Four hundred and thirty-five episodes. That’s how long The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ran for. The favorite show of grandparents everywhere is the longest-running live-action show of all-time, meaning that while It’s Polka Time and Ozark Jubilee came and went on ABC, Ozzie and Harriet remained strong—until the Caped Crusader came along and introduced America to camp and irony. But because every Batman was a two-parter (“Tune in tomorrow—same Bat-time, same Bat-channel”), the show that dared to ask “how do you make a dishonest shortcake?”

http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2011/01/ten-notable-midseason-replacements-and-the-forgotten-shows-they-replaced/2

....didn't go off the air right away after "BATMAN" replaced it on Wednesdays in January 1966, 'Brian'. It was a case of ABC "rearranging the deck chairs" on its prime-time schedule in mid-season- here's what happened:

"THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE & HARRIET" was doing quite well on Wednesdays at 7:30pm(et) when the 1965-'66 season began. However, CBS' "LOST IN SPACE" started to "nibble away" at the families who usually watched the Nelson family (and the fact that NBC's "THE VIRGINIAN" was doing quite well, going into its fourth season, at 7:30pm didn't help matters, either). Then, there was the fact that ABC had taken a major misstep in splitting the hour-long "SHINDIG!" from the previous season's Wednesday night schedule, and creating two half-hour editions [a la 'PEYTON PLACE"] on Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30pm(et). CBS' "THE MUNSTERS" and NBC's "DANIEL BOONE" was just too popular on Thursdays, and Jackie Gleason and "FLIPPER" {on CBS and NBC, respectively} drew more viewers on Saturdays at 7:30 than the second edition of "SHINDIG!" could.

SO....ABC cancelled "SHINDIG!", deciding to take a chance on another twice-weekly half-hour series, 'BATMAN", on Wednesdays and Thursdays, moving the Nelsons to Saturdays at 7:30 in January '66. I suspect they knew it was near the end of the line for Ozzie & Harriet's weekly series...and they knew it, too. So, Ozzie decided to end production of the show two months later, after a combined 22 seasons [10 on radio, 14 on TV]....while "BATMAN", after a tremendous first season, quitely sputtered away two years later.

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