Premiere is an American anthology television series that aired on CBS during the summer of 1968. It consisted of unsold television pilots.
Background
The practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year – far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series – created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired. Packaging these unsold pilots in anthology series and airing them during the summer provided television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them. Premiere was one of these series, aired by CBS in the summer of 1968.
Content Premiere aired hour-long dramas in six of its episodes; among them was "Call to Danger," which was made years earlier as the pilot for the 1966–1973 series Mission: Impossible. One episode consisted of two situation comedies broadcast back-to-back. Stars appearing in Premiere include Alan Alda, Peter Graves, Dustin Hoffman, Shirley Jones, and Burt Reynolds.
Broadcast history Premiere aired from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Mondays, premiering on July 1, 1968. Its first five episodes ran during July, followed by one episode in August and one — its final episode — broadcast on September 9, 1968.
Episodes SourcesThe Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present 2003. pg.952 MacMinn, Aleene, "INSIDE TV: Run, Buddy, Run Waiting in Limbo," Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1966, Page D22.Gowran, Clay, "A Not-So-New Look at American Unions," Chicago Tribune November 16, 1966, page D10.Thomas, Kevin, "Pretty Actress Even With Foot in Her Mouth," Los Angeles Times, February 15, 1970, Page Q1.
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