Hey, Jeannie! Explained

Alt Name:The Jeannie Carson Show
Genre:Situation comedy
Creator:Charles Isaacs
Starring:Jeannie Carson
Allen Jenkins
Jane Dulo
Jack Kirkwood
Vera Vague
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:2
Num Episodes:32
Executive Producer:Charles Isaacs (1958)
Producer:Charles Isaacs (1956–1957)
William Harmon (1958)
Runtime:30 mins. (approx)
Company:Four Star-Tartan/Jeannie Productions
Channel:CBS (1956–1957)
First-run syndication (1958)
Last Aired: (on CBS)
1958 (first-run syndication)

Hey, Jeannie!, retitled The Jeannie Carson Show during its second season and also during later prime-time reruns, is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1956–57 television season and in first-run syndication during 1958. The series stars Jeannie Carson as a naïve young Scottish woman who emigrates to New York City.

Synopsis

Jeannie MacLennan is a young Scottish woman who emigrates from the United Kingdom to New York City.[1] [2] Sweet and naïve, she arrives with no job and no place to stay.[1] [2] Taxicab driver Al Murray comes to her assistance[2] and is named as her sponsor. Jeannie moves in with Al and his sister, Liz, in Brooklyn.[1] [2] During Season 1, Jeannie moves from job to job — salesgirl in a doughnut shop, golf caddie, Chinese restaurant manager, executive secretary, taxicab dispatcher, policewoman — and encounters unusual people and situations as she learns about what to her are strange American customs.[2]

In Season 2, with the show retitled The Jeannie Carson Show, Jeannie has settled into a career as an airline stewardess and has moved into a new apartment. Her boss at the airline is the chief stewardess, Mabel, and Herbert is a flight engineer who often is part of the crew on Jeannie's flights. Her new landlord is Charlie O'Connell.

Cast

Production

Jeannie Carson was performing in her breakout role in the musical Love from Judy at the Saville Theatre in London in 1952–1953 when producer Max Liebman saw her in that production.[3] He signed her to a contract to appear on television in the United States.[3] Hey, Jeannie! gave Carson her first starring role on American television.

Four Star-Tartan and Jeannie Productions produced Hey, Jeannie! and The Jeannie Carson Show. Carson sang a song in most episodes.

Procter & Gamble initially was the program's only sponsor. In January 1957 Chesterfield cigarettes became an alternate week sponsor.[4]

Broadcast history

Hey, Jeannie! premiered on CBS on September 8, 1956.[1] [2] CBS cancelled it after a single season, and the last of its 26 original episodes on CBS aired on March 16, 1957. CBS then broadcast reruns of Hey, Jeannie! for another seven weeks, from March 23 to May 4, 1957.[1] The show aired from 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays throughout its CBS run.[1] [2]

After CBS cancelled Hey Jeannie!, the show underwent a change in premise and was retitled The Jeannie Carson Show for its second season. Only six episodes were produced for the second season, and they ran in first-run syndication in the United States during 1958.

ABC broadcast reruns of Hey, Jeannie! under the title The Jeannie Carson Show from June 30 to September 22, 1960, as a summer replacement for The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom.[2] The reruns ran on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.[2]

Episodes

Season 1: Hey, Jeannie! (1956–1957)

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Season 2: The Jeannie Carson Show (1958)

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External links

Notes and References

  1. McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996,, p. 375.
  2. Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995,, p. 458.
  3. News: Gaver. Jack. Vivacious Jeannie Carson Is Waiting for New Musical. Kingsport Times-News . Kingsport Times-News. 16 September 1962. Tennessee, Kingsport. 30. Newspapers.com. 12 January 2016.
  4. January 16, 1957 . 24 . Alternate-Week Yen Still Grows . Variety . May 21, 2023 .