How Did "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" End Up Lasting 14 Years? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

James28 · 02-26-2015, 02:35 AM

Most people would find it unbelievable that a sitcom like The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet ended up running for fourteen (14) seasons on U.S. television. That is the longest run of any live-action/on-camera sitcom on U.S. TV. That would be impressive considering the fact that most live-action sitcoms' original runs wouldn't get past 10 seasons. Also, ABC was the third-place network during most of its original run, and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was in the Nielsen Top 30 for only one season (1963-64, its 12th season), when it ranked 29th (a 21.6 rating).

matt77b · 02-28-2015, 01:30 AM

Another factor was Rick's enormous popularity as a rock and roll star between 1957 (the year that he made his singing debut on the "Ricky the Drummer" episode) through 1964, the year that the Beatles and the rest of the British invasion ended his run at the top of the best-seller charts. Ozzie later said that he believed that Rick's popularity as a singer kept the show on the air for several extra years. It probably was not coincidental that, once Rick's popularity as a singer fell sharply, right around the time that season 13 (1964-'65) began, the ratings began to slip, falling enough during season 14 (1965-66) that ABC pulled the plug.

OH Nuts! · 04-01-2015, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

It was a combination of things: the family was pleasant if not knock down funny; the show grew out of a radio show that had been on a long time, so ABC made a long-term commitment to it; ABC was a youngish network, so you didn't have to be in the Top 20 to stay on the air with them, and Ozzie was a natural money guy, watched costs carefully and kept sponsors very happy. It all adds up.

Very nicely put; the show hit all the right bases...and talented singer teen idol Ricky was the icing on the cake!

Coffeecup · 04-11-2015, 01:42 PM

Also I tend to think, we didn't have as many tv shows as today so people tuned in.

02-26-2015, 02:35 AM	#1
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,993	How Did "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" End Up Lasting 14 Years? Most people would find it unbelievable that a sitcom like The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet ended up running for fourteen (14) seasons on U.S. television. That is the longest run of any live-action/on-camera sitcom on U.S. TV. That would be impressive considering the fact that most live-action sitcoms' original runs wouldn't get past 10 seasons. Also, ABC was the third-place network during most of its original run, and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was in the Nielsen Top 30 for only one season (1963-64, its 12th season), when it ranked 29th (a 21.6 rating).
	__________________ "When the run of a network TV show has ended, some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, but all are...Future Endeavored." "Stay Safe"? More like "Stay Sad". #2020Hurts Last edited by James28; 02-26-2015 at 03:06 AM.

02-28-2015, 01:30 AM	#2
matt77b Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 17, 2009 Location: All over the USA... Posts: 173	Another factor was Rick's enormous popularity as a rock and roll star between 1957 (the year that he made his singing debut on the "Ricky the Drummer" episode) through 1964, the year that the Beatles and the rest of the British invasion ended his run at the top of the best-seller charts. Ozzie later said that he believed that Rick's popularity as a singer kept the show on the air for several extra years. It probably was not coincidental that, once Rick's popularity as a singer fell sharply, right around the time that season 13 (1964-'65) began, the ratings began to slip, falling enough during season 14 (1965-66) that ABC pulled the plug.

04-11-2015, 01:42 PM	#4
Coffeecup coffeecup. Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 17, 2003 Location: snoozeville Posts: 3,184	Also I tend to think, we didn't have as many tv shows as today so people tuned in.