If you watched TV in the early to mid-1970s, you might have noticed some of the most popular shows of the time getting canceled rather suddenly. This unceremonious dumping of shows that were at the height of their popularity became known as the rural purge.

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TV shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Petticoat Junction were hugely popular, pulling in higher ratings than many other shows of the time. The trouble was, most of those viewers skewed older and the advertisers who paid for commercials on those shows weren’t happy. They wanted to target the 25 to 35 year old demographic and shows that were mainly watched by grandparents weren’t going to do the trick.

The television networks ended up bowing to pressure from their advertisers and started the rural purge to wipe them off the dial. Shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, which was a top 20 show for eight of its nine seasons, didn’t stand a chance when it came down to money. It didn’t matter how many people tuned in every episode — if advertisers weren’t willing to pay for commercial time, the huge ratings meant nothing.

Some shows, like Green Acres and Gunsmoke, even brought modern sensibilities to their rural settings. But that wasn’t enough to overcome the power of the rural purge — they got canceled along with all the other shows that took place in rural settings.

It wasn’t only your favorite sitcoms that were affected either. Shows like Gunsmoke and Bonanza got caught up in the purge along with all the rest. Gunsmoke managed to last a little longer, mind you, holding out until 1975 — a good two or three years after most of the shows affected by the rural purge.

In this video, we’ll look at some of the most popular shows to get canceled as part of the purge.

The Rural Purge That CANCELED Your Favorite Sitcoms

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