''The Farmer's Daughter'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

, loosely based on the 1947 film, that was produced by

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963, to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark Cigarettes and Clairol, for whom the two leading stars often appeared at the show's end, promoting the products; the commercials were also filmed. ''The Farmer's Daughter'' also enjoyed a brief run in syndication when it aired on CBN Cable in the 1980s.

Overview

The series stars Inger Stevens as Katy Holstrum, a young Swedish woman who becomes the housekeeper for widowed congressman Glen Morley. He has two sons, Steve (age 14) and Danny (8) at the time of the premiere. The congressman's mother is Agatha Morley. The first and second seasons of the series were filmed in black-and-white, and two episodes of the third season were also filmed in black-and-white; the remaining 28 episodes of the third season were filmed in color. The last episode of the second season featured the two lead characters becoming engaged. On the November 5, 1965, episode (just in time for sweeps), Katy Holstrum and Glen Morley were married in a wedding ceremony attended by 300 guests. Network censors objected to the original script of the honeymoon episode that had Glen bringing his new bride to a hotel room with twin beds and then saying, "But I asked for a double bed!" Forbidding use of the word "bed," the censors allowed it to be replaced with "accommodations," along with a glance at the bed. After the wedding episode, the show's ratings, which were already declining, fell, and ABC canceled ''The Farmer's Daughter''. In the penultimate episode, "Is He or Isn't He?", Katy adopts Glen's sons, providing the series closure as well as a happy ending. After the final April 22, 1966 episode, reruns of the show continued until September 2, 1966. The reruns began with a repeat of the wedding episode. Unlike the 1947 film, Katy never ran for (nor was elected to) Congress in the series.

Cast

* Inger Stevens as Katrin "Katy" Holstrum (later, Morley) * William Windom as Glen Morley * Mickey Sholdar as Steve Morley * Rory O'Brien as Danny Morley * Cathleen Nesbitt as Agatha Morley *

Philip Coolidge Philip Coolidge (August 5, 1908 – May 23, 1967) was an American stage, film, and television actor, who performed predominantly in supporting roles during a career that spanned over three decades, from 1930 to the late 1960s. Early life Born in ...

as Cooper, the butler (1963–1964) *

Florence Ravenel Florence Ravenel (March 18, 1896 – December 18, 1975)Doyle, Billy H. (1999). The Ultimate Directory of Silent and Sound Era Performers: A Necrology of Actors and Actresses'. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press. p. 453. . also known as Floren ...

as Millie, the cook (1963–1964)William Windom Tribute Site (March 7, 2021)
"The Farmer's Daughter The Waiting Game"
YouTube. File:Inger Stevens Beverly Garland The Farmers Daughter 1963.JPG, Inger Stevens (holding baby) and Beverly Garland, 1963. File:Inger Stevens William Windom The Farmer's Daughter wedding 1965.jpg, ''The Farmer's Daughter'' wedding File:Cathleen Nesbitt in The Farmer's Daughter.JPG, Cathleen Nesbitt in ''The Farmer's Daughte''r

Episodes

Season 1 (1963–64)

All episodes in black-and-white

Season 2 (1964–65)

All episodes in black-and-white

Season 3 (1965–66)

The third and fourth episodes in black-and-white, the remainder in color

Production

While the first two seasons were black & white, the third season brought some changes to the format, as the series began filming episodes in color. However, the third and fourth episodes had been shot in black-and-white.

Reception

In its first season (filmed in black-and-white), ''The Farmer's Daughter'' competed against ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' on CBS and the short-lived Larry Blyden series ''

Harry's Girls ''Harry's Girls'' is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from September 13, 1963 to January 3, 1964. Synopsis ''Harry's Girls'' was based on the film ''Les Girls'' (1957). Harry Burns sang, danced, and managed a vaudeville troupe consisting o ...

'' on NBC. The series never reached the top 30 in ratings, but during its first two years it earned respectable ratings and proved to be moderately successful.

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

;Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer's Daughter (TV series), The 1963 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings 1960s American single-camera sitcoms Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Live action television shows based on films Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Screen Gems Fiction about domestic workers Television series about widowhood American Broadcasting Company sitcoms