Trivia / The Defenders (1961)

• Distanced from Current Events: Season 3 had two minor examples that were impacted by the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
  • "Climate of Evil", which premiered on December 7, 1963, was originally titled "The Gentle Assassin" before JFK's assassination two weeks earlier led to the name change.
  • "Clare Cheval Died in Boston", which premiered a month later on January 4, 1964, was originally scheduled to air the weekend of the assassination and during the delay had a brief reference to "President Kennedy" edited out.
• Screwed by the Network: The Season 4 move from Saturday nights, where "The Defenders" had aired throughout its run up to then, to Thursday nights contributed to its cancellation, especially with speculation that the scheduling change was politically motivated due to the show's scripts taking more politically liberal leanings on subjects such as abortion ("The Benefactor") and The Hollywood Blacklist ("Blacklist") and coming into conflict with the more conservative management of CBS.
• Troubled Production: Season 1's "The Benefactor" ran into difficulty in terms of broadcasting due to the main plot involving the Prestons defending an abortionist^note this episode originally aired on April 28, 1962; just over a decade before the Roe v. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. All of the main sponsors (Brown & Williamson, Lever Brothers, Kimberly-Clark) declined to advertise on the episode, with the episode only being broadcast when CBS made a last-minute agreement with watchmaker Spiedel to sponsor the episode. Additionally, the episode was banned in Canada.