The Year CBS Killed Everything with a Tree
The meteoric rise of The Beverly Hillbillies ignited a trend, birthing a slew of imitations. Green Acres transplanted city slickers into the countryside, while Petticoat Junction unfolded around the antics at a rural hotel. The 1960s and early ’70s saw TV brimming with hillbilly humor and rural charm. However, audience appetites shifted, leading to a mass exodus from pastoral narratives.
CBS, once the epicenter of this rural sitcom boom, initiated the infamous “Rural Purge” in the early ’70s, axing 15 such shows. Hee-Haw, a musical variety spin on the theme, dodged the cull, enjoying a long run from 1969 to 1993. Reflecting on the era, Green Acres star Pat Buttram quipped, “It was the year CBS killed everything with a tree in it,” marking the end of television’s hillbilly heyday.