Fox is honoring the men and women who created the beloved comedy “M*A*S*H” with a new two-hour special that will air from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT on Jan. 1.
“M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television,” will feature new interviews with original cast members from the 14-time Emmy-winning television classic, including Alan Alda (Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), William Christopher (Father Francis Mulcahy), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger), Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), Wayne Rogers (Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre) and Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan) and series executive producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe.
The interviews explore the creation and evolution of the show’s iconic characters alongside rare and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage and photos. Writer/producer Larry Gelbart, as well as additional series stars Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns), Harry Morgan (Col. Sherman T. Potter), McLean Stevenson (Lt. Col. Henry Blake) and David Ogden Stiers (Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III) will be remembered through a collection of clips from the series as well as in rarely seen archival interviews.
“M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television” is directed by John Scheinfeld (“Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback,” “The U.S. vs. John Lennon and What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?”) with Scheinfeld and Andy Kaplan serving as executive producers.
“’M*A*S*H’ is not only a great television series, it is a cultural phenomenon. It has made multiple generations of viewers laugh, cry and think, often in the same episode,” Scheinfeld and Kaplan said in a statement. “We are excited to team with FOX to create this unprecedented window into an innovative television classic.”
“M*A*S*H,” a television adaptation of the 1970 feature film, premiered on CBS in 1972 and ran on the network for 11 seasons. The series follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War.
The show’s two-and a-half-hour series finale, which first aired on CBS in 1983, remains the highest-rated telecast in television history, delivering an incredible 77 audience share and 60.2 rating. To date, the show has never left the air, continuously running in syndication, on basic cable and now streaming on Hulu. The series was produced by 20th Television.
“‘M*A*S*H’ is among the most iconic sitcoms in the annals of television history. It’s a timeless show that comedically captures the 4077th medical corps and how they managed to maintain their sanity while saving lives on the front lines of the Korean War,” Dan Harrison, Fox Entertainment’s executive vice president of program planning and content strategy, said in a statement. “Larry Gelbart, Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe brought this incredible comedy to life thanks to their ensemble cast led by the incomparable Alan Alda. Fox is proud to celebrate the landmark achievements of one of the best comedies ever created.”
