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All but two decades rolled out Summer programming this week, even the very earliest of the decades. One notable 1955 series inspired another series on another network that had a much longer run, and a 1965 music series did not match the success of the series from which it was spun-off. 1995 gave us an HBO TV movie, and 2005 had an MTV sketch comedy show. 2015 had two cable series, with one of them garnering critical praise for many of its elements. Scroll down to see the shows that premiered this week, and tell us if you remember any of these shows. Are any of your favorites celebrating milestone anniversaries this week?
1955
- June 25 – The Soldiers (NBC, One season, 11 episodes)
- June 27 – Wide Wide World (NBC, Three seasons, 59 episodes)
- June 28 – Talent Varieties (ABC, One season, last broadcast on November 1, 1955)
The Soldiers marked the first starring role for Hal March in a TV series. March and co-star Tom D’Andrea previously appeared in these same roles on the NBC anthology series, The Colgate Comedy Hour. The series did not find an audience, so D’Andrea returned to his role on the sitcom The Life of Riley, and March became host of The $64,000 Question.
Wide Wide World was a live documentary series airing on Saturday afternoons before moving to primetime in October 1955. Dave Garroway was the host. The show was introduced on an episode of Producer’s Showcase. The fourth episode featured the first live broadcast from a movie set, William Wylse’s Friendly Persuasion. The series served as the inspiration for ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
Talent Varieties was a live country music talent show, and was a Summer replacement series for Cavalcade of America hosted by Slim Wilson. ABC shifted the show’s time in September 1955 to briefly replace Break the Bank. The show was simulcast on ABC Radio under the title Talent Round-Up, which aired an additional half hour after the TV broadcast. The program originated from the Jewell Theatre in Springfield, Missouri, home to ABC’s Ozark Jubilee.
1965
- June 28 – Where the Action Is (ABC, Two seasons, 459 episodes)
Where the Action Is was a daily music variety series that was a spin-off of American Bandstand. Linda Scott and Steve Alaimo hosted, with Dick Clark’s voice heard doing artist introductions. He also did the occasional filmed interview. Keith Allison and Laura Nyro also appeared. The show first aired at 2:00 PM, but was successful enough with young audiences to be moved to 4:30 PM following Dark Shadows, which also drew in a younger audience. The show’s theme song, ‘Action’, was a hit for Freddy ‘Boom Boom’ Cannon. Paul Revere and the Raiders served as the de facto house band. When they departed in 1966, they were replaced by The Robbs and The Hard Times. After the show was cancelled, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders hosted Happening ’68, a Saturday afternoon follow-up to American Bandstand, and a weekday version of the show titled It’s Happening.
1975
- No new series premiered this week in 1975.
1985
- No new series premiered this week in 1985.
1995
- June 24 – The Infiltrator (HBO, TV movie)
The Infiltrator was based on the book In Hitler’s Shadow: An Israeli’s Journey Inside Germany’s Neo-Nazi Movement by Yaron Svoray and Nick Taylor. It was the final film produced by HBO Showcase before it was renamed HBO NYC Productions in 1996. Oliver Platt, Arliss Howard, Alan King, Julian Glover and Alex Kingston starred.
2005
- June 26 – The Andy Milonakis Show (MTV, Three seasons, 22 episodes)
The Andy Milonakis Show was a sketch comedy series that also included animated segments and a celebrity guest in the final segment. Guest stars included Biz Markie, Vanessa Lachey, John Stamos, Black Eyed Peas, Carson Daly, Nick Cannon, The All-American Rejects, Seth Green, Jimmy Kimmel, Shaun White, Hilary Duff, Sarah Silverman, Akon, Paul Reubens and Bow Wow.
2015
Leggero/Lindhome Productions
- June 23 – Another Period (Comedy Central, Three seasons, 32 episodes)
- June 24 – Mr. Robot (USA Network, Four seasons, 45 episodes)
- June 25 – Boom! (FOX, One season, 10 episodes)
- June 26 – Best Friends Whenever (Disney Channel, Two seasons, 30 episodes)
Another Period was a comedy series that was intended to spoof reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and drama series Downton Abbey. While a fictional series, episodes often featured real-life historical figures like Leon Trotsky, Hitler, Scott Joplin, Harriet Tubman, Charlie Chaplin, Mark Twain, Einstein, William Howard Taft, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Houdini, Helen Keller and Thomas Edison.
The pilot for Mr. Robot debut first online and on demand on May 27, 2015. The show was created by Sam Esmail, who directed three Season 1 episodes, and all episodes from Season 2 until the finale. Esmail was partially inspired to create the series by the 2011 Arab Spring, where young people who were angry at society used social media to bring about a change. He’s also said the main character Elliot is a thinly-veiled version of himself. He had intended to make Mr. Robot as a feature film, but while writing the script it had begun to expand and was better suited for a TV series. He shopped a pilot to various outlets and USA Network gave an order in July 2014. Following weeks of searching for an actor to play Elliot, Rami Malek was cast in September 2014 with the rest of the roles cast by the end of October. The series was renewed for a second season before Season 1 premiered in June, following the pilot launch in May. The show has been praised by cybersecurity firms for its technical accuracy, and by psychologists for its accurate representation of mental health issues. Esmail credited Fight Club as the inspiration for a main character who has dissociative identity disorder. He even uses the same song from the film’s climax, ‘Where Is My Mind?’, in Episode 9 to clue the audience in that he is aware of the inspiration taken from the film. The series was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards during its run, winning Best Television Series – Drama and Best Supporting Actor (Christian Slater) in 2016. It also received 14 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Malek) and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in 2016, and Outstanding Interactive Extension of a Linear Program in 2020.
Boom! is a general-knowledge quiz show where three players must correctly answer questions in order to defuse bombs. The program’s stage utilizes 3D projection mapping featuring more than one million LEDs.