A very important part of history came in the 1970's when ABC debuted the famous ABC Afterschool Specials and remained a classic till the 90's. The Afterschool Specials in the 1970's started out with movies with a lesson to teach and very thoughtful storylines. But as the Afterschool Specials continued in the 80's they began focusing on a serious side and I think ABC was trying to gain more ratings to attract more viewers to the series by doing this. And in it's final years ABC's Afterschool Specials had movies created and produced by Oprah Winfrey in the 90's. Some of the most popular specials were The Pinballs starring Kirsty McNichol that aired in 1977 and many others and some had some famous celebrities too such as Scott Baio. I wonder if ABC were to revive the ABC Afterschool Specials for a new generation today would today's audience watch them?
Bestie

I remember when ABC carried the Afterschool Specials in the 1970s and early 1980s. It sounds like a great idea but times have changed since then where local stations have been airing syndicated programming and early local newscasts in the time period on the east coast so there probably wouldn't be a lot of affiliate clearances at that time.

I liked the bubble gum machine animated opening from the series' early years. One memorable After School special from season 1 is Alexander. It starred Red Buttons with Kerry MacLane, Jodie Foster, and Robbie Rist.

Rifftrax has made fun of at least three of them; "My Mother Was Never a Kid," "Stoned," and "Wanted, the Perfect Guy."

Some have actually been remade. "Mom's On Strike," and "The Color of Friendship."

Other episodes have aired as both Afterschool Specials, and Weekend Specials.


Some actors and actresses have starred in more than one. Trini Alvarado for example was in "A Movie Star's Daughter," but really started to shine two years later in "Starstruck," which was about an aspiring teenage folk signer. If you didn't know better, you'd think she may have kicked off the folk revival of the 1980's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFyuCfGlonw

Two other similar series:
NBC Special Treat
CBS Schoolbreak Special

After School Specials (https://www.reddit.com/r/ToddintheShadow/comments/1k8s65n/what_are_non_musical_equivalents_to_nirvana/mp9lml3/) disappeared (https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/late-show-ending-may-2026.777267/post-6829182) due to a increasing number of network affiliates (https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Afterschool_Special) dropping them. They decided that syndicated programming (https://filmboards.com/t/ABC-Afterschool-Specials/why-did-they-stop-making-these%3F-1774369/) like Oprah Winfrey (https://slate.com/culture/2006/07/the-subtle-brilliance-of-the-after-school-special.html) was a much better fit (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202179/) to their schedules (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-84585.html). The proliferation of cable television was also a factor (https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/193hojx/what_killed_after_school_television/).

Its very sad..... I loved watching After school specials!!

Makes me very sad the way the world has gone :(

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Long before streaming algorithms, content warnings, or “very special episodes,” there was ABC Afterschool Specials—a bold experiment that tried to teach teenagers real-life lessons at 4 PM on a weekday.

Premiering in 1972, the ABC Afterschool Specials tackled topics most television avoided: drug abuse, divorce, teen pregnancy, bullying, peer pressure, child abuse, and identity—often with surprising honesty and zero subtlety. Over 25 years and 154 episodes, the series won 51 Daytime Emmy Awards, launched countless Hollywood careers, and permanently embedded the phrase “after-school special” into American pop culture.

Featuring early performances from Ben Affleck, Jodie Foster, Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Michelle Pfeiffer, Val Kilmer, Viggo Mortensen, and many more, the Afterschool Specials proved that television for kids didn’t have to talk down to them—even if it occasionally traumatized them instead.

So were the ABC Afterschool Specials genuinely helpful… or just unintentionally hilarious melodrama?

Did they spark real conversations—or just make you terrified of peer pressure forever?

👇 Drop a comment below and tell us:

Which Afterschool Special do you remember most?

Did they help you, scare you, or both?

Are you old enough to have watched them when they originally aired?

The one non-negotiable rule (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/AfterschoolSpecial) for every (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202179/episodes/?ref_=tt_ov_at_pop_epl) ABC Afterschool Special (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031125335/http://www.jumptheshark.com/a/abcafterschoolspecial.htm)

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