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TV series
Poster for Fernwood 2 Night

Fernwood 2 Night

1977 · 1 season

A deadpan fake local talk show that drifts into awkward, hilarious small talk, rewarding viewers who savor cringe comedy and slow-burning absurdity.

Created by
Norman Lear
Genres
Comedy, Talk
Starring
Fred Willard, Frank De Vol, Martin Mull
Overview
Fernwood 2 Night was a comedic television program that ran from July 1977 – September 1977. It was created by Norman Lear and produced by Alan Thicke as a spin-off/summer replacement from Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. It was a parody talk show, hosted by Barth Gimble and sidekick/announcer Jerry Hubbard, complete with a stage band, Happy Kyne and His Mirthmakers. Barth was the twin brother of Garth Gimble from Mary Hartman. Like Mary Hartman, Fernwood 2 Night was set in the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio. The show satirized real talk shows as well as the sort of fare one might expect from locally-produced, small-town, midwestern American television programming. Well-known actors usually appeared playing characters or a contrivance had to be written for the celebrity to appear as themselves. After one season of Fernwood, the producers revamped the show the following year as America 2-Night. In this second version, Barth and Jerry's show moved to California and was broadcast nationally on the fictional UBS network, whose slogan was "We put U before the BS". This change allowed the show to now have well-known actors on the show as themselves.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Created by
Norman Lear
Genres
Comedy, Talk
Starring
Fred Willard, Frank De Vol, Martin Mull
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • satiricalstrength 3 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
  • lightstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • media
  • celebrity
  • class
  • identity
Places
  • small town
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • mockumentary
  • ensemble
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour9
Realism6
Romance1
Tension2
Darkness2
Complexity5
Emotional weight2

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, talk
Created by
Norman Lear
Written by
Alan Thicke, Jack Douglas
Starring
Fred Willard, Frank De Vol, Martin Mull, Tommy Tedesco, Dabney Coleman, Vern Rowe, Robert Donner, Susan Elliot
Length
1 seasons, 65 episodes, 30 min each

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