History MediaNotes / TheRuralPurge

For most of scripted programming caught up in it, though, the rural purge was a mercy killing of near-FranchiseZombie shows that either were going on with major original cast members having left or had worn out their premises (one can only be a FishOutOfWater for so long...) VindicatedByHistory in that the bulk of them are far more popular today in their earlier black-and-white seasons and seldom seen in the late seasons from the last few years before the ax.

* ''Series/{{Vegas|1978}}'' (ABC, 1978-1981)

For most of scripted programming caught up in it, though, the rural purge was a mercy killing of near-FranchiseZombie shows that either were going on with major original cast members having left or had worn out their premises (one can only be a FishOutOfWater for so long...), VindicatedByHistory in that the bulk of them are far more popular today in their earlier black-and-white seasons and seldom seen in the late seasons from the last few years before the ax.

Several of the variety shows were promptly UnCanceled: Red Skelton got [[NetworkToTheRescue saved]] for one more season by Creator/{{NBC}}, while ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' and ''Hee Haw'' successfully moved to syndication -- lasting all the way through 1982 and 1992 respectively. Country singer and ''Hee Haw'' personality Roy Clark ultimately recorded a song, "The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka", acknowledging these events as a TakeThat against the Rural Purge. For most of the scripted shows, though, the rural purge was a mercy killing of near-FranchiseZombie shows that either were going on with major original cast members having left or had worn out their premises (one can only be a FishOutOfWater for so long...), VindicatedByHistory in that the bulk of them are far more popular today in their earlier black-and-white seasons and seldom seen in the late seasons from the last few years before the ax.

* ''Series/{{Vegas}}'' (ABC, 1978-1981)

A notable movement in US television around the turn of UsefulNotes/TheSeventies--"one of the earliest efforts at [[NetworkDecay channel drift]]", [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_purge according to]] [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} That Other Wiki]]--when the AC Nielsen company made changes to give networks and advertisers a clearer picture of just who (as well as how many people) watched which shows. At the time, many popular programs (such as ''Series/GreenAcres'' and ''Series/HeeHaw'') were rural-themed and were skewing more towards viewers from rural areas or just an older demographic in general. By contrast, younger "urban" viewers wanted more contemporary and innovative programs. In addition, the FCC's new "Prime Time Access Rule" came into effect for the 1971-72 season, which forbade networks from [[UsefulNotes/ANSIStandardBroadcastTVSchedule scheduling programming]] in the 7:00 p.m. ET/PT hour (a move intended to help spur the syndication market, alongside the concurrent "[=FinSyn=]" rules that effectively required the networks to divest their syndication divisions), forcing the traditional start of primetime to move from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

* ''Series/AdamTwelve'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Series/TheEdSullivanShow'' (CBS, 1948–71)

!Variety, documentary and other shows;

* ''Series/MutualOfOmahasWildKingdom'' (NBC, 1963-1971, moved to syndication with new episodes produced until 1987)
* ''The Andy Williams Show'' (NBC, 1962-1971 followed by a brief run in syndication)
* ''Series/TheRedSkeltonShow'' (CBS, 1953–70; moved to NBC, ending in 1971); it ranked #7 for the 1969-70 season, making it the highest-rated show ''ever'' to be cancelled in television history up to that point

!!Some of the shows cancelled in the purge included:

* ''Series/HeeHaw'' (CBS, 1969–71; revived in syndication, where it ran until 1992)

* ''American Scene Magazine'' / ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' (CBS, 1962–70)

* ''The Music/JohnnyCash Show'' (ABC, 1969–71)
* ''Series/{{Lassie}}'' (CBS, 1954–71; moved to syndication, where it ran until 1973)
* ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' (ABC, 1955–71; moved to syndication, where it ran until 1982)

* ''Series/PoliceStory'' (NBC, 1973-1978)

* ''Series/FamilyAffair'' (CBS, 1966-1973)

* ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'' (ABC, 1975-1979)

Several of the variety shows were promptly UnCanceled: Red Skelton got [[NetworkToTheRescue saved]] for one more season by Creator/{{NBC}}, while ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' and ''Hee Haw'' successfully moved to syndication -- lasting all the way through 1982 and 1992 respectively. Country singer and ''Hee Haw'' personality Roy Clark ultimately recorded a song, "The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka", acknowledging these events as a TakeThat against the Rural Purge. For most of the scripted shows, though, the rural purge was a mercy killing of near-ZombieFranchise shows that either were going on with major original cast members having left or had worn out their premises (one can only be a FishOutOfWater for so long...), VindicatedByHistory in that the bulk of them are far more popular today in their earlier black-and-white seasons and seldom seen in the late seasons from the last few years before the ax.

The purge began in 1970 with the cancellation of ''Series/PetticoatJunction'' by Creator/{{CBS}}; to be fair, the series' viewership had been declining since the death of its star Bea Benaderet. CBS was by far the biggest offender in the purge, cancelling a large array of {{Long Runner}}s just because they skewed too old. Actor Pat Buttram of ''Green Acres'' (which, unsurprisingly, got canned) famously commented that CBS "canceled every show that had a tree in it-- including ''Series/{{Lassie}}''."

Several of these variety shows were promptly UnCanceled: Red Skelton got [[NetworkToTheRescue saved]] for one more season by Creator/{{NBC}}, while ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' and ''Hee Haw'' successfully moved to syndication -- lasting all the way through 1982 and 1992 respectively. Country singer and ''Hee Haw'' personality Roy Clark ultimately recorded a song, "The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka", acknowledging these events as a TakeThat against the Rural Purge. Still, overall the rural purge was VindicatedByHistory in that the bulk of the cancelled shows are far more popular today in their earlier black-and-white seasons and seldom seen in the late seasons from the last few years before the axe.

* ''Series/Adam12'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Adam-12'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Emergency'' (NBC, 1972-1977)

* ''Kojak'' (CBS, 1973-1978)

* ''Maude'' (CBS, 1972–1978)

* ''Vega$'' (ABC, 1978-1981)

Despite its name, the resulting carnage was not exclusively aimed towards rural shows; the casualties of the purge included several long-running [[TheWestern westerns]] (including ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', though the genre had been in a decline due to MoralGuardians complaining about their violence, and ''Bonanza'' itself was facing declining ratings due to the death of co-star Dan Blocker) and variety shows, such as ''The Jackie Gleason Show'', ''The Lawrence Welk Show'', and ''The Red Skelton Show''. CBS and Creator/{{ABC}} each also killed two birds with one stone by cancelling the rural variety shows ''Series/HeeHaw'' and ''The Music/JohnnyCash Show''.

* ''Series/Kojak'' (CBS, 1973-1978)

* ''Series/Emergency'' (NBC, 1972-1977)

* ''Series/Maude'' (CBS, 1972–1978)

* ''Series/Vega$'' (ABC, 1978-1981)

* ''Series/{MASH}'' (CBS, 1972–1983)

* ''Series/M.A.S.H.'' (CBS, 1972–1983)

* ''Series/Adam-12'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Series/''Adam-12'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Series/Adam-12'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Series/Emergency!'' (NBC, 1972-1977)

* ''Series/Adam12'' (NBC, 1968-1975)

* ''Series/MASH'' (CBS, 1972–1983)

* ''Series/QuincyM.E.'' (NBC, 1976-1983)

* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' (CBS, 1971–79)
* ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' (CBS, 1972–78)

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' (CBS, 1972–83)
* ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' (CBS, 1970–77)
* ''{{Series/Maude}}'' (CBS, 1972–78)

----

* ''The Red Skelton Show'' (CBS, 1953–70; moved to NBC, ending in 1971); it ranked #7 for the 1969-70 season, making it the highest-rated show ''ever'' to be cancelled in television history up to that point

A notable movement in US television around the turn of UsefulNotes/TheSeventies--"one of the earliest efforts at [[NetworkDecay channel drift]]", [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_purge according to]] [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} That Other Wiki]]--when the AC Nielsen company made changes to give networks and advertisers a clearer picture of just who (as well as how many people) watched which shows. At the time, many popular programs (such as ''Series/GreenAcres'' and ''Series/HeeHaw'') were rural-themed and were skewing more towards viewers from rural areas or just an older demographic in general. By contrast, younger "urban" viewers wanted more contemporary and innovative programs. In addition, the FCC's new "Prime Time Access Rule" came into effect for the 1971-72 season, which forbade networks from scheduling programming in the 7:00 p.m. ET/PT hour (a move intended to help spur the syndication market, alongside the concurrent "[=FinSyn=]" rules that effectively required the networks to divest their syndication divisions), forcing the traditional start of primetime to move from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.