Norman Lear's success removed rural America from mainstream TV; 'All in the Family' marked the end of an era

Photo via The Daily Yonder

Rural American life once played center stage for network TV shows, but as the 1960s drew to a close, a new type of comedy -- built around cities and more urban characters -- took rural TV's place at the top, reports Jeffery H. Bloodworth of The Daily Yonder. "Fifty-three years ago, Norman Lear's breakout hit, "All in the Family," aired on CBS. It touched an immediate nerve. An instant hit, the program became the nation's most-watched television show of its era. But Lear's legacy is more complicated for rural Americans. His 1971 rise signaled the demise of rural America on network television."

Lear's "All in the Family" used more topical humor that poked fun at the country's post-1960s culture wars. Lear followed up his 1971 success with shows like "Good Times," "The Jeffersons," and "Sanford and Son," all of which "were defined by their urban settings, realism, and topical humor," Bloodworth writes. Rural-themed shows such as "Hee Haw" and "Green Acres" were canceled in the" 'rural purge'. . . . Norman Lear marked the end of an era."

In the 1960s, U.S. cities grew exponentially, as did the popularity of rural TV comedy. Explaining why country humor was so popular, Sara K. Eskridge, a historian who authored Rube Tube: CBS and Rural Comedy in the Sixties, told Bloodworth, "I think they provided a sense of soothing. They were set in contemporary times. But they were focused on friendships. You don't see conflict. . . . Nostalgia works great for this. The future was in the city, and when people think 'rural,' they think of the past."