1981 was a revolutionary year for television and deserves to be remembered

[TMC]

https://www.metv.com/lists/1981-was-...-be-remembered

Teleport a Gen-Z'er back to the Seventies and plop them in front of a television. Aside from not understanding how to operate the thing, the younger generation would be surprised at what they found — or didn't find — on the dial. The primetime lineup primarily stocked sitcoms. Even the hour-long fare like CHiPs and Charlie's Angels were far more lighthearted. Back then, TV aimed to be fun. Today, it more often aims to be serious.

But then time-travel to 1981. Suddenly, the programming seems much closer to the modern age.

Celebrity gossip, prestige dramas, music videos, relatable superheroes, glamorous housewives, irreverent kids programming that adults could enjoy — it all blossomed in 1981 thanks to the following. Let's take a tour.

7. Gimme a Break!



In the 1970s, if a network gave a singer a television show, odds are, it was going to be a variety show. But after the death of the variety show, how were Broadway stars to cross-over? Nell Carter proved that Tony Winners could take home comedy Emmys, too. Naturally, she belted out the theme song to her sitcom, too. Black women had not had much of a chance to headline their own shows. Remember, this is just 13 years after the ceiling-shattering Julia with Diahann Carroll, and seven years following Get Christie Love!, the first network drama centered around a Black woman. Gimme a Break! would run for six seasons.