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class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Early_television_and_anti-communist_campaigns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_television_and_anti-communist_campaigns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Early television and anti-communist campaigns</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Early_television_and_anti-communist_campaigns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rise_of_the_rural_sitcom" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rise_of_the_rural_sitcom"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Rise of the rural sitcom</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rise_of_the_rural_sitcom-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Decline" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Decline"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>Decline</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Decline-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Instigation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Instigation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Instigation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Instigation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Popularity_of_canceled_shows" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Popularity_of_canceled_shows"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Popularity of canceled shows</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Popularity_of_canceled_shows-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Replacement_shows" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Replacement_shows"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Replacement shows</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Replacement_shows-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Related_cancellations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Related_cancellations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Related cancellations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Related_cancellations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a 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class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span 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href="/wiki/File:Buddy_Ebsen_and_Irene_Ryan_from_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_-_1970.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Buddy_Ebsen_and_Irene_Ryan_from_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_-_1970.jpg/220px-Buddy_Ebsen_and_Irene_Ryan_from_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_-_1970.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="363" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Buddy_Ebsen_and_Irene_Ryan_from_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_-_1970.jpg/330px-Buddy_Ebsen_and_Irene_Ryan_from_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_-_1970.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Buddy_Ebsen_and_Irene_Ryan_from_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_-_1970.jpg 2x" data-file-width="429" data-file-height="707" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Irene_Ryan" title="Irene Ryan">Irene Ryan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Buddy_Ebsen" title="Buddy Ebsen">Buddy Ebsen</a> as <a href="/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies#Granny" title="The Beverly Hillbillies">Granny</a> and <a href="/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies#J._D._"Jed"_Clampett" title="The Beverly Hillbillies">Jed Clampett</a> in the <a href="/wiki/List_of_The_Beverly_Hillbillies_episodes#Season_9_(1970–71)" title="List of The Beverly Hillbillies episodes">last season</a> of <i><a href="/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies" title="The Beverly Hillbillies">The Beverly Hillbillies</a></i></figcaption></figure> <p>The "<b>rural purge</b>" refers to the mass cancellation in the early 1970s of rural-themed television programs by American networks, in particular <a href="/wiki/CBS" title="CBS">CBS</a>. The term was coined within the entertainment industry, although its exact provenance is unclear.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge2018172_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge2018172-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The majority of these cancellations occurred at the end of the <a href="/wiki/1970%E2%80%9371_United_States_network_television_schedule" title="1970–71 United States network television schedule">1970–71 television season</a>. In addition to rural-themed shows such as <i><a href="/wiki/Mayberry_R.F.D." title="Mayberry R.F.D.">Mayberry R.F.D.</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies" title="The Beverly Hillbillies">The Beverly Hillbillies</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Petticoat_Junction" title="Petticoat Junction">Petticoat Junction</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/Green_Acres" title="Green Acres">Green Acres</a></i>, the cancellations ended several highly rated <a href="/wiki/Variety_show" title="Variety show">variety shows</a> that had been on CBS since the beginning of television broadcasting. CBS saw a dramatic change in direction with the shift, moving away from shows with rural themes and toward more appeal to urban and suburban audiences.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_television_and_anti-communist_campaigns">Early television and anti-communist campaigns</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Early television and anti-communist campaigns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Programming in American television during the late 1940s and early 1950s was "as culturally diverse ... as [had] ever existed", according to the media historian Sara K. Eskridge. Numerous programs about ethnic minorities and topical subjects achieved success; some had already been successful as radio programs.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201815_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201815-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This programming was partially attributable to network infrastructure, <a href="/wiki/FCC" class="mw-redirect" title="FCC">FCC</a> regulations of the period, and the expense of purchasing a television set. As a result, the early dissemination of television was primarily an urban phenomenon; most televisions in 1950 had been purchased within a 75-mile radius of New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, and other large cities.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201816_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201816-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>This trend in programming ended because of the increased public mistrust of the entertainment industry that followed the <a href="/wiki/Second_Red_Scare" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Red Scare">Second Red Scare</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201818_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201818-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Negative perceptions of the industry worsened with the 1950 publication of <i><a href="/wiki/Red_Channels" title="Red Channels">Red Channels</a></i>, which listed 151 people accused of subversive activities.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201819_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201819-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Among those listed was the actress <a href="/wiki/Jean_Muir_(actress)" title="Jean Muir (actress)">Jean Muir</a>, one of the stars of the sitcom <i><a href="/wiki/The_Aldrich_Family_(TV_series)" title="The Aldrich Family (TV series)">The Aldrich Family</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/NBC" title="NBC">NBC</a> and <a href="/wiki/General_Foods" title="General Foods">General Foods</a>, the show's sponsor, were successfully prevailed upon by viewers to fire Muir in August.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201820–21_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201820–21-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Anti-communist boycotts and threats from the FCC profoundly changed the television industry within a year of the publication of <i>Red Channels</i>;<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201822_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201822-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> programming shifts away from featuring ethnic minorities and discussions of topical subjects were further encouraged by the <a href="/wiki/National_Association_of_Radio_and_Television_Broadcasters" class="mw-redirect" title="National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters">National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters</a> in 1956.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201828_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201828-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By the late 1950s, television networks effectively censored their own content without need of external organizations or public pressure<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201829_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201829-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and were producing programming that was markedly different from what they had produced at the beginning of the decade.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201832_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201832-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Rise_of_the_rural_sitcom">Rise of the rural sitcom</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Rise of the rural sitcom"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The most widely viewed genres of programming on television during the late 1950s were <a href="/wiki/Westerns_on_television" title="Westerns on television">Westerns</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mystery_film" title="Mystery film">mysteries</a>, <a href="/wiki/Game_shows" class="mw-redirect" title="Game shows">game shows</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Variety_shows" class="mw-redirect" title="Variety shows">variety shows</a>. They appealed to a broad viewership for various reasons, while their lack of potential controversy made these genres attractive to networks.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201833_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201833-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The revelation that the outcomes on the show <i><a href="/wiki/Twenty-One_(game_show)" title="Twenty-One (game show)">Twenty-One</a></i> were scripted led to the <a href="/wiki/1950s_quiz_show_scandals" title="1950s quiz show scandals">era's quiz show scandals</a>. The success in 1955 of <i><a href="/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(miniseries)" title="Davy Crockett (miniseries)">Davy Crockett</a></i> on <a href="/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company" title="American Broadcasting Company">ABC</a> made Westerns increasingly appealing over other genres to networks. They also were widely enjoyed by the rapidly expanding viewership in rural areas and the <a href="/wiki/Southern_United_States" title="Southern United States">American South</a>; urban-themed programming, as a result, diminished in general favor.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201838_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201838-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Western was the dominant genre in television in 1959 and the early 1960s.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201839_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201839-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Interest in country music and rural-themed programming increased in urban markets as well.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201839–40_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201839–40-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>ABC, which typically ranked third in ratings, was motivated to experiment with its programming;<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201839_14-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201839-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> it sought to create a rural-themed <a href="/wiki/Sitcom" title="Sitcom">sitcom</a> that would be acceptable to families. This eventually resulted in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Real_McCoys" title="The Real McCoys">The Real McCoys</a></i>, starring <a href="/wiki/Walter_Brennan" title="Walter Brennan">Walter Brennan</a>, which was broadcast from 1957 to 1962. Throughout its run on ABC the show was ranked among the top ten most-watched, according to ratings compiled by <a href="/wiki/Nielsen_Media_Research" title="Nielsen Media Research">Nielsen Media Research</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201845_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201845-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>CBS and NBC consequently began to develop their own sitcoms with rural and Southern themes.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201847_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201847-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The popularity of such programs led <a href="/wiki/Groucho_Marx" title="Groucho Marx">Groucho Marx</a> to remark that "the air is now completely filled with cowboys, fertilizer, and inanity".<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Each subsequent new rural-themed sitcom from the major networks increasingly turned away from Western motifs and, instead, incorporated Southern ones.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201856_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201856-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In late 1960, CBS aired <i><a href="/wiki/The_Andy_Griffith_Show" title="The Andy Griffith Show">The Andy Griffith Show</a></i>, which was the most successful rural-themed sitcom to date. Ekskridge observed that with its popular reception, CBS "not only took the lead in creating pure rural comedy, it also perfected the art of marketing such series":<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201857_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201857-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <blockquote><p>In rural comedy, [CBS] discovered a form of programming that provided pure escapism, that neither cast aspersions upon the network's patriotism, nor subjected it to scandal, yet still appealed to large numbers of people.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201857–58_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201857–58-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>In 1962, CBS debuted <i><a href="/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies" title="The Beverly Hillbillies">The Beverly Hillbillies</a></i>, which Ekskridge described as "arguably the most popular television program of all time". Its creator, <a href="/wiki/Paul_Henning" title="Paul Henning">Paul Henning</a>, utilized his childhood experiences in Missouri to explore the social dynamics between urban and rural dwellers.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201871_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201871-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Critics nearly invariably appraised the program negatively. One critic in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Saturday_Evening_Post" title="The Saturday Evening Post">The Saturday Evening Post</a></i>, who referred to the "<a href="/wiki/Vast_Wasteland_speech" class="mw-redirect" title="Vast Wasteland speech">Vast Wasteland speech</a>" by FCC chaiman <a href="/wiki/Newton_N._Minow" title="Newton N. Minow">Newton N. Minow</a>, said that <i>The Beverly Hillbillies</i> proved that the "wasteland was really a cornfield".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201876_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201876-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Nevertheless, the show's popularity continued in spite of poor reviews, a phenomenon that in and of itself became a widely-discussed subject in the press.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201876–77_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201876–77-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> CBS, which led the ratings for much of the 1960s, also ignored critics. It commissioned <a href="/wiki/Spinoff_(media)" title="Spinoff (media)">spin-offs</a> of both <i>The Andy Griffith Show</i> and <i>The Beverly Hillbillies</i>. These, too, repeated the dichotomous receptions of viewers and critics.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201882_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201882-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge201885_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge201885-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Decline">Decline</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Decline"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>By 1966, industry executives were lamenting the lack of diversity in American television offerings and the dominance of rural-oriented programming on the <a href="/wiki/Big_Three_television_networks" class="mw-redirect" title="Big Three television networks">Big Three television networks</a> of the era, noting that "ratings indicate that the American public prefer hillbillies, cowboys, and spies".<sup id="cite_ref-TLS_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-TLS-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>CBS vice president <a href="/wiki/Michael_Dann" title="Michael Dann">Michael Dann</a> personally hated the rural-oriented programming that he was airing (as did most television executives), but he kept the shows on the air in acknowledgement of their strong overall ratings, which he considered the most important measure of a program's success. Dann's superior, CBS president <a href="/wiki/James_T._Aubrey" title="James T. Aubrey">James T. Aubrey</a>, likewise believed rural sitcoms were a crucial part of the network's formula for success, noting that, at the time, advertisers wanted the audience that watched rural sitcoms.<sup id="cite_ref-Oulahan_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Oulahan-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Robert_Wood_(television_executive)" title="Robert Wood (television executive)">Robert Wood</a>, an incoming president of CBS, pressured Dann to cancel the rural programs. Dann was forced out shortly after his response to Wood: "Just because the people who buy refrigerators are between 26 and 35 and live in <a href="/wiki/Scarsdale,_New_York" title="Scarsdale, New York">Scarsdale</a>, you should not beam your programming only at them."<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Instigation">Instigation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Instigation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>As summarized for the <a href="/wiki/Museum_of_Broadcast_Communications" title="Museum of Broadcast Communications">Museum of Broadcast Communications</a>: </p> <blockquote><p>By the late 1960s, … many viewers, especially young ones, were rejecting [rural-themed] shows as irrelevant to modern times. <a href="/wiki/Mayberry" title="Mayberry">Mayberry</a>'s total isolation from contemporary problems was part of its appeal, but more than a decade of media coverage of the <a href="/wiki/Civil_rights_movement" title="Civil rights movement">civil rights movement</a> had brought about a change in the popular image of the small Southern town. <i><a href="/wiki/Gomer_Pyle,_U.S.M.C." class="mw-redirect" title="Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.">Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.</a></i>, was set on a U.S. Marine base between 1964 and 1969, but neither Gomer nor any of his fellow Marines ever mentioned the <a href="/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War">war in Vietnam</a>. CBS executives, afraid of losing the <a href="/wiki/Ratings_(broadcast)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ratings (broadcast)">lucrative youth demographic</a>, purged their schedule of hit shows that were drawing huge but older-skewing audiences.</p></blockquote> <p>The 1970 cuts were preceded in 1967, for similar reasons of viewer demographics, when CBS ordered cancellation of its remaining game shows, <i><a href="/wiki/Password_(American_game_show)" title="Password (American game show)">Password</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/What%27s_My_Line%3F" title="What's My Line?">What's My Line?</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/I%27ve_Got_a_Secret" title="I've Got a Secret">I've Got a Secret</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/To_Tell_the_Truth" title="To Tell the Truth">To Tell the Truth</a></i>; the last continued in daytime for another year. These programs were still extremely profitable (mainly because of their low budgets, and thus they would all be <a href="/wiki/Revival_(television)" title="Revival (television)">revived</a> within a few years) but performed poorly in demographics.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The network attempted to incorporate more urban programming, including the innovative sitcom <i><a href="/wiki/He_%26_She" title="He & She">He & She</a></i> in the 1967 season, but a clash with that show's lead-in (<i>Green Acres</i>) led to its cancellation. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Smothers_Brothers_Comedy_Hour" title="The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour">The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour</a></i>, likewise an innovative and far more successful program that appealed to a younger audience, also debuted in 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-thr_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-thr-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The wave of cancellations was instigated by CBS executive Robert Wood, who replaced longtime CBS programming head Dann with <a href="/wiki/Fred_Silverman" title="Fred Silverman">Fred Silverman</a>, following research highlighting the greater attraction to advertisers of the young adult urban viewer demographic.<sup id="cite_ref-google_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-google-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Much of CBS's existing product either drew audiences that were too old and rural, or drew another undesirable demographic: kids, who lacked disposable income of their own.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>CBS canceled everything with a tree in it—including <i><a href="/wiki/Lassie_(1954_TV_series)" title="Lassie (1954 TV series)">Lassie</a></i>.</p><div class="templatequotecite">— <cite><a href="/wiki/Pat_Buttram" title="Pat Buttram">Pat Buttram</a>, "Mr. Haney" from <i><a href="/wiki/Green_Acres" title="Green Acres">Green Acres</a></i><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></cite></div></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Popularity_of_canceled_shows">Popularity of canceled shows</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Popularity of canceled shows"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><i><a href="/wiki/Gomer_Pyle,_U.S.M.C." class="mw-redirect" title="Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.">Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.</a></i> was the first of the rural-based shows to leave the air, not due to its theme but because of <a href="/wiki/Jim_Nabors" title="Jim Nabors">Jim Nabors</a>' desire to "reach for another rung on the ladder, either up or down". He was given a new show, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Jim_Nabors_Hour" title="The Jim Nabors Hour">The Jim Nabors Hour</a></i>, as a replacement for the next season.<sup id="cite_ref-Gomer_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gomer-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><i><a href="/wiki/Mayberry_R.F.D." title="Mayberry R.F.D.">Mayberry R.F.D.</a></i>, a direct continuation of <i><a href="/wiki/The_Andy_Griffith_Show" title="The Andy Griffith Show">The Andy Griffith Show</a></i>, finished fourth for 1969 and was renewed for two more seasons, but it slipped in the ratings to fifteenth by its final season.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The first of the cancellations was <i><a href="/wiki/The_Red_Skelton_Show" title="The Red Skelton Show">The Red Skelton Show</a></i>, which had finished the 1969–70 season as the number seven show.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It had however fallen out of the top 30 by 1971 after its move to NBC. </p><p>The success of <i><a href="/wiki/The_Mary_Tyler_Moore_Show" title="The Mary Tyler Moore Show">The Mary Tyler Moore Show</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/All_in_the_Family" title="All in the Family">All in the Family</a></i>, and newer, more urban variety shows such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Carol_Burnett_Show" title="The Carol Burnett Show">The Carol Burnett Show</a></i> in 1967 and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Flip_Wilson_Show" title="The Flip Wilson Show">The Flip Wilson Show</a></i> in 1970 (on arch-rival NBC), allowed cancellations of most of the "undesired shows" at the end of 1971, despite their high ratings and popularity. Both <i>Green Acres</i> and <i>The Beverly Hillbillies</i> had dropped from the Nielsen top 30 by the 1970–71 season, yet both shows continued to win their respective time slots and had loyal followings, warranting renewal for another season. Other shows that were still pulling in even higher ratings when they were canceled included <i>Mayberry R.F.D.</i>, which finished the season at number 15, <i>Hee Haw</i> at number 16, and <i>The Jim Nabors Hour</i> at number 29.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Replacement_shows">Replacement shows</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Replacement shows"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Much of the programming that was axed was not directly replaced. The <a href="/wiki/Prime_Time_Access_Rule" title="Prime Time Access Rule">Prime Time Access Rule</a> had forced the networks to surrender the 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time time slot back to its affiliates, which was another part of the impetus for the rural purge. <i>Lassie</i> and <i>Hee Haw</i> almost immediately went into <a href="/wiki/Broadcast_syndication" title="Broadcast syndication">first-run syndication</a>, where stations (many of them CBS affiliates) usually aired the shows in the <a href="/wiki/Fringe_time" title="Fringe time">fringe time</a> slot that the networks had been forced to surrender. (Several other network cast-offs that had been axed for similar reasons, such as ABC's <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lawrence_Welk_Show" title="The Lawrence Welk Show">The Lawrence Welk Show</a></i> and NBC's <i><a href="/wiki/Wild_Kingdom" title="Wild Kingdom">Wild Kingdom</a></i>, earned similar extensions of their runs through syndication at the same time.) </p><p>For the time slots that the networks retained, CBS head Fred Silverman replaced much of the canceled programming in 1971 and 1972 with "relevant" fare.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Following <i>All in the Family</i> were its many spinoffs including <i><a href="/wiki/Maude_(TV_series)" title="Maude (TV series)">Maude</a></i> (debuting in 1972) and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Jeffersons" title="The Jeffersons">The Jeffersons</a></i> (which premiered in 1975). Following the success of <i>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</i>, the series' production company <a href="/wiki/MTM_Productions" class="mw-redirect" title="MTM Productions">MTM Productions</a> would develop the popular <i><a href="/wiki/The_Bob_Newhart_Show" title="The Bob Newhart Show">The Bob Newhart Show</a></i>. <i><a href="/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_series)" title="M*A*S*H (TV series)">M*A*S*H</a></i> was added to the network in 1972,<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> placing in the top 10 shows for its final seven of eleven seasons, and eventually aired the <a href="/wiki/List_of_most_watched_television_broadcasts" class="mw-redirect" title="List of most watched television broadcasts">most watched single episode</a> of any series in U.S. television history during its <a href="/wiki/Goodbye,_Farewell_and_Amen" title="Goodbye, Farewell and Amen">1983 series finale</a>. </p><p>A side effect of the rural purge was the reduction of the <a href="/wiki/Laugh_track" title="Laugh track">laugh track</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Most of the rural-oriented programs were filmed in the <a href="/wiki/Single-camera_setup" title="Single-camera setup">single-camera setup</a> without a studio audience, with the canned laughter added by laugh-track proprietor <a href="/wiki/Charley_Douglass" class="mw-redirect" title="Charley Douglass">Charley Douglass</a>. The newer shows that came to television in the early 1970s were <a href="/wiki/Multiple-camera_setup" title="Multiple-camera setup">multiple-camera setups</a> with live studio audiences, a trend that would become the norm throughout the 1970s and even into today, with Douglass's laugh track mostly limited to <a href="/wiki/Sweetening_(show_business)" title="Sweetening (show business)">sweetening</a>. This was not possible for <i>M*A*S*H</i>, which was filmed on location, but due to the occasionally serious nature of the material, producers of the military hospital <a href="/wiki/Comedy_drama" title="Comedy drama">dramedy</a> did not want a laugh track to be used. CBS compromised by excluding use of a laugh track in certain scenes, including the operating room.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Under Silverman's watch, game shows returned to the network's daytime schedule during this period, as well. (Unlike NBC or ABC, CBS had not carried a daytime game show since <i><a href="/wiki/To_Tell_the_Truth" title="To Tell the Truth">To Tell the Truth</a></i> ended its run in 1968, instead opting for reruns of 1960s prime-time sitcoms such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lucy_Show" title="The Lucy Show">The Lucy Show</a></i> and <i>Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.</i>, both of which had left the air by that point.) The first of these shows was <i><a href="/wiki/The_Amateur%27s_Guide_to_Love" title="The Amateur's Guide to Love">The Amateur's Guide to Love</a></i>, which ran for three months in the spring and summer of 1972. Shortly afterward, on September 4, the network debuted three new game shows: <i><a href="/wiki/The_Price_Is_Right_(U.S._game_show)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)">The New Price Is Right</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Gambit_(game_show)" title="Gambit (game show)">Gambit</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Joker%27s_Wild" title="The Joker's Wild">The Joker's Wild</a></i>. <i>Gambit</i> ran until 1976 and returned in 1980 for an additional year as <i>Las Vegas Gambit</i> on <a href="/wiki/NBC" title="NBC">NBC</a>; <i>Joker</i> ended its CBS run in 1975, then later ran in syndication from 1977 to 1986; and <i>Price</i> is in its 53rd season as of September 2024. </p><p>Despite the relatively large number of "old guard" variety shows canceled in the purge, Silverman actually continued to create new variety shows to replace the ones he had canceled; one of the first was <i><a href="/wiki/The_Sonny_%26_Cher_Comedy_Hour" title="The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour">The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour</a></i>, which debuted in August 1971 and would last until <a href="/wiki/Sonny_%26_Cher" title="Sonny & Cher">Sonny and Cher</a> divorced in 1974. Silverman then retained <a href="/wiki/Cher" title="Cher">Cher</a>'s services, signing her to her own show <i><a href="/wiki/Cher_(TV_series)" title="Cher (TV series)">Cher</a></i> in 1975, after which she agreed to reunite professionally with Sonny for another two seasons of their show, before it ended again in 1977. Silverman would later commission <i><a href="/wiki/Donny_%26_Marie_(1976_TV_series)" title="Donny & Marie (1976 TV series)">Donny & Marie</a></i> for ABC five years later. He would also, with less success, commission <i><a href="/wiki/The_Brady_Bunch_Hour" title="The Brady Bunch Hour">The Brady Bunch Hour</a></i> for ABC in 1976 and <i><a href="/wiki/Pink_Lady_(TV_series)" title="Pink Lady (TV series)">Pink Lady and Jeff</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Susan_Anton" title="Susan Anton">The Susan Anton Show</a></i> for NBC in 1980, all three of which were received poorly. NBC tried a big, splashy 90-minute variety show entitled <i><a href="/wiki/The_Big_Show_(TV_series)" title="The Big Show (TV series)">The Big Show</a></i> that debuted in March 1980, but it was cancelled after only two months. </p><p>Several conservative members of Congress,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch"><span title="The material near this tag possibly uses too-vague attribution or weasel words. (September 2015)">who?</span></a></i>]</sup> as well as <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President</a> <a href="/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon">Richard Nixon</a> and members of his administration, expressed displeasure at some of the replacement shows, many of which (especially the more socially conscious shows such as <i>All in the Family</i>) were not particularly "<a href="/wiki/Family-friendly" title="Family-friendly">family-friendly</a>". The backlash from the purge prompted CBS to commission a rural family drama, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Waltons" title="The Waltons">The Waltons</a></i>, for its fall 1972 schedule based on the <a href="/wiki/TV_film" class="mw-redirect" title="TV film">TV film</a> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Homecoming:_A_Christmas_Story" class="mw-redirect" title="The Homecoming: A Christmas Story">The Homecoming: A Christmas Story</a></i> (1971).<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The network scheduled it in what it thought would be a <a href="/wiki/Graveyard_slot" title="Graveyard slot">death slot</a> against popular series <i><a href="/wiki/The_Flip_Wilson_Show" title="The Flip Wilson Show">The Flip Wilson Show</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Mod_Squad" title="The Mod Squad">The Mod Squad</a></i>, allegedly hoping the show would underperform and head to a quick cancellation.<sup id="cite_ref-lat_44-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lat-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Instead, the show proved to be an instant hit, prompting CBS to change course and put its full support behind the show;<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i>The Waltons</i> went on to run for nine seasons, reaching as high as second in the Nielsens and finishing in the top 30 for seven of its nine years on air; it would become a perennial fixture in syndicated reruns for decades thereafter. The success of <i>The Waltons</i> started a trend for family dramas throughout the 1970s, such as <i><a href="/wiki/Little_House_on_the_Prairie_(TV_series)" title="Little House on the Prairie (TV series)">Little House on the Prairie</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Apple%27s_Way" title="Apple's Way">Apple's Way</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Family_(1976_TV_series)" title="Family (1976 TV series)">Family</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/Eight_Is_Enough" title="Eight Is Enough">Eight Is Enough</a></i>. </p><p>For four decades after the purge, few sitcoms of note were set in the South, and many of those were set in urban or suburban communities. One media critic stated that only four of note had been made—<i><a href="/wiki/House_of_Payne" class="mw-redirect" title="House of Payne">House of Payne</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Meet_the_Browns_(TV_series)" title="Meet the Browns (TV series)">Meet the Browns</a></i> (both from <a href="/wiki/Atlanta" title="Atlanta">Atlanta</a>-based <a href="/wiki/Tyler_Perry" title="Tyler Perry">Tyler Perry</a>), <i><a href="/wiki/Designing_Women" title="Designing Women">Designing Women</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Carmichael_Show" title="The Carmichael Show">The Carmichael Show</a></i>. Of these, the first three are set in Atlanta or its <a href="/wiki/Atlanta_metropolitan_area" class="mw-redirect" title="Atlanta metropolitan area">metropolitan area</a>, and the fourth is set in <a href="/wiki/Charlotte,_North_Carolina" title="Charlotte, North Carolina">Charlotte</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other examples include <i><a href="/wiki/Evening_Shade" title="Evening Shade">Evening Shade</a></i>, a Burt Reynolds vehicle set in a fictionalized version of <a href="/wiki/Evening_Shade,_Arkansas" title="Evening Shade, Arkansas">Evening Shade, Arkansas</a>;<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Golden_Girls" title="The Golden Girls">The Golden Girls</a></i>, set in <a href="/wiki/Miami,_Florida" class="mw-redirect" title="Miami, Florida">Miami, Florida</a>, and featuring the identifiably Southern <a href="/wiki/Blanche_Devereaux" title="Blanche Devereaux">Blanche Devereaux</a> and rural <a href="/wiki/Rose_Nylund" title="Rose Nylund">Rose Nylund</a> as main characters;<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Mama%27s_Family" title="Mama's Family">Mama's Family</a></i>, set in a Southernized version of <a href="/wiki/Raytown,_Missouri" title="Raytown, Missouri">Raytown, Missouri</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and featuring <i>Mayberry RFD</i> star <a href="/wiki/Ken_Berry" title="Ken Berry">Ken Berry</a> in a major supporting role; and the animated sitcom <i><a href="/wiki/King_of_the_Hill" title="King of the Hill">King of the Hill</a></i>, which ran for 13 seasons on the <a href="/wiki/Fox_Broadcasting_Company" title="Fox Broadcasting Company">Fox</a> network and featured a caricature of suburban Texas life.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Related_cancellations">Related cancellations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Related cancellations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Non-rural-themed shows canceled by CBS included sitcoms <i><a href="/wiki/Family_Affair" title="Family Affair">Family Affair</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Hogan%27s_Heroes" title="Hogan's Heroes">Hogan's Heroes</a></i> in 1971, with the long-running <i><a href="/wiki/My_Three_Sons" title="My Three Sons">My Three Sons</a></i> ending in 1972. Variety shows that had been around since the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Jackie_Gleason_Show" title="The Jackie Gleason Show">The Jackie Gleason Show</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Ed_Sullivan_Show" title="The Ed Sullivan Show">The Ed Sullivan Show</a></i>, were canceled in 1970 and 1971, respectively; likewise, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Original_Amateur_Hour" title="The Original Amateur Hour">The Original Amateur Hour</a></i> (a stalwart of network television since its debut, and before that on radio since 1934) ended on its own accord in 1970 due to the show's aging demographics. <i>The Red Skelton Show</i> was canceled by CBS at the end of the 1969–70 season and was picked up by NBC (the series' original network) for one more season. NBC also reverted Skelton's show to its original half-hour format in place of its more familiar hour-long format on CBS. By the end of 1972, <a href="/wiki/Lucille_Ball" title="Lucille Ball">Lucille Ball</a> remained the only long-time star from <a href="/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Television" title="Golden Age of Television">television's golden era</a> to still have her own show. Ball's show, <i><a href="/wiki/Here%27s_Lucy" title="Here's Lucy">Here's Lucy</a></i>, still rated in the <a href="/wiki/Nielsen_ratings" class="mw-redirect" title="Nielsen ratings">Nielsen</a> top ten and continued to pull in high ratings until its end in 1974. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Westerns_on_television" title="Westerns on television">Westerns</a> were another genre targeted for cancellation. Martial artist <a href="/wiki/Bruce_Lee" title="Bruce Lee">Bruce Lee</a>, in attempting to pitch his series <i>The Warrior</i> to television networks, stated he was told that "the Western idea is out."<sup id="cite_ref-brucelee_51-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-brucelee-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, by 1972, ABC produced a new Western series based on Lee's idea called <i><a href="/wiki/Kung_Fu_(1972_TV_series)" title="Kung Fu (1972 TV series)">Kung Fu</a></i>, but cast white actor <a href="/wiki/David_Carradine" title="David Carradine">David Carradine</a> in the lead.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Apart from <i><a href="/wiki/Gunsmoke" title="Gunsmoke">Gunsmoke</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Bonanza_(TV_series)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bonanza (TV series)">Bonanza</a></i>, two prime-time staples which in 1971 had been on the air for a combined 28 years (and continued to air until 1975 and 1973, respectively), most of the shows in the genre were already off the air at the time of the purge. NBC canceled two of the remaining Westerns in 1971, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Virginian_(TV_series)" title="The Virginian (TV series)">The Virginian</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_High_Chaparral" title="The High Chaparral">The High Chaparral</a></i>. The 1971 plan of CBS included cancellation of <i>Gunsmoke</i> at the end of the 1970–71 season, while <i>Mayberry R.F.D.</i> and <i>Family Affair</i> were renewed for the 1971–72 season; Fred Silverman and Robert Wood both favored cancelling <i>Gunsmoke</i> over <i>Mayberry R.F.D</i>. and <i>Family Affair</i>. This was revised due to <i>Gunsmoke's</i> Top-10 ratings, ranking #5 in the <a href="/wiki/Nielsen_Ratings" class="mw-redirect" title="Nielsen Ratings">Nielsen Ratings</a> for the 1970–71 season,<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> rising to number 4 in the 1971–72 season.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Another factor was that <i>Gunsmoke</i> was the favorite TV program of <a href="/wiki/Barbara_Cushing" class="mw-redirect" title="Barbara Cushing">Barbara Paley</a>, wife of CBS Chief Executive <a href="/wiki/William_S._Paley" title="William S. Paley">William Paley</a>. Westerns had already been targeted by parents' groups opposing television violence, and by those concerned about portrayals of <a href="/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States" title="Native Americans in the United States">Native Americans</a>. The genre's popularity was also fading in the face of overexposure;<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> following a boom in the format's popularity in the 1960s, the last new traditional television Westerns debuted in 1968.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company" title="American Broadcasting Company">ABC</a> seriously considered picking up <i>Family Affair</i> for its 1971–72 primetime schedule to join its Friday night lineup alongside two other shows with similar audiences (<i><a href="/wiki/The_Brady_Bunch" title="The Brady Bunch">The Brady Bunch</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Partridge_Family" title="The Partridge Family">The Partridge Family</a></i>), but concluded that <i>Family Affair</i> had run its course. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Lawrence_Welk-Hee_Haw_Counter-Revolution_Polka" title="The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka">The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka</a>"</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Citations">Citations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Citations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEskridge2018172-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEskridge2018172_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEskridge2018">Eskridge 2018</a>, p. 172.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-york-stories-back-archie-bunker-old-block-article-1.2701529">"New York Stories: Archie Bunker would still fit in on the Queens block he called home in 'All in the Family'<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/New_York_Daily_News" title="New York Daily News">New York Daily News</a></i>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 25,</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Hollywood+Reporter&rft.atitle=%27The+Smothers+Brothers+Comedy+Hour%27+at+50%3A+The+Rise+and+Fall+of+a+Groundbreaking+Variety+Show&rft.date=2017-11-25&rft.aulast=Freeman&rft.aufirst=Marc&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com%2Flive-feed%2Fsmothers-brothers-comedy-hour-oral-history-1060153&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-google-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-google_32-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMetz,_W.2007" class="citation book cs1">Metz, W. 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Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.socionomics.net/2013/10/the-rural-purge-the-year-cbs-killed-everything-with-a-tree-in-it/">the original</a> on November 25, 2013<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">January 19,</span> 2025</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=%5BArticle%5D+The+Rural+Purge%3A+The+Year+CBS+Killed+Everything+with+a+Tree+in+It&rft.date=2013-10&rft.aulast=Folsom&rft.aufirst=Robert&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.socionomics.net%2F2013%2F10%2Fthe-rural-purge-the-year-cbs-killed-everything-with-a-tree-in-it%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMorgan2017" class="citation web cs1">Morgan, Chris (May 19, 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://medium.com/@ChrisXMorgan/remember-tvs-rural-purge-b0a115c2a2b2">"Remember TV's Rural Purge"</a>. <i>Medium</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">October 21,</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Medium&rft.atitle=Remember+TV%27s+Rural+Purge&rft.date=2017-05-19&rft.aulast=Morgan&rft.aufirst=Chris&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40ChrisXMorgan%2Fremember-tvs-rural-purge-b0a115c2a2b2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFColemanGanong2014" class="citation book cs1">Coleman, Marilyn J.; Ganong, Lawrence H. (September 2, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=R3VpBAAAQBAJ"><i>The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia</i></a>. SAGE Publications. p. 1343. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4522-8615-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-4522-8615-0"><bdi>978-1-4522-8615-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Social+History+of+the+American+Family%3A+An+Encyclopedia&rft.pages=1343&rft.pub=SAGE+Publications&rft.date=2014-09-02&rft.isbn=978-1-4522-8615-0&rft.aulast=Coleman&rft.aufirst=Marilyn+J.&rft.au=Ganong%2C+Lawrence+H.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DR3VpBAAAQBAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFButler2001" class="citation book cs1">Butler, Jeremy G. (July 1, 2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yiiRAgAAQBAJ"><i>Television: Critical Methods and Applications</i></a>. Routledge. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-135-63540-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-135-63540-4"><bdi>978-1-135-63540-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Television%3A+Critical+Methods+and+Applications&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2001-07-01&rft.isbn=978-1-135-63540-4&rft.aulast=Butler&rft.aufirst=Jeremy+G.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DyiiRAgAAQBAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCrump2013" class="citation book cs1">Crump, William D. (2013). <i>The Christmas encyclopedia</i> (Third ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 434. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780786468270" title="Special:BookSources/9780786468270"><bdi>9780786468270</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Christmas+encyclopedia&rft.pages=434&rft.edition=Third&rft.pub=McFarland+%26+Company&rft.date=2013&rft.isbn=9780786468270&rft.aulast=Crump&rft.aufirst=William+D.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lat-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-lat_44-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKing2012" class="citation news cs1">King, Susan (September 28, 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-waltons-20120928">"40th anniversary celebration of 'The Waltons'<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times" title="Los Angeles Times">Los Angeles Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">April 30,</span> 2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Los+Angeles+Times&rft.atitle=40th+anniversary+celebration+of+%27The+Waltons%27&rft.date=2012-09-28&rft.aulast=King&rft.aufirst=Susan&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fentertainment%2Ftv%2Fshowtracker%2Fla-et-st-waltons-20120928&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPollard2016" class="citation web cs1">Pollard, J. Garland IV (March 25, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.brandlandusa.com/2016/03/25/earl-hamner-lou-dorfsman-lorimar-and-the-cbs-brand/">"Earl Hamner and the CBS Brand"</a>. BrandlandUSA<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">March 12,</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Earl+Hamner+and+the+CBS+Brand&rft.pub=BrandlandUSA&rft.date=2016-03-25&rft.aulast=Pollard&rft.aufirst=J.+Garland+IV&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brandlandusa.com%2F2016%2F03%2F25%2Fearl-hamner-lou-dorfsman-lorimar-and-the-cbs-brand%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-46">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://decider.com/2017/05/10/trial-error-and-the-revenge-of-the-rural-purge/">"<span class="cs1-kern-left"></span>'Trial & Error' And The Revenge Of The Rural Purge"</a>. <i>Decider</i>. May 10, 2017<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">October 21,</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Decider&rft.atitle=%27Trial+%26+Error%27+And+The+Revenge+Of+The+Rural+Purge&rft.date=2017-05-10&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdecider.com%2F2017%2F05%2F10%2Ftrial-error-and-the-revenge-of-the-rural-purge%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/evening-shade-television-series-2178">"Evening Shade"</a>. <i>Encyclopedia of Arkansas</i>. September 18, 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 1,</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Encyclopedia+of+Arkansas&rft.atitle=Evening+Shade&rft.date=2018-09-18&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fencyclopediaofarkansas.net%2Fentries%2Fevening-shade-television-series-2178&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDouglas_Martin2010" class="citation news cs1">Douglas Martin (June 4, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/arts/04mcclanahan.html">"Rue McClanahan, Actress and Golden Girl, Dies at 76"</a>. <i>The New York Times</i>. p. A25.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Rue+McClanahan%2C+Actress+and+Golden+Girl%2C+Dies+at+76&rft.pages=A25&rft.date=2010-06-04&rft.au=Douglas+Martin&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F06%2F04%2Farts%2F04mcclanahan.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBrooks2005" class="citation book cs1">Brooks, Marla (2005). <i>The American Family on Television: A Chronology of 121 Shows, 1948–2004</i>. McFarland & Co. p. 141. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7864-2074-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-7864-2074-X"><bdi>0-7864-2074-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+American+Family+on+Television%3A+A+Chronology+of+121+Shows%2C+1948%E2%80%932004&rft.pages=141&rft.pub=McFarland+%26+Co.&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=0-7864-2074-X&rft.aulast=Brooks&rft.aufirst=Marla&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2009-09-11/841962/">"The World Is Flat: How 'King of the Hill' helped makes Texas three-dimensional again"</a>. <i>Austin Chronicle</i>. September 11, 2009<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 1,</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Austin+Chronicle&rft.atitle=The+World+Is+Flat%3A+How+%27King+of+the+Hill%27+helped+makes+Texas+three-dimensional+again&rft.date=2009-09-11&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.austinchronicle.com%2Fscreens%2F2009-09-11%2F841962%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-brucelee-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-brucelee_51-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">From <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN8PfMdBIjw"><span class="plainlinks">The Pierre Berton Show</span></a> on <a href="/wiki/YouTube_video_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="YouTube video (identifier)">YouTube</a> December 9, 1971 (comments at 7:10 of part 2)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLocke2009" class="citation book cs1">Locke, Brian (November 23, 2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=CU9rAQAAQBAJ"><i>Racial Stigma on the Hollywood Screen from World War II to the Present: The Orientalist Buddy Film</i></a>. Springer. p. 134. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-230-10167-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-230-10167-8"><bdi>978-0-230-10167-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Racial+Stigma+on+the+Hollywood+Screen+from+World+War+II+to+the+Present%3A+The+Orientalist+Buddy+Film&rft.pages=134&rft.pub=Springer&rft.date=2009-11-23&rft.isbn=978-0-230-10167-8&rft.aulast=Locke&rft.aufirst=Brian&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DCU9rAQAAQBAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/1970.htm">"TV Ratings: 1970–1971"</a>. <i>ClassicTVHits.com</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230221224506/https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/1970.htm">Archived</a> from the original on February 21, 2023<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 15,</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=ClassicTVHits.com&rft.atitle=TV+Ratings%3A+1970%E2%80%931971&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fclassictvguide.com%2Ftvratings%2F1970.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-54">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/1971.htm">"TV Ratings: 1971–1972"</a>. <i>ClassicTVHits.com</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150411075828/https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/1971.htm">Archived</a> from the original on April 11, 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">July 15,</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=ClassicTVHits.com&rft.atitle=TV+Ratings%3A+1971%E2%80%931972&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fclassictvguide.com%2Ftvratings%2F1971.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCarter2014" class="citation news cs1">Carter, Bill (May 12, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/business/media/overextended-music-tv-shows-fade.html">"Overextended, Music TV Shows Fade"</a>. <i>The New York Times</i>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331">0362-4331</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 12,</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Overextended%2C+Music+TV+Shows+Fade&rft.date=2014-05-12&rft.issn=0362-4331&rft.aulast=Carter&rft.aufirst=Bill&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F05%2F12%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia%2Foverextended-music-tv-shows-fade.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1">"TV Cowboys Bite Dust in Nets' Fall Line-Up". <i>Chicago Tribune</i>. March 13, 1969.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Chicago+Tribune&rft.atitle=TV+Cowboys+Bite+Dust+in+Nets%27+Fall+Line-Up&rft.date=1969-03-13&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sources">Sources</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rural_purge&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEskridge2018" class="citation book cs1">Eskridge, Sara K. (2018). <i>Rube Tube: CBS and Rural Comedy in the Sixties</i>. <a href="/wiki/Columbia,_Missouri" title="Columbia, Missouri">Columbia</a>, Missouri: <a href="/wiki/University_of_Missouri_Press" title="University of Missouri Press">University of Missouri Press</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780826221650" title="Special:BookSources/9780826221650"><bdi>9780826221650</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Rube+Tube%3A+CBS+and+Rural+Comedy+in+the+Sixties&rft.place=Columbia%2C+Missouri&rft.pub=University+of+Missouri+Press&rft.date=2018&rft.isbn=9780826221650&rft.aulast=Eskridge&rft.aufirst=Sara+K.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARural+purge" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output 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