The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies was an American
situation comedy. broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. The show cast Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr. as the Clampetts. The show was created by writer Paul Henning. It was followed by two other Henning-inspired
"country cousin" series on CBS: Petticoat Junction and
its spin-off Green Acres, which
reversed the rags-to-riches, country-to-city model of The Beverly Hillbillies.
The "Fish Out of Water" series starts as Jed Clampett, an
impoverished and widowed mountaineer, is living alongside an oil-rich swamp
with his daughter and mother-in-law. The Clampetts bring a moral,
unsophisticated, and minimalistic lifestyle to the swanky, self-obsessed, and
superficial Beverly Hills community. Plots often involve the outlandish efforts
Drysdale makes to keep the Clampetts' money in his bank and his wife's efforts to
rid the neighborhood of the hillbillies. The family's periodic attempts to
return to the mountains are often prompted by Granny's perceiving a slight or
insult from one of the "city folk".
The Beverly Hillbillies ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs on television for eight of its nine seasons, twice ranking as the number one series of the year, with 16 episodes that remain among the 100 most-watched television episodes in history. It won seven Emmy nominations during its run. The series remains in syndicated reruns, and its ongoing popularity spawned a 1993 film remake by 20th Century Fox.
Added note:
The show received poor reviews from some contemporary
critics. Despite the poor reviews, the show shot to the top of the Nielsen ratings shortly after its premiere and stayed there for
several seasons. During its first two seasons, it was the number one program in
the U.S. During its second season, it earned some of the highest ratings ever
recorded for a half-hour sitcom. The series had excellent ratings throughout
its run, although it had fallen out of the top 20 most-watched shows during its
final season.
