getTV Blog

Think about your favorite episodes of Good Times, producer Norman Lear’s groundbreaking 1970s sitcom, seen each weekday on getTV. They probably involve the Evans family facing a challenge and getting through it together. The frank depiction of a working-class family trying to make ends meet in a Chicago housing project broke new ground on TV in 1974. And it’s that realness that has kept the show in our hearts, and on our TVs, ever since.  

In 1967, CBS faced a weekly showdown with a seemingly unbeatable opponent: Bonanza. NBC’s long-running Western series was a Sunday night ratings powerhouse, besting all comers by a Ponderosa-sized margin.

If Jackie DeShannon had done nothing more than sing “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” she’d have a place of honor in pop music history.

If they made a Mount Rushmore of TV stars, James Garner’s face would be forever etched in stone. From Maverick in the 1950s to The Rockford Files in the 1970s to the sitcom 8 Simple Rules in the 2000s, Garner was a beloved familiar face for half a century.

The 1970s was the Golden Age of Sitcoms. The witches, Martians, and talking cars of 1960s primetime were gone, replaced by sharply written comedies that reflected the social upheaval of the day. Much of the credit for this new era of TV sitcoms goes to producer Norman Lear, who kickstarted the revolution with All In The Family in 1971. But it was Sanford And Son, based on the British sitcom Steptoe And Son, that broke even greater ground — and was an immediate hit.

“It’s good to see the Evans family again,” John Amos said, as he made a surprise appearance on Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: All In The Family and Good Times, a primetime special celebrating two of producer Norman Lear’s most iconic sitcoms.