Airdate: America in Primetime

Here’s one for all TV fans (this means you), a PBS documentary series that analyses at American Television.

America in Primetime is a four-part series that will screen on SBS from Tuesday November 13.

Weaving between past and present and back again, each episode focuses on one character archetype that has remained a staple of primetime television through the generations. There are more than a hundred in-depth interviews with the top talent in primetime.

The first episode “Man of the House” showcases the evolution of men, from the kings of their castles in classic family sitcoms to more intricate, conflicted figures in modern programming.

Man of the House interviews include:
All in the Family
Norman Lear (Creator)
Rob Reiner (Actor, “Michael Stivic”)

The Andy Griffith Show
Ron Howard (Actor, “Opie Taylor”)
The Bernie Mac Show
Larry Wilmore (Creator)

Big Love
Mark Olsen (Creator)
Bill Paxton (Actor, “Bill Henrickson”)
Will Scheffer (Creator)

Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston (Actor, “Walter White”)
Vince Gilligan (Creator)

The Cosby Show
Marcy Carsey (Executive Producer)
Tom Werner (Executive Producer)

The Dick Van Dyke Show
Carl Reiner (Creator)
Mary Tyler Moore (Actor, “Laura Petrie”)
Dick Van Dyke (Actor, “Robert Petrie”)

Everybody Loves Raymond
Patricia Heaton (Actor, “Debra Barone”)
Phil Rosenthal (Creator)
Mike Royce (Writer)

Leave It to Beaver
Jerry Mathers (Actor, “Beaver Cleaver”)

Mad Men
Elizabeth Moss (Actor, “Peggy Olson”)
Matt Weiner (Creator)

Modern Family
Steve Levitan (Creator)
Christopher Lloyd (Creator)
Eric Stonestreet (Actor, “Cameron Tucker”)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Actor, “Mitchell Pritchett”)

The Sopranos
David Chase (Creator)
Edie Falco (Actor, “Carmela Soprano”)

Thirtysomething
Marshall Herskovitz (Creator)
Ed Zwick (Creator)

Other episodes are:
Independent Woman
The Misfit
The Crusader

8:30pm Tuesday, 13 November SBS ONE.