut — Variety asked CBS president Robert Wood why the network wasn’t trumpeting the new show. He said, “Frankly, we’re still not sure how to introduce this one to the public … it might just be best to go on with no fanfare, and then prepare ourselves for the explosion.”
The first episode, “Meet the Bunkers,” aired Tuesday,...
Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin had taped two ABC pilots of the script, both starring Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, starting in 1968. But ABC was reluctant to commit; as Lear told Variety’s Army Archerd, it was “too controversial.”
Lear and Yorkin took the show to CBS, which surprisingly bought it.
The show was carefully tested for a long time. On July 22, 1970 — six months before the debut — Variety asked CBS president Robert Wood why the network wasn’t trumpeting the new show. He said, “Frankly, we’re still not sure how to introduce this one to the public … it might just be best to go on with no fanfare, and then prepare ourselves for the explosion.”
The first episode, “Meet the Bunkers,” aired Tuesday,...
- 12/1/2021
- de Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
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