Aside from a stretch in the ’60s, neither Georgia nor any other Southern state has been on the minds of TV programmers very much. But there are some notable exceptions to the medium’s aversion to drawls:
“The Ford Show” (1956-61, NBC). Tennessee Ernie Ford sang country, pop and gospel tunes, did comedy sketches and blessed viewers’ “pea-pickin’ hearts.”
“The Real McCoys” (1957-63, ABC). Grandpappy Amos (Walter Brennan) headed a West Virginia family farming in the San Fernando Valley.
“The Andy Griffith Show” (1960-68, CBS) and “Mayberry, RFD” (1968-71, CBS). Mayberry, N.C., became America’s hometown, and a lot of people believe Griffith’s show is the most perfectly realized and sustained sitcom ever.
The Hooterville Triology (1962-71, CBS). Paul Henning, who as a boy made sodas for Harry S. Truman and as a grown-up wrote for George Burns and Gracie Allen, spun three hugely successful sitcoms from his youthful experiences in small-town Missouri: “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Petticoat Junction” and “Green Acres.”
“The Waltons” (1972-81, CBS). Earl Hamner Jr. used his own Blue Ridge Mountain boyhood as the inspiration for this Depression-era drama.
“The Texas Wheelers” (1974-75, ABC). Earthy and sophisticated at the same time, with a cast that included Gary Busey and pre-“Star Wars” Mark Hamill, this sitcom should have lasted years.
“Designing Women” (1986-93, CBS). Sex and the city, except the city was Atlanta.
“Frank’s Place” (1987-88, CBS). Set in New Orleans’ French Quarter, no series ever captured the essence of a Southern city better.
“Evening Shade” (1990-94). Burt Reynolds and his pals, among them Charles Durning and Ossie Davis, celebrated a place where the living was easy.
“Any Day Now” (1998-2002, Lifetime). Co-starring Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint, a thoughtful and gutsy drama about friendship and race in the contemporary South.
“Reba” (2001-present, WB). Country star Reba McEntire proves an equally engaging sitcom actress.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
