Television in the United States: The 1970's part 3. Mid to Late 70's

By the middle of the decade, audiences yearned for a lighter side to television programming. Television shows such as Happy Days which followed the lives of a group of fifties-era teenagers, and Laverne and Shirley, which followed the lives of two single women living in an apartment in the fifties, gave viewers the feel of nostalgia. Little House On The Prairie was a show that was based on a set of children's books that told the life of their author, Laura Ingals Wilder. The Walton's was also a show about a close knit family; unlike Little House, which was set in the 19th century, the Walton's were about a large family living in Virginia during the Great Depression of the 1930's. The middle and later part of the 1970's also brought about new genres. A genre called Jiggle television centered around sexual gratification and bawdy humor and situations featured shows such as Charlie's Angels and Three's Company. The other was an escapist "fantasy" genre, which started in 1977 with the Love Boat and in 1978 with Fantasy Island. The variety show genre, which were popular in the 1950's and 1960's, had it's last run in the 1970''s with shows such as The Carol Burnett Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Sonny and Cher, Tony Orlando and Dawn and Donny and Marie.

Be sure to check out our selection of television shows from the 1970's here.