‘Happy Days,’ ‘Little House on the Prairie’: Iconic TV shows turning 50 in 2024
Many of Hollywood's classic television series that helped shape a generation are celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.
Here are a few of the shows turning 50 in 2024.
"Little House on the Prairie," starring Michael Landon, Melissa Sue Anderson and Melissa Gilbert, premiered on NBC in March 1974 and aired for nine seasons until 1983. The show followed the Ingalls family, who lived on a farm in Minnesota, in the 1870s–1890s.
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In February 1974, the sitcom "Good Times" premiered. The series, starring Jimmy Walker, Ja'Net Dubois, Ralph Carter and Janet Jackson, aired for six seasons on CBS before going off the air in 1979.
"Happy Days," which followed the story of the Cunningham family as they navigate life in Milwaukee in the 1950s and '60s, premiered on ABC in January 1974. It was a hugely successful show with likable characters and many memorable moments that shaped a generation and launched the careers of many big stars.
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"Chico and the Man," starring Freddie Prinze and Jack Albertson, followed two men from different backgrounds who came together to run a business. It premiered in September 1974 and aired for four seasons on NBC, before going off the air in 1978.
James Garner starred as Jim Rockford in "The Rockford Files" for six seasons on NBC, from 1974 to 1980. The show was hugely successful, receiving 18 Emmy Award nominations, with five wins.
The variety show "Tony Orlando & Dawn" aired for three seasons, from July 1974 to December 1976, on CBS. It featured famous musician Tony Orlando with backing vocals from the band Dawn, which included Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson.
"The Six Million Dollar Man" premiered on ABC in January 1974 and ran for five seasons until it came to an end in 1978. The show starred Lee Majors, Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks, with appearances by Farrah Fawcett, and followed a severely injured test pilot who is rebuilt with nuclear-powered bionic limbs.
In September 1974, Clifton Davis and Theresa Merritt began playing mother and son on ABC's "That's My Mama," a show that ran for two seasons, until 1975. The show followed a bachelor barber, who is in constant battle with his mother and her plans to find him a wife.