Alcon Entertainment
Despite it being December with Christmas just around the corner, several decades saw some major new programming this week across networks, cable and streaming. 1965 saw the debut of two game shows that would have long runs and become classics, with one having a momentary bit of very dark history. 1975 saw the network debut of a Norman Lear sitcom that also had a long run, and was rebooted fifty years later. 2005 produced a controversial cable animated program, and a big money primetime game show that ran for multiple seasons across a major network, Syndication and Cable TV. Among the 2015 premieres were a highly regarded science fiction series that had a home on cable and streaming, and an animated series based on its creators stand-up comedy. Scroll down to see all of the shows that premiered this week and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1955
- No new series premiered this week in 1955.
1965
Barris Industries
- December 20 – The Dating Game (ABC, Eight seasons, last broadcast on July 6, 1973)
- December 20 – Supermarket Sweep (ABC, Two seasons, last broadcast on July 14, 1967)
Though The Dating Game ended on ABC in July 1973, the show carried on in Syndication for one more year as The New Dating Game. It has since been revived four times to date, from 1978-1980, 1986-1989 and 1996-1999, all in Syndication, with a single season, The Celebrity Dating Game, in 2021 on ABC. Jim Lange hosted the entire original ABC run, as well as the 1973 and 1978 Syndicated editions. Elaine Joyce hosted the 1986 revival in its first season, with Jeff MacGregor taking over for the remaining two seasons. Brad Sherwood hosted the first season of the 1996 revival with a format change, with Chuck Woolery hosting the final two seasons which reverted back to the original format. The show was often paired with The Newlywed Game in Syndication, and the 1996 revivals of both shows were sold to stations as The Dating/Newlywed Hour. The original series was broadcast in black-and-white until a primetime version launched in color in 1966, making the daytime version the first ABC daytime series to be broadcast regularly in color. The show featured contestants before they became famous, including Farrah Fawcett, Suzanne Somers, Yvonne Craig, Lindsay Wagner, Leif Garrett, Tom Selleck, Lee Majors, the Carpenters, Jackson Bostwick, Michael Richards, Joanna Cameron, Andy Kaufman in his Foreign Man persona (under the pseudonym Baji Kimran), Steve Martin, Burt Reynolds, John Ritter, Phil Hartman, Jennifer Granholm (governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2010), and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Some contestants appeared on the show after they had gained fame including Michael Jackson, Burton Cummings, Dusty Springfield, Ron Howard, Maureen McCormick, Barry Williams, Sally Field, Richard Dawson, Jay North, Ted Bessell, Angela Cartwright, and Paul Lynde. Rodney Alcala appeared on the show at the same time he was on a killing spree in Los Angeles. He was selected by the bachelorette, but she ultimately refused to go out with him because she found him ‘creepy’. Fellow bachelor Jed Mills described him as ‘a very strange guy’ with ‘bizarre opinions’. Unlike game shows of the era, it is assumed the entire ABC run exists in its entirety. Various episodes from the ABC daytime version have aired on Game Show Network.
Supermarket Sweep was revived on the Lifetime network from February 5, 1990 to June 16, 1995, the PAX network from April 5, 1999 to May 23, 2003, and on ABC from October 18, 2020 to January 30, 2022. The 1960s Supermarket Sweep was broadcast from Food Fair supermarkets, mostly around New York City. For the Lifetime version, a mock supermarket was created at Hollywood Center Studios. The show’s most famous host, Dave Ruprecht, was the Lifetime/PAX version host.
1975
T.A.T. Communications Company
- December 16 – One Day at a Time (CBS, Nine seasons, 209 episodes)
One Day at a Time was created by husband-and-wife writing duo Allan Manings and Whitney Blake. Both had been actors, with Blake most famous for her role as Dorothy Baxter on the 1960s sitcom Hazel. The show was based on Blake’s own life as a single mother raising her three children (including daughter Meredith Baxter) after her divorce. Two pilots were produced, with the first one shot under the title Three to Get Ready. The mother, Ann Romano, only had one daughter and worked as a nurse in that version. The concept was reworked and the second pilot sold. Polly Cutter sang the theme song, ‘This Is It’. Bonnie Franklin, Pat Harrington Jr., and Valerie Bertinelli were the only cast members to remain with the series throughout its entire run. Mackenzie Phillips was fired after the fifth season due to growing problems with substance abuse. She later returned in a frequent recurring role, but was let go again shortly after the start of the final season. Richard Masur was written out early in Season 2, but returned in a guest role in the Season 6 finale. Masur had played a love interest for Franklin’s character. Mary Louise Wilson replaced Masur as neighbor Ginny Wroblicki, a comedic foil for Ann, but ratings declined with her arrival and the character was unpopular with viewers. Wilson herself did not like the character, or the dramatic moral dilemma the character was given — each character had to have some moral dilemma — and she did not get along with Franklin. After 14 episodes, Normal Lear released her from her contract at her own request, and the character was never spoken of again save for a Season 5 retrospective episode. Recurring characters filled the vacancy for the next two seasons, including Joseph Campanella as Ann’s ex-husband and the girls’ father. Michael Lembeck joined in Season 5 as Julie’s husband, but was written out after Phillips was fired. He did return in Season 7 with Phillips. Ron Rifkin and Glenn Scarpelli joined the series, with Rifkin’s Nick becoming Ann’s boyfriend before the character was killed off in a car accident. Scarpelli, as Nick’s son Alex, remained with the family for the next two seasons. Shelley Fabares went from guest star to regular, and Nanette Fabray, as Ann’s mother, made more appearances before becoming a regular in Season 9. Howard Hesseman joined the series for a short time and became Ann’s second husband. Phillips was fired again in the final season due to her erratic behavior, her character still referred to but not seen, with Lembeck remaining on the show as her husband. Pat Harrington won a Golden Globe in 1980 and an Emmy in 1984 for Outstanding Supporting Actor as building super Schneider. Valerie Bertinelli won Supporting Actress Emmys in 1981 and 1982. Alan Rafkin won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series in 1982. The main cast, including Phillips, reunited for a retrospective special in 2005, with various cast members also sharing their thoughts about the show in interviews. Franklin, Phillips, Bertinelli, and Harrington reunited once again on the Today show in February 2008. Franklin made a guest appearance on Bertinelli’s TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland in 2011, one of her last acting jobs before her death in 2013. Phillips and Harrington also made individual appearances on the show. The show was remade for Netflix in 2017 with a Latino cast. Phillips had a recurring role on the show as a drug and alcohol counselor. Scarpelli guested in one episode and Lembeck directed a Season 1 episode.
1985
- No new series premiered this week in 1985.
1995
- No new series premiered this week in 1995.
2005
ShadowMachine
- December 15 – Celebrity Eye Candy (VH1, Two seasons)
- December 18 – Moral Orel (Adult Swim, Three seasons, 43 episodes, 1 special)
- December 19 – Deal or No Deal (NBC/Syndication/CNBC, Eight seasons, 605 episodes)
Celebrity Eye Candy was a weekly recap show of paparazzi photos and videos with an unseen host. After mediocre ratings, the show was pulled in July 26, and returned in February 2007 on a sporadic basis.
Moral Orel was a stop motion animated series that satirized American suburban life and religious fundamentalism. The final season shifted from black comedy to nihilistic and bleak psychological drama. The final season was aired interspersed with repeats from the first two seasons, as many of the episodes took place in parallel with events of past episodes. Before the series was cancelled, Season 3 was to have 20 episodes but was cut to 13, and there were plans for two more seasons with the show evolving into a new series titled Moralton, which would revolve around the citizens of the town as a whole. Adult Swim aired Season 1 out of order, confusing viewers, especially as the series premiere was meant to be the Season 1 finale which resolved several story arcs and ended on a cliffhanger. Three other episodes were delayed because the network’s Standards & Practices Department felt they were too dark and sexually explicit. They were all eventually approved.
Deal or No Deal was based on the Dutch game show of the same name. Howie Mandel hosted the US version. NBC originally aired four seasons of the show until 2010, then revived it for a fifth in 2018. The daily syndicated version debuted on September 8, 2008, running for two seasons. The show debuted on CNBC on December 5, 2018 and ran for one season. The CNBC revival changed the Banker to a female, and Mandel communicated with her using an iPhone instead of a wireless phone. The show employed 68 models over the course of its first five seasons, the most famous being Meghan Markle during the second season. 39 models appeared on just one season of the show, while two — Megan Abrigo and Patricia Kara — appeared on all five NBC seasons. The original pilot for the show was produced for ABC in early 2004, with Irish TV personality Patrick Kielty as host, with a top prize of $2.5 million.
2015
McNamara Moving Company
- December 14 – The Expanse (Syfy/Prime Video, Six seasons, 62 episodes)
- December 16 – The Magicians (Syfy, Five seasons, 65 episodes)
- December 18 – F Is for Family (Netflix, Five seasons, 44 episodes)
- December 18 – Making a Murderer (Netflix, Two seasons, 20 episodes)
The Expanse aired on Syfy for three seasons, and Amazon acquired the show and produced three more seasons. After Syfy cancelled the series, a petition appeared online, gathering over 100,000 signatures. Fans lobbied Netflix and Amazon to pick up the show. Celebrities including Wil Wheaton, George R.R. Martin and Patton Oswalt supported the campaign. The company producing the series, Alcon Entertainment, has regarded the end of Season 6 as a pause rather than a conclusion. The show was praised for its scientific accuracy with depictions of stealth technology, uncontrolled decompression, the vacuum of space and spacecraft propulsion singled out.
The Magicians was first developed for the FOX television network, with a pilot by X-Men: First Class co-writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. The pilot was redeveloped with new writers and presented to Syfy, which gave the greenlight and ordered a 13-episode first season.
F Is for Family is an animated series created by Bill Burr and Michael Price, based on Burr’s stand-up comedy. The voice cast included Burr, Laura Dern, Justin Long, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Michael Richardson, David Koechner, Gary Cole, John DiMaggio, Allison Janney, Jonathan Banks, Phil LaMarr, Cree Summer and Danny Burstein. Guests included Kurtwood Smith, Carol Kane, Amy Sedaris, Will Sasso, Meil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone. Mo Collins and Kevin Michael Richardson were Emmy nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Making a Murderer was a documentary series centered around the wrongful conviction of Steven Avery for sexual assault, for which he served 18 years and was exonerated by DNA evidence, followed by a second murder charge for which his nephew, Brendan Dassey, was also accused and convicted as an accessory. Avery assertes the murder charge was a set-up because of his civil case against the county for his previous incarceration, and Dassey’s lawyers claim his confession was coerced. Both were sentenced to life in prison, with Dassey, who was 17 at the time, eligible for parole in 2048. The first season was filmed over a period of ten years. Season 2 follows the aftermath of the convictions and the attempts to have them overturned. The series received six Emmy nominations for its first season, winning four including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, as well as Directing, Writing and Editing.