Showtime
It’s not technically summer yet, but the ‘summer doldrums’ are creeping on to the networks’ schedules where reruns are the order of the day. Occasionally one of the ‘Big Three’ networks (back in the day when there were only three networks … imagine that!) would trot at a new variety series for the summer (and if it was successful enough could get a regular season run), but most of the new summer programming was coming from cable in the 90s. This week gave us the debut of a series that ran for several seasons and is very highly regarded, as well as a reality comedy series that is still on the air. Did — or do — you watch any of this week’s new series?
1959
- No new series premiered this week in 1959.
1969
- June 7 — Musical variety series The Johnny Cash Show gets a summer run on ABC. Taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville — then the home of The Grand Ole Opry — the series was hosted by the country legend who opened each episode with his signature ‘Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.’ The series featured a cast of regulars including Cash’s wife June Carter Cash, The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers (who offered some comic relief), Carl Perkins and The Tennessee Three. Guests on the series included Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Merle Haggard, James Taylor, Tammy Wynette and Louis Armstron (who died eight months after his appearance on the show). The summer run of the show was an hour-long format that ABC used as a replacement for The Hollywood Palace. Cash was given a large degree of freedom but he had to accept some compromise as well by welcoming network designated guests like Bob Hope, George Gobel, Kirk Douglas, Burl Ives, Peggy Lee and Lorne Greene, who also satisfied the show’s sponsors. The show included a ‘Country Gold’ segment which gave legendary performers rarely seen on TV a spotlight. Cash did run up against some network anxieties though. He refused to cut the word ‘stoned’ from the song ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’, he stood by his Christian faith, and he booked folk singer Pete Seeger who had already caused a firestorm on ‘another network’ (CBS’s The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour) with his anti-Vietnam War song ‘Waist Deep in the Big Muddy’. During one taping, Cash began the show as normal but was interrupted by his wife who brought out a special guest, Ralph Edwards. Cash then realized they were taping an episode of Edwards’ show This is Your Life. The first season ended on May 13, 1970. A second season debuted on September 23, 1970, but due to the implementation of the Prime Time Access Rule, which turned over the 7:30 PM time slot to local broadcasters, the show was cancelled (it was also a victim of what was called the ‘rural purge’ in which shows with rural followings like The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Hee-Haw on CBS were cancelled despite their popularity). The last episode aired March 31, 1971 after 58 episodes. CBS did ‘revive’ the series for a four week summer run in 1976 as Johnny Cash and Friends, which was taped at the newly constructed Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The show featured more comedy with Steve Martin and Jim Varney appearing as regulars, and June Carter Cash performed comedy routines as her ‘Aunt Polly’ character. Following the four week run, the annual Johnny Cash Christmas Special was launched in 1976 with specials airing almost every year untill 1985.
1979
- No new series premiered this week in 1979.
1989
- No new series premiered this week in 1989.
1999
- June 5 — Nightly magazine/interview/variety series The X Show premieres on the FX Network. The series was geared towards male viewers, a TV equivalent of Maxim magazine. The series started with an hour-long format but was reduced to 30 minutes. Hosts and contributors to the series included Mark DeCarlo, Berglind Icey, Craig Jackson, Chris Gore, Jillian Barberie, Ari Sandel, Ava Cadell and Daphne Brogdon. The series was airing at about the same time as several other male-themed series like The Man Show and was considered, in some critical circles, as the least offensive of the bunch. The show ended in April 2001.
2009
- June 4 — With the popularity of Talk Soup on rival network E!, Comedy Central launched its own viral video series Tosh.0 hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides commentary on video clips with the addition of pre-taped comedy bits that usually featured a subject of one of the viral videos played on the show. The show was only scheduled for a 10-episode run, but with over a million viewers each week, the show became the second-most watched cable series in its time slot, prompting the network to order six additional episodes. Comedy Central renewed the series for a second full season of 25 episodes in December 2009. Seasons 3-10 consisted of 30 episodes. An 11th season debuted on March 19, 2019.
- June 7 — Reality series Kendra premieres on the E! cable network, the first spin-off of The Girls Next Door which documented the lived of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and his live-in girlfriends. The new series focused on model Kendra Wilkinson as she leaves the Playboy Mansion to live on her own for the first time, now in a relationship with Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Hank Baskett. The new show followed their engagement, marriage and birth of their son Hank Jr. When head of E! programming Bnnie Hammer announced the network would be moving away from the ‘trashier’ Playboy element, Kendra parted ways with the network, bringing an end to the show on November 20, 2011 after four seasons and 45 episodes. We TV was interested in Kendra and Hank’s story and picked up the series as Kendra On Top in mid-2012. That show ran until 2017.
- June 8 — Showtime’s medical drama/black comedy Nurse Jackie premieres. The series starred Edie Falco in her first regular series role since The Sopranos ended on HBO in 2007. Falco played Jackie Peyton, a ‘strong-willed, iconoclastic New York City nurse juggling the frenzied grind of an urban hospital and an equally challenging personal life,’ who had a weakness for Vicodin, Percocet and Xanax that helped get her though the day. The main cast included Eve Best (Seasons 1-5), Merritt Wever (1-7), Haaz Sleiman (1), Paul Schulze (1-7), Peter Facinelli (1-7), Dominic Fumusa (2-7), Anna Deavere Smith (2-7), Ruby Jerins (3-7), Bobby Cannavale (4-5), Morris Chestnut (5-6) and Betty Gilpin (6-7). Recurring cast members included Michael Buscemi (as God), Jake Cannavale (Bobby’s son), Laura Benanti, Julie White, Tony Shalhoub and Mark Feuerstein. The show was met with controversy when the New York State Nurses Association decried the unethical behavior of the title character, concerned about the negative impression her actions would give viewers. At the end of the show’s final season, the inteintionally ambiguous last shot left viewers to ponder whether Jackie had lived or died — did her eyes open? — after a drug overdose. The series also courted more controversy when Falco won an Emmy as Lead Actress in a Comedy Series where Falco exclaimed, ‘I’m not funny!’ and saying she felt her performance was dramatic. Critics and even the show’s writers questioned the placement of the series in the ‘Comedy’ category, calling for an overhaul for the Emmy’s to include a ‘Comedy-Drama/Dramedy’ category. The show did end up winning five Emmys — in the Comedy category — in 2010, 2013 and 2014. The series ended on June 28, 2015 after seven seasons and 80 episodes.
Do you watch any of these show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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