The series was shot in blocks. Performers would gather for a week of taping in June, and another in October, with individual shows edited together later. Roy Clark compared the block schedule to "a big family reunion, twice a year".
David Akeman, a.k.a. Stringbean, a comedian and banjo player, was a regular cast member during the first five seasons of the show. On the night of November 10, 1973, Akeman and his wife, Estelle, were shot to death by a pair of intruders in their Nashville home. Their bodies were discovered the next morning by Akeman's friend and neighbor, Grandpa Jones. (Their murderers both received life sentences.) A full season of Hee Haw (1969) had been pre-taped during the previous summer, so Akeman continued to appear on the show for several months after his death, well into 1974.
The Hee Haw (1969) cornfield set, along with the costumes worn by cast members, is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN .
The show ran for its first two seasons in prime time on CBS, then beginning with the fall 1971 season (season 3) switched to a first-run syndication style distribution, where it remained for 21 more seasons.
Co-star Buck Owens left after the 1985-86 season, believing that the show had ruined his credibility as a musician, after he'd gone on tour and discovered that almost nobody took him seriously. He spent the next several years rebuilding his reputation as a serious performer.