Anthology television series
American Playhouse is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Overview
It premiered on January 12, 1982, with The Shady Hill Kidnapping , written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart . Its final broadcast, In the Wings: Angels in America on Broadway , a rerun of a behind-the-scenes look at Tony Kushner 's award-winning play in two parts, aired on January 1, 1994.
The series proved to be the springboard for the careers of numerous performers, including David Marshall Grant , Laura Linney , A Martinez , Conchata Ferrell , Eric Roberts , Lynne Thigpen , John Malkovich , Peter Riegert , Lupe Ontiveros , Ben Stiller , and Megan Mullally .
As part of WGBH's development of the Descriptive Video Service (DVS), American Playhouse was one of the first U.S. television programs to air with audio description for the visually impaired on the Secondary audio program (SAP). After trialing the system during previous seasons, the 1990 season was the first to offer it as part of their wider rollout of DVS, initially through 32 member stations.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Episodes
Season 1 (1982)
Season 2 (1983)
Season 3 (1984)
Season 4 (1984–1985)
Season 5 (1986)
Season 6 (1987)
Season 7 (1988)
Season 8 (1989)
Season 9 (1990)
Season 10 (1991)
Season 11 (1992–1993)
Season 12 (1994)
Season 13 (1995–1996)
Notable cast
Accolades
Some of the productions won multiple Emmys: one from Robert Morse in Tru ,[ 10] Outstanding Children's Program for Displaced Person [ 11] and technical achievements for The Meeting alongside many nominations.[ 12]
Academy Award recognitions included El Norte ' s nomination for Best Original Screenplay ,[ 13] [ 14] a Best Actress nod for Jane Alexander in Testament [ 15] [ 16] and a Best Actor nod for Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver .[ 17] [ 18]
Golden Globe recognitions included three for Stand and Deliver (two for Olmos (Leading Actor ) and Diamond Phillips (Supporting Actor ) and one for Best Motion Picture - Drama ).[ 19]
American Playhouse also won a Peabody Award in 1990.[ 20]
Legacy
Episodes like Nothing but a Man , The Thin Blue Line , El Norte and Stand and Deliver were each inducted into the National Film Registry .[ 21]
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was featured as an episode of the cult science fiction series Mystery Science Theater 3000 .[ 22] [ 23]
References
^ "American Playhouse' Appoints Lynn Holst (Published 1987)" . The New York Times . 9 June 1987. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05.
^ Goodman, Walter (24 January 1990). "Review/Television; 'Hallmark' vs. 'American Playhouse' (Published 1990)" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2016-08-11.
^ O'Connor, John J. (16 June 1993). "Review/Television; Cultures Clash on 'American Playhouse' (Published 1993)" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2021-02-05.
^ Gibson, Gwen (29 December 1989). "Words worth 1,000 pictures" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2019-04-22 .
^ Molotsky, Irvin (1988-01-13). "New TV System Offers Descriptions for Blind" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-04-22 .
^ Ellis, Katie (2019-02-01). Disability and Digital Television Cultures: Representation, Access, and Reception . Routledge. ISBN 9781317627845 .
^ american playhouse: northern lights (tv) - The Paley Center for Media
^ american playhouse: heartland (tv) - The Paley Center for Media
^ "Jan Hartman | Writer" . IMDb .
^ Tru (American Playhouse)|Television Academy
^ Displaced Person American Playhouse|Television Academy
^ The Meeting American Playhouse|Television Academy
^ 1985|Oscars.org
^ Robert Benton and Peter Shaffer winning Writing Oscars®-Oscars on YouTube
^ 1984|Oscars.org
^ Shirley MacLaine Wins Best Actress: 1984 Oscars
^ 1989|Oscars.org
^ Dustin Hoffman Wins Best Actor: 1989 Oscars
^ Stand and Deliver|Golden Globes
^ "American Playhouse" . Retrieved 2019-03-02 .
^ Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board
^ Vorel, Jim (April 13, 2017). "Ranking Every MST3K Episode, From Worst to Best" . Paste . p. 6. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
^ Cecchini, Mike (April 15, 2017). "The Top 100 Best MST3K Episodes" . Den of Geek. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
External links
1950–1980 1981–2005 2006–2020