The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was an American comedy and variety show television series
hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969.
The series was a major success, especially considering it was scheduled against the major NBC
television series Bonanza, with content that appealed to contemporary youth viewership with daring political satire
humor and major music acts such as Buffalo Springfield, Pete Seeger, Cream, and The Who. Despite this success,
continual conflicts with network executives over content led to the show being abruptly pulled from the schedule in
violation of the Smothers' contract in 1969.
The evolution of The Comedy Hour was unique to a medium that was fearful of change. The show
debuted in the winter of 1967 as a slightly "hip" version of the typical comedy-variety show of its era. But within
weeks it rapidly evolved into a program that extended the boundaries of what was considered permissible in
television satire.
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