Expanding on its commitment to add classic TV to its vintage movie lineup, getTV has announced a weekly night of variety and talk programming from TV's Golden Age, to air weekly on Mondays beginning October 12th. The lineup will be headlined by "The Judy Garland Show" at 8PM (ET) and "The Merv Griffin Show" at 10PM (ET), with a rotating slate of musical variety specials and series episodes airing between the shows at 9PM (ET).
In 1963, "The Judy Garland Show" was a celebrated entry on CBS' fall schedule, bringing the renowned movie star and all-around entertainer to a weekly series format following the success of several of her own variety specials. Unfortunately, Judy was scheduled opposite the enormously popular “Bonanza” on a rival network. The competition was too much and the series ultimately didn't capture enough viewers to last beyond its first season. Nevertheless, it has remained a legendary 'lost' series for showcasing the iconic Garland in fine musical form, in both solo performances and with such celebrated guests that included Barbra Streisand, Diahann Carroll, Mel Torme, Bobby Darin, Ethel Merman, June Allyson, Jack Jones, and Judy’s own talented daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft. One of the show’s many highlights features Garland’s show-stopping rendition of ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic,’ taped just days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The performance was intended to help heal the country, and still resonates with critics and viewers today.
Pieces of the show have over the years shown up in compilation specials, but getTV will present all twenty-six episodes of the series on TV, uncut for the first time since they were originally broadcast. The initial slate of episodes features guests such as frequent Garland co-star Mickey Rooney (Oct. 12), Count Basie (Oct. 19), Lena Horne (Nov. 9), and Tony Bennett (Nov. 16). Other programs featured during the 9PM (ET) hour of getTV’s Monday variety block include classic specials and variety episodes from Andy Williams, Dionne Warwick and Jim Nabors, among others.
"Judy Garland is riveting to watch, and we want to remind people why she has been called the world’s greatest entertainer," said Jeff Meier, SVP of Programming for getTV." Without a doubt, the show is an amazing time capsule, capturing huge stars in way they were hardly ever seen - on TV, having a good time. The entire Monday night lineup takes viewers back to a time when true talent reigned on the airwaves—a Golden Age packed with iconic triple threat performers who could sing, dance and act in front of a live audience. You won’t see that with today’s stars. And that’s too bad, because network TV really could use the lift.