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Under normal circumstances, we like to think of sets as extremely controlled environments. People are trying to make a movie or a television show, of course, but there's also a considerable number of individuals working solely to keep everyone on set safe. But in spite of these protections that are in place on set -- now more than ever before in the history of cinema -- tragic accidents still happen. While stunt performers are still far more likely to die or be seriously injured on set, and we're still miles away from adequately protecting them in their dangerous work, there have been rare occasions where actors died while actively on a shoot. 

Whether this is the result of negligence, bad luck, or sadly unavoidable pre-existing health conditions, these sudden deaths leave both coworkers and fans profoundly shaken -- especially when there is a sense that something more could have been done to prevent them,...

The classic sitcomAll in the Family, considered by many to be ahead of its time when it aired from 1971 to 1979, as it pushed boundaries regarding social issues like racism and sexism, is heading to a free streaming service soon. The comedy series, which won 22 Emmy Awards during its run, will come to Tubi on March 1.

All in the Family was created by sitcom legend Norman Lear, who was behind other classics like Maude, Sanford and Son, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Lear died in 2023 at the age of 101.All in the Family starred Carroll O’Connor as the cranky Archie Bunker and Jean Stapelton as his wife, Edith Bunker. Sally Struthers portrayed the Bunker’s daughter, Gloria, and actor-turned-director Rob Reiner played her husband Michael, who was better known as “Meathead” on the show.

Related10 Best '70s Sitcoms (That Everyone Forgot About)

The 70s is a decade chock full of innovative and hilarious sitcoms,...

Everyone seems to love Clean Slate, the sitcom with “a trans story right when it’s needed the most.” But comedian George Wallace had a very different idea in mind when he first pitched the show to legendary producer Norman Lear — he wanted to update classic ‘70s sitcom Sanford and Son.

“Sanford and Son makes everybody feel good,” Wallace told The Hollywood Reporter. “Just hearing the music, already that smile comes on your face. So I said, ‘Let me go to Norman Lear.’ I had known him for 30 years, and I said, ‘I want to reboot Sanford and Son.’ He says, ‘Are you kidding? You can’t do that show. Get a twist and come back.’”

Lear knew a little something about Sanford and Son — he developed the show as NBC’s answer to All in the Family. While the sitcom doesn’t show up much in syndication these days,...

For the past 20 years, Laverne Cox has dreamed of starring in a scripted series she created. With Prime Video’s “Clean Slate,” that dream is finally coming true. But getting to this point was far from an easy process.

“The fact that this has finally happened feels like a miracle,” Cox told TheWrap. “I’m just committed to having fun, being in deep gratitude and being of service when I can because people do want to hear from me as a trans person in this moment.”

The idea for “Clean Slate” actually came from the series’ co-lead, comedian George Wallace. Together with his collaborator Dan Ewen, Wallace wanted to make a remake of the iconic sitcom “Sanford and Son.” But when the duo pitched the idea to the NBC comedy’s uncredited executive producer Norman Lear, he passed unless the series could be reformatted with a twist. That’s how “Stanford and Daughter” was floated,...

Why in the name of all that’s funny do American producers try to adapt British sitcoms for U.S. audiences? The easy answer: Sometimes, it works. Norman Lear’s All in the Family and Sanford and Son were huge hits based on U.K. comedies, while the American version of The Office is arguably the most successful (or at least the most imitated) sitcom of the century.

But alongside those successes are a series of miserable failures that got lost in translation. Here are five examples of failed American versions of classic British sitcoms…

1 Fawlty Towers

In 2000, the British Film Institute ranked Fawlty Towers first on its list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, and Channel 4 had Basil Fawlty number two on its list of the 100 Greatest Television Characters. With its simple premise — an uptight dolt runs a dysfunctional hotel — Fawlty Towers was an obvious choice for an American update.

The UK and US have a symbiotic relationship with their television output. So many shows have traveled both ways across the pond, finding new homes with audiences in both these countries. With no language barrier and, therefore, no need to navigate subtitles, many shows have been hits in their original iterations on both continents, but there are certain cultural nuances that can completely change the feel of a show. The original UK version of The Office, for example, was so innately British that, as a sitcom, it was hard to make it resonate with larger audiences in its BBC format, leading to the separate U.S. and UK versions of The Office.

Then there are the classic comedies of the '70s and '80s that captured a very specific period in time for both countries. Writers were tasked with adapting the sociopolitical impacts of the time to suit a new setting.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's Will Smith explains how his dislike of the original theme song saw him taking a nerve-wracking chance to make a more fitting tune. The 1990s sitcom saw a young teen from Philadelphia move to live with his wealthy relatives in the titular Los Angeles neighborhood across six seasons from 1990 to 1996. Starring Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's cast featured James Avery, Janet Hubert-Whitten, Daphne Maxwell-Reid, Alphonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M. Ali, and Joseph Marcell.

As Vice's Black Comedy In America series turned its attention to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith confessed that he loathed the original theme song that the late Quincy Jones pitched, but he felt he couldn't say that directly to the producer due to both his involvement and reputation in the music industry. As such, Smith joined forces with his frequent...

Quincy Jones died last Sunday night at age 91—another entertainment legend who shuffled off this mortal coil this year before the country once again made the ass-backwards decision to put Trump in office. A lot has already been said about his multi-Grammy-winning discography, which includes producing and arranging music not...

While Norman Lear produced many of the most successful sitcoms of the 1970s and 1980s, including All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Sanford and Son, the behind-the-scenes squabbling rivaled the fights between Archie Bunker and his meathead son-in-law. Tripp Whetsall, author of the new biography Norman Lear: His Life and Times, recently talked to me about the comedy stars who got into it with Lear.

Comedy stars such as…

Carroll O’Connor

The All in the Family lead and Lear “had a very difficult, contemptuous relationship,” says Whetsell. “It was much more Carroll than Norman. Carroll was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders with Archie Bunker.”

Lear’s “idea of comedy, I think, is at variance with mine,” O’Connor once said. “We’ve disagreed over material from the very beginning of the show over what made naturalistic comedy. I had one idea, and he had another.

What couldn’t Quincy Jones do?

He wrote, composed and arranged music for your favorite artists and even produced films and TV shows that launched some of your favorite actors. He not only changed careers — he changed lives.

Here we break down some of the biggest acts and projects Jones worked on, from Michael Jackson’s seminal Thriller album to “We Are the World” to winning 28 Grammys, an Emmy and a Tony.

Michael Jackson

Before he met Jones while working on The Wiz, Jackson had been known for the Jackson 5 and released four solo albums that had mild success. Then they made Off the Wall and the King of Pop fully arrived. Released in 1979 around the time Jackson turned 21, the album helped him transition from young singer to critically acclaimed, matured artist. The album’s disco, funk and R&b sound resonated on the charts, helped Jackson win his first...

It is impossible to overstate Quincy Jones' influence on music and the music business throughout the second half of the 20th century. There wasn't a genre that Jones, who passed away yesterday at the age of 91, couldn't master as a composer, producer, performer, or all three. He kicked off his career playing trumpet for vibraphone god Lionel Hampton, served as trumpeter and music director for Dizzy Gillespie, and produced effervescent pop hits like "It's My Party" for Lesley Gore while expanding his range compositionally via jazz LPs and, perhaps most importantly, film music -- a field where the African-American artist stood out among a sea of white men.

Curiously, there isn't as much serious scholarship on the work of Jones, which is rather astounding considering his seismic 1970s and '80s impact as a producer for Michael Jackson on two of the top-selling LPs of all time ("Off the Wall...

The legendary Quincy Jones died at 91 years old. The music producer worked with greats like Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. He also had a soap opera connection. A song he produced aired on an episode of General Hospital.

Rest In Peace

People reported that Jones died on Sunday, November 3, at his home in Los Angeles. His family surrounded him as he passed. In a statement, his family said, “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.

“He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with...

Legendary music producer and composer Quincy Jones, who amassed 28 Grammy Award wins across his multi-decade career, died on Sunday at the age of 91.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the Jones family said in a statement obtained by our sister site Variety. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him. He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense...

Quincy Jones, the legendary musician and producer who amassed 28 competitive Grammys over his staggering career, has passed away. He was 91.

With collaborations with the likes of Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and countless others, it’s hard to put into words just what sort of legacy Quincy Jones left behind. Working consistently since the 1950s, Jones made his mark almost immediately on the music world, getting his start in Chicago before tagging along for a European tour where he could showcase his jazz talents.

But it was the 1960s when Quincy Jones truly emerged as an artist, not only producing Sinatra’s classic It Might as Well Be Swing album, but lending to film soundtracks as well. His breakout on that front was for Sidney Lumet’s The Pawnbroker, but it would be for In Cold Blood that Jones earned his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. He...

Quincy Jones, the musical giant who did it all as a record producer, film composer, multi-genre artist, entertainment executive and humanitarian, has died. He was 91.

Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said that he died Sunday night at his Bel-Air home surrounded by his family.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” his family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”

Jones received the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995, the Grammy Legend Award in 1991 and 28 Grammys from an all-time best 80 nominations. He was to be presented with an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards on Nov. 17.

Survivors include one of his seven children, actress Rashida Jones.

In a phenomenal career that spanned more than 60 years,...

“Save the Children,” an early ’70s concert film featuring many of that era’s biggest names in Black music, was in need of some saving itself. Although the documentary featured iconic stars like the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Bill Withers, the movie disappeared completely off the radar after being briefly released to theaters in 1973 by Paramount Pictures, never getting an authorized home-video release, let alone revival screenings. But salvation has come, with Netflix having picked up the doc to make it available to be seen for the first time in a half-century.

The two-hour film documents a concert that was put on in Chicago in 1972 to support Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Operation Push, with an all-star cast of performers that also included the Staple Singers, Roberta Flack, Isaac Hayes, Gladys Knight, the Tempations, Ramsey Lewis, Wilson Pickett, Sammy Davis Jr., Cannonball Adderley and Jerry Butler. Those who...

American comedy museum and archive the National Comedy Center has opened a new exhibit celebrating the legacy of legendary TV producer Norman Lear in civic engagement and comedy.

Lear’s life work is being honored with an online exhibit and a physical installation at the Comedy Center’s galleries in Jamestown, N.Y., both of which feature rare archival material and select excerpts from Lear’s sitcoms. Original artwork by Shepard Fairey courtesy of People for The American Way’s Artists for Democracy campaign, founded by Lear in 1981, will also be on display.

“My husband, Norman would be thrilled to know the National Comedy Center is using humor to shine a light on the importance of voting and defending democracy,” said Lyn Davis Lear. “From flying combat missions during World War II, to sharing the Declaration of Independence with our country, Norman fought his entire life to ensure all Americans...

Dick Van Dyke is a national treasure. For the better part of a century, the comedic actor has been entertaining audiences with his endlessly flexible physical comedy, his sunny personality, and his big heart. He makes everything he's in better, which means there's really no such thing as a bad Dick Van Dyke movie. Plenty of Van Dyke's films are crowd-pleasers, but only one was ever a certified, unanimously loved critic-pleaser -- at least according to Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie in question is "Divorce American Style," a comedy from sitcom producing powerhouse Bud Yorkin. Yorkin is best-known today as the producing partner of Norman Lear and one half of the team behind groundbreaking shows like "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," and "Maude." Four years before "All in the Family" hit the airwaves, though, Yorkin was seated in the director's chair for "Divorce American Style," a breakup comedy penned...

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, has announced its list of October titles. The Tubi October 2024 slate features new Tubi Originals and numerous action, art house, Black cinema, comedy, documentary, drama, horror, kids and family, romance, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller, and Western titles.

As a leading ad-supported video-on-demand service, the company engages diverse audiences through a personalized experience and the world’s largest content library: over 200,000 movies and TV episodes, a growing collection of Tubi Originals, and nearly 250 Fast channels.

You can watch the Tubi October 2024 lineup for free on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, and Cox Contour.

You can also watch the service on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on the Tubi site.

Tubi Originals

Documentary

Famously Haunted:...

Jerry Seinfeld was a successful, semi-famous comedian who lived in Manhattan apartment that probably measured about 800 square feet.

By contrast, Monica Geller and Rachel Green were, respectively, (in Friends‘ first season) a chef and a coffee shop waitress who lived in an apartment about four times the size of Jerry’s.

Oh, and their place was always spotlessly clean and impeccably decorated, to boot.

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

And don’t get us started on how much free time they had to hang out with their pals!

We’re obviously not the first ones to observe that Friends offered an escapist, proudly unrealistic portrayal of life in one of America’s most expensive cities.

And to the show’s credit, like Sex and the City, it at least made occasional mention of the characters’ financial struggles.

But these brief allusions usually took the form of jokes, or one-off,...

Love it or hate it, "Sanford and Son" is one of the most groundbreaking American sitcoms of all time. The NBC series about a widowed get-rich-quick schemer (Redd Foxx) living in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood with his adult son (Demond Wilson) was an undeniable hit during its run. It ushered in a Golden Age of Black family sitcoms thanks to dynamic performances, frank dialogue written from a working-class Black perspective, and its often uproarious scripts. It was such a ratings juggernaut that it's often credited for killing off its much more sanitized competition, "The Brady Bunch."

"It was a groundbreaking series," Eric Deggans wrote in a series retrospective for the official Emmys website, noting that "Before 'Good Times' and 'The Jeffersons' would make TV history with powerful stories focused on Black families, 'Sanford and Son' would explore the prickly relationship between a middle-aged Black man and his son.

Patt Shea, the Norman Lear regular who co-wrote the 1979 series finale of All in the Family and co-created and worked on two spinoffs of the fabled sitcom, Archie Bunker’s Place and Gloria, has died. She was 93.

Shea died April 12 of natural causes on her birthday at her home in Sherman Oaks, her son Michael Shea, a director and assistant director, told The Hollywood Reporter. The family chose to wait until this week to publicly announce her death.

“Patt Shea was a trailblazer in comedy writing,” Michael noted. “Her success as a writer in groundbreaking sitcoms was only matched by her generosity and compassion for people.”

Jack Shea, her husband of 59 years, died in 2013. He directed dozens of episodes of such Lear-connected sitcoms as The Jeffersons, Silver Spoons and Sanford and Son and served as president of the DGA from 1997-2002, part of a half-century of dedicated service to the guild.

Bob Newhart, the deadpan star of “The Bob Newhart” show, has passed away at the age of 94. The news of Newhart’s passing was announced by his longtime publicist Jerry Digney.

George Robert Newhart was born on September 5, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois. The young Newhart was raised Roman Catholic, with his sister Mary Joan becoming a nun later in life. He enrolled at Loyola University of Chicago and graduated with a bachelor’s in business management in 1952. He was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War until 1954. He attended Loyola University’s law school for a time but later dropped out. Newhart then worked as a clerk in an unemployment office and as an accountant.

In 1958, he took to being an advertising copywriter for a prominent Chicago film and television producer. In his free time he’d record scenarios and skits he’d utilize as audition tapes.

Al Schultz, a top CBS makeup artist for The Carol Burnett Show and several groundbreaking Norman Lear sitcoms including All in the Family and Good Times and was married to Vicki Lawrence for nearly 50 years, has died. He was 82.

His publicist said today that Schultz died June 19 at his home in Long Beach, CA, but did not give details.

Born Alvin Schultz in 1942 in Wisconsin, he moved to Los Angeles and found work in Hollywood as a camera dolly operator and grip before pivoting to become a makeup artist. He joined variety hit The Carol Burnett Show during its third season in 1969 and would work in its makeup department for more than 180 episodes through 1977.

It was there he met Lawrence, the show’s co-star and future Mama’s Family lead. They would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

Related: Norman Lear Remembered: Jennifer Aniston, Fran Drescher & Barbra Streisand Join...

Dallas actors have largely avoided tragic deaths, allowing fans to remember the original show fondly. Unlike other soap operas, Dallas has a manageable cast, making it easier for viewers to keep track of characters. Dallas characters, like J.R. Ewing played by Larry Hagman, have left a lasting impact on viewers.

Though the show premiered over four decades ago, there have thankfully not been a significant number of Dallas actors who have died. Dallas, the CBS prime-time soap opera, first premiered in 1978 and lasted until 1991 with 14 seasons centering on the Texas-set rivalry between sworn enemies the Ewing and Barnes families. As the series progresses, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) becomes the focal point of the story, but each character has plenty of screen time to make an impact.

Dallas was rebooted in 2012 for three seasons, but it's the original show that is so fondly remembered. Unlike similar soap operas,...

The cast of Sanford and Son may have passed away, but their legacy lives on with fantastic performances. Redd Foxx's portrayal of Fred Sanford is iconic, showcasing a wise yet brusque older gentleman with a big heart. The ensemble cast, including Lawanda Page and Don Bexley, brought depth and authenticity to the beloved show.

"Who passed away on Sanford and Son?" is what some nostalgic viewers may be wondering about the NBC sitcom from the '70s. Sanford and Son premiered in 1972 and ran for six seasons, ending in 1979, making the TV show 50 years old in 2022. It's based on the British series from a few years earlier, Steptoe and Son, but follows a Black father and son duo. The cantankerous and suspicious father, Fred Sanford, and his eponymous son, Lamont, run an antique/junk store from their home in Los Angeles while frequently dreaming up get-rich-quick schemes.

While not...

Norman Lear was not a man to shy away from controversy. If anything, he sprinted toward it, knowing that doing so would help open people’s minds to pervasive American issues related to discrimination, human rights, and more. Through his landmark sitcoms like “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Sanford and Son,” “One Day at a Time” (twice!), and “Good Times” (also twice!), Lear helped American families address thorny political and social topics by bringing those circumstances into their living rooms every week.

But one episode has long stood out as his most controversial: “Maude’s Dilemma,” a two-part episode airing in the first season, wherein the lead character (played by Bea Arthur) decides to get an abortion. At the time, abortions were legal in the state of New York (where Maude and her family lived), but the Roe v. Wade verdict was still two months away. CBS was wary about...

"Vanishing Point" isn't exactly a mainstream classic, but for a portion of moviegoers who like to see cars go fast and people do drugs, it's pretty much unmissable. Based on that description alone, it makes sense that the cult film's audience grew when it was directly referenced in Quentin Tarantino's 2007 road slasher film "Death Proof." Other directors who are major fans of the film include Edgar Wright and Steven Spielberg, who once told Entertainment Weekly it was one of his favorite movies.

The 1971 film didn't feature many stars, but did include a handful of actors who would become famous for other projects in the years following the film. Cleavon Little, who played radio DJ Super Soul in the film, went on to star in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" three years later, while actress Charlotte Rampling, who was Oscar nominated for her work in "45 Years" in 2016, apparently appeared as...

American TV bosses obviously didn’t learn many lessons from “Episodes,” the Showtime/BBC co-production which brilliantly skewered the habit of adapting British sitcoms, and removing all nuances, subtleties, and idiosyncrasies in the process. In the 13 years since its premiere, there’s been numerous failed pilots (“Spy”), ratings disasters (“Free Agents”), and entire series considered unfit for public consumption (“Us and Them”) which originated across the pond. Now the most singular UK comedy of the 2010s is going transatlantic.

The BAFTA-nominated “Friday Night Dinner” — which served up 37 episodes from 2011-2020 —stemmed from creator Robert Popper’s real-life secular Jewish family and their weekly Shabbat meals, explaining why everything from its suburban London home to its lovable oddballs feels so wonderfully specific. Disappointingly, Amazon Freevee’s “Dinner with the Parents” is as generic as its title.

The 10-part series on Freevee does attempt to retain some of the original’s quirks.

When Ranada Shepard first got the call to serve as showrunner and executive producer of an animated reboot of Good Times, it didn’t take her long to decide she was interested. The original Good Times, created by Mike Evans and Eric Montes and executive-produced by the late television legend Norman Lear, made history in the ’70s as television’s first Black two-parent family sitcom.

Shepard told Netflix, “Once Sony said ‘Good Times,’ ‘Norman Lear,’ I said, ‘Say less. I’m there.’”

Good Times, coming to Netflix on April 12, is also executive-produced by Stephen Curry, Lear, and Seth MacFarlane. It’s a spiritual sequel of sorts to the live-action original, centering on the fourth generation of the Evans family living in apartment 17C of a Chicago housing project. Lear, who produced groundbreaking sitcoms The Jeffersons, Maude, Sanford and Son, and All in the Family, made pivotal...

There wasn't a more popular or influential (or controversial) sitcom in the 1970s than "All in the Family." Created by Norman Lear, the series was a stingingly hilarious satire of American attitudes as the country adjusted to the post-Civil Rights Movement era and coped with the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War.

The genius of "All in the Family" was Lear's ability to make every single one of his main characters behave ridiculously without becoming full-on caricatures. Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) was an unrepentant bigot, his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) was a well-meaning ditz, his daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) was a work-in-progress idealist who went from dopey to fairly sharp as the series progressed, and his son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic represented everything Archie hated about liberals in one preachy package. We all saw a bit of ourselves and the people we have no choice but to call family in the Bunkers, and...

Steve Lawrence, the singer who teamed with his wife Eydie Gormé to form one of the most popular nightclub and concert duos of their generation, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease today. He was 88.

His son, the composer and performer David Lawrence, said in a press statement, “My Dad was an inspiration to so many people. But, to me, he was just this charming, handsome, hysterically funny guy who sang a lot. Sometimes alone and sometimes with his insanely talented wife. I am so lucky to have had him as a father and so proud to be his son. My hope is that his contributions to the entertainment industry will be remembered for many years to come.”

Popularly know as Steve and Eydie, the couple achieved nationwide recognition in the mid-1950s after appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen. They continued performing together until Gormé’s retirement...

Steve Lawrence, the charismatic Grammy- and Emmy-winning crooner who delighted audiences for decades in nightclubs, on concert stages and in film and television appearances, died Thursday. He was 88.

Lawrence, who partnered in a popular act with his wife of 55 years, the late Eydie Gormé, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, a publicidst announced.

With his boyish good looks, silky voice and breezy personality, Lawrence broke into show business when he won a talent competition on Arthur Godfrey’s CBS show and signed with King Records as a teenager. The singer chose to stay old school and resist the allure of rock ‘n’ roll.

“It didn’t attract me as much,” Lawrence once said. “I grew up in a time period when music was written by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and Sammy Cahn and Julie Stein.

Theme songs from the 1970s were catchy and memorable, with iconic musicians adding to their popularity. Shows like Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons used music to convey their themes and messages effectively. The Muppet Show and Mission: Impossible had enduring theme songs that have continued to be loved by audiences.

The 1970s was a great time for TV theme songs and across action, crime, comedy, and family sitcoms, had some of the best music ever heard on television. With a focus on funk, rock, and pop, the best theme tunes of the decade became so entrenched in popular culture that many people today would still recognize them, even without ever having watched the original series. In an age before streaming and the widespread availability of television on demand, a memorable theme tune with a catchy hook was essential to remaining in viewers' memory in between episodes.

From funk instrumentals...

As we say goodbye to January and look forward to February, now is a great time to be a subscriber to Peacock as not only is the NBCUniversal streaming service home to great movies and buzzy originals, but it also is offering collections of films and TV series to celebrate the month. For Valentine’s Day, Peacock has more than 30 new titles, including “Dear John,” “Bros”, “Girls Trip,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “The Wedding Date.” The NBCU streamer will also honor Black History Month by featuring new classics like “Bel-Air,” “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” and “Nope,” as well as timeless favorites like “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Sanford & Son,” and “Good Times.”

Peacock will also host a large swath of sporting events from multiple WWE Premium Live Events to the Six Nations Rubgy Tournament, Big Ten Men’s and Women’s basketball, and more.

Viewers were left baffled on Monday, January 15, when the 2023 Emmy Awards left several stars out of the show’s emotional In Memoriam tribute. The segment, which pays tribute to stars who passed away since the previous year’s (September 2022) ceremony, honored the likes of Norman Lear, Angela Lansbury, and Andre Braugher. As such, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers introduced the segment in light of the recent loss of Lear, the pioneering producer renowned for creating groundbreaking series like their All in the Family, as well as Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Good Times. As the presentation started, several stars appeared to the tune of Charlie Puth‘s “See You Again,” which shifted to a special tribute to Matthew Perry accompanied by the theme song of Friends. Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Richard Belzer, Treat Williams, and Angus Cloud were also honored alongside Lance Reddick. However, there were still some snubs,...

The Emmys 2023 In Memoriam segment was bound to be a tear-jerker, and boy, did they deliver.

The tribute opened with All in the Family alum Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner, who stood in the Bunkers’ beloved living room as they honored creator Norman Lear. The pioneering producer, who was also behind iconic series like The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, and Good Times, died at 101 last month.

Charlie Puth then appeared on piano to perform his hit “See You Again,” backed by singers and a string arrangement. The slideshow of tributes included Euphoria star Angus Cloud,...

Aaron Spelling did not try to license Degrassi Junior High before creating Beverly Hills 90210. Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High was a popular Canadian prime time soap opera about high school students. The soap opera format of Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High had a major influence on shows like Beverly Hills 90210, but there was no direct connection between the shows.

TV Urban Legend: Aaron Spelling tried to license Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High for the United States television market and created Beverly Hills 90210 instead when his licensing attempt failed.

Television history is filled with examples of American producers adapting hit shows from other countries into successful shows here, like All in the Family (Till Death Us Do Part), Sanford and Son (Steptoe and Son), and Three's Company (Man About the House). That tradition continues to this day with hit shows like Ghosts (based on the British series of...

Norman Lear, who recently passed away at the age of 101, transformed the network television sitcom in the 1970s by confronting America's cultural contentiousness head-on and daring viewers to laugh at a bigot like Archie Bunker on "All in the Family" or the white-folks-hating George Jefferson on "The Jeffersons." People were more than ready to accept this challenge. "All in the Family" was the top-rated show on television for six of its nine seasons, while "The Jeffersons" ranked in the top 10 for four of its remarkable 11 seasons. Along with "Good Times," "Sanford and Son," "Maude," "One Day at a Time" and "Diff'rent Strokes," Lear basically dominated the decade. It was a creative hot streak that's never been matched and one that Lear could never replicate.

After the 1978 premiere of "Diff'rent Strokes," Lear went ice cold. "The Baxters" and "Palmerstown, USA" only hung around for two seasons, while "Hanging In" and "aka...

The cause of death of groundbreaking TV producer Norman Lear has been revealed, two weeks after his death at 101.

The creator of All in the Family died on Dec. 5 from cardiopulmonary arrest (a.k.a. cardiac arrest), according to a death certificate obtained by TMZ. Congestive heart failure is listed as an underlying cause on the certificate from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Lear died at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by family. “Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him,” his family wrote in a statement.

Chicago – In his humility, Norman Lear liked to express that he was “just another version of you.” In our humanity, we are different renderings, but all related, as the titan of TV philosophically said. Norman Lear died at his home in Los Angeles on December 5th, 2023. He was 101 years old.

In 2015, Lear was lecturing at the Art Institute of Chicago, and I was privileged to get the opportunity to talk to him for a brief but significant amount of time. If the goal is to seek truth, there is no better guru. As an influencer on our times, Norman Lear is a cultural juggernaut, yet his humility is a driving force of his connection to his fellow humans, and he lived to connect to others.

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Photo credit: Music Box Films

Lear is the embodiment of television history, having worked in the medium since its advent in the 1950s.

Tributes continue to pour in after the death this week of 101-year-old television pioneer Norman Lear.

Amid the celebration of and reflection on his towering legacy, a present-day realization has dawned about Lear’s singular catalog, which includes shows like All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Maude. With the exception of Sanford & Son and Good Times on Peacock and 227 on Hulu, no Lear-created show can be accessed on a subscription streaming outlet. Instead, some shows can be purchased for download and many stream on free, ad-supported services like Pluto, Freevee and Tubi.

Joe Adalian brought up the void Thursday in his Buffering newsletter for Vulture, noting that Lear shows like the trailblazing Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman are completely Mia.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, which controls rights to Lear’s catalog, declined to comment to Deadline on the streaming presence of his shows. The company’s CEO, Tony Vinciquerra,...

Tributes have been pouring in following the death of Norman Lear Tuesday at the age of 101. CBS, home to the majority of Lear’s classic sitcoms, will celebrate the television legend’s extraordinary career with Norman Lear: A Life on Television special, set to air Friday, December 8 at 8 pm on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Presented by Entertainment Tonight, the one-hour special, hosted by Nischelle Turner, features interviews with stars of the long-running comedies Lear created, including Jimmie Walker from Good Times and Mackenzie Phillips from One Day At A Time, in addition to never-before-seen interviews from the Et vault. The special also includes Lear’s interview with Et host Kevin Frazier when he celebrated his 100th birthday.

In addition to Good Times and One Day At A Time, Lear’s iconic sitcoms on CBS included Sanford And Son (1972-1977), All in the Family (1971-1979), The Jeffersons (1975-1977) and Maude...

One of the highlights in the final chapter of Norman Lear’s legendary career were the Live In Front Of a Studio Audience specials recreating episodes from his classic sitcoms. He executive produced them with Jimmy Kimmel, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) together while also developing a close friendship.

On Wednesday night, hours after news broke that Lear had died Tuesday night at the age of 101, Kimmel opened his ABC late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live with a moving tribute to his idol and friend.

“Norman was the genius who brought us some of the greatest television shows and characters of all time,” a visibly emotional Kimmel said, listing some of Lear’s most famous series, including All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Maude, The Facts of Life; Diff’Rent Strokes; Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Fernwood Tonight.

“He...

Updated: NBC and Fox posted online the in memoriam card they broadcast tonight in tribute to TV icon Norman Lear. The CW aired the tribute during the Republican Debate. CBS and ABC also committed to airing the tribute. See it below.

Thanks for making us all family. pic.twitter.com/ZUjRhCNZ0U

— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) December 7, 2023

Previously at 1 p.m.: Broadcast owes a debt of gratitude to Norman Lear, so they’re going to show it tonight.

In recognition of Lear’s accomplishments and influence across television, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and The CW will simulcast an on-air in memoriam card tonight at 8:00 Pm, Et/Pt to honor the late legendary TV writer and producer.

Lear died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 101.

The Uber-producer’s series were icons on broadcast TV. All in the Family aired on CBS for nine seasons,...

The great Norman Lear died on Dec. 5 at the age of 101. Over his eight-decade career in showbiz, the television wizard developed more than 100 shows, many of which presented a more idealistic vision for America: All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes. Lear’s shows tackled hot-button issues — including racism, sexuality, misogyny, and abortion with brutal honesty — thrusting important conversations into the cultural zeitgeist, while remaining entertaining and funny.

There will never be another Norman Lear, and on the day of his death,...

Usually, if you’re a news organization that deals in entertainment, you have material prepared in advance to honor icons of your industry – an obituary, an appreciation, something. But I didn’t prepare anything about Norman Lear even as he passed his 100th birthday last year and then his 101st this past July because it seemed inconceivable he could ever die. He would just glide around beneath his signature porkpie hat forever, reassuring the masses that everything was right with the world because he was still in it.

But now that Lear is gone – he died Tuesday night in his sleep – it’s time to give the man who produced “All in the Family,” and “Sanford and Son,” and “The Jeffersons,” and “Maude,” and “Good Times,” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and “One Day at a Time” his due. The thing is, it’s not really possible to adequately describe...

“I loved Norman Lear with all my heart,” filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner posted on X.

Tributes have been pouring in for Norman Lear, the legendary producer, writer and political activist who died at his Los Angeles home from natural causes on Tuesday, aged 101.

Every major broadcast network in the US took the rare steop of simultaneously airing an in memoriam card in Lear’s honour on Wednesday evening.

“I loved Norman Lear with all my heart,” filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner, who played Michael “Meathead” Stivic in Lear’s seminal 1970s sitcom All In The Family, posted on X.

I truly think Norman Lear would have appreciated — and perhaps been a bit embarrassed by — The Hollywood Reporter headline acknowledging his passing.

“Norman Lear, Sitcom Genius and Citizen Activist, Dies at 101.”

The “genius” part simply expresses what’s hardest to capture when it comes to Norman Lear, whose roster of mostly broadcast sitcoms encompasses the best and brightest comedies of the past 50 years. These indelible shows stretch across multiple generations. Their very names conjure not individual moments or episodes, but an entire and wide-ranging ethos of laughter and perspective on the world around us. All in the Family. Sanford and Son. The Jeffersons. Maude. Good Times. One Day at a Time, both the original and the Cuban-American Netflix remake.

What’s hardest when it comes to Lear is perhaps finding a word or a set of words that distill the extent of his gifts, and “genius” fits like one of his signature boat hats.

Hollywood is taking to social media to honor late TV and film icon Norman Lear, who died at age 101 on December 5.

Lear created ’70s boundary-breaking sitcoms “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,” and “The Jeffersons,” as well as produced films like “Stand By Me” and “The Princess Bride.” Lear’s family confirmed the screen titan’s passing of natural causes, sharing, “It is with profound sadness and love that we announce the passing of Norman Lear, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Norman passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.”

Actors, producers, and more industry leaders paid tribute to Lear. George Clooney said in a press statement, “It’s hard to reconcile that at 101 years old, Norman Lear is gone too soon. The entire world of reason just lost its greatest advocate and our family lost a dear friend.