11 TV Dramas From the 1970s That Almost No One Remembers
The 1970s produced plenty of television dramas that have faded from everyday conversation, but their stories were often anything but ordinary. Some followed families living in unusual places, while others centered on teachers, lawyers, reporters, doctors, and politicians trying to navigate complicated lives.
What makes these shows interesting today is not simply how briefly they aired. Their settings, characters, and unexpected career connections give each one something different to remember. Here are 11 dramas that took some memorable ideas to network television.
Beacon Hill (1975)
Set in Boston after World War I, Beacon Hill followed the wealthy Lassiter family and the Irish immigrant servants who worked for them. The household occupied Louisburg Square, creating a story built around relationships between the people living upstairs and downstairs.
The cast included Stephen Elliott, Nancy Marchand, Beatrice Straight, George Rose, Edward Herrmann, Linda Purl, and Holland Taylor. CBS aired 11 episodes between August and November 1975, with two additional episodes left unaired.
Lucas Tanner (1974–1975)
Lucas Tanner had already lived a very different life before entering the classroom. Once a baseball player and sportswriter, he became an English teacher at the fictional Harry S Truman Memorial High School after losing his wife and child.
His unconventional teaching style created tension with more traditional educators, while student problems became part of his own attempt to rebuild his life. NBC aired the series from September 1974 to April 1975.
Apple’s Way (1974–1975)
The Apple family did not simply move to another neighborhood when they left Los Angeles. They settled into a working gristmill in Appleton, Iowa, where architect George Apple returned with his wife, Barbara, and their four children.
George’s family had founded the town, but that history did not make adjusting to local life simple. His involvement in community causes could create problems at home, adding another layer to the family’s transition.
The Manhunter (1974–1975)
The Manhunter mixed a family drama with a western-flavored crime story. Ken Howard played Dave Barrett, a Depression-era Idaho farmer and former Marine who worked as a bounty hunter.
Barrett’s assignments took him across the western and north-central United States, while his 1929 Cadillac helped reinforce the period setting. The cast also included performers such as Ida Lupino, Sam Elliott, Mark Hamill, Dabney Coleman, and Tom Skerritt.
The Family Holvak (1975)
Glenn Ford and Julie Harris played Reverend Tom Holvak and his wife, Elizabeth, in this Depression-era family drama. The family lived in the fictional Tennessee town of Bensfield, where Tom balanced his responsibilities to his congregation with the needs of a household dealing with limited resources.
Tom also farmed church-owned land to help support his family. The series grew from the television movie The Greatest Gift and introduced new family dilemmas, including an early storyline involving an escaped convict.
Three for the Road (1975)
For the Karras family, home was an RV. Alex Rocco played widowed father Pete Karras, who traveled around the country with his two sons, John and Endy, played by Vincent Van Patten and Leif Garrett.
The unusual setup kept the family constantly moving, allowing new places and encounters to enter the story while the relationship between father and sons remained at its center. The CBS run lasted from September 14 to November 30, 1975.
Sara (1976)
Brenda Vaccaro played Sara Yarnell, a Philadelphia woman who left home to become a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Independence, Colorado, during the 1870s.
The series put a determined educator at the center of a frontier story rather than focusing on the usual Western figures. Sara’s attempts to challenge ignorance and prejudice brought her into conflict with local authorities and members of the school board.
Gibbsville (1976)
Two reporters working for the Gibbsville Courier found themselves back in a small Pennsylvania mining town during the 1940s. John Savage played Jim Malloy, who returned after being expelled from Yale, while Gig Young played Ray Whitehead, whose career had been disrupted by alcoholism.
The fictional town was drawn from John O’Hara’s writing and closely modeled on Pottsville, Pennsylvania. NBC produced 13 episodes but aired only six during the November–December 1976 run.
Storefront Lawyers / Men at Law (1970–1971)
This legal drama began with a particularly focused premise: lawyers working with Neighborhood Legal Services to represent clients who could not afford conventional representation. Robert Foxworth, Sheila Larken, and David Arkin were among the lawyers, with A Martinez playing law student Roberto Alvarez.
Then the series changed direction while it was still airing. After 13 episodes, it returned as Men at Law, shifting the story toward an established law firm. The complete run contained 23 episodes under the two titles.
The Psychiatrist (1970–1971)
Roy Thinnes starred as Dr. James Whitman, a psychiatrist known for using unconventional approaches, with Luther Adler playing his older colleague and mentor. The pilot followed Casey Poe, played by Pete Duel, a former drug user trying to rebuild his life after prison.
The series also has an early connection to Steven Spielberg. He directed two episodes, “The Private World of Martin Dalton” and “Par for the Course,” before the six-episode regular series aired in February and March 1971.
The Bold Ones: The Senator (1970–1971)
Hal Holbrook played Senator Hays Stowe, an idealistic politician facing established interests and difficult public questions. Instead of using Washington simply as a backdrop, the drama made political negotiation and moral decisions the heart of its stories.
The series was part of NBC’s rotating The Bold Ones lineup. Although it lasted one season, Holbrook won the 1971 Emmy for continued leading performance in a dramatic series, and the Television Academy records five Emmy wins for the show.
From a Boston mansion and a Missouri classroom to an RV, a newspaper office and the U.S. Senate, these dramas explored very different corners of American life. Their brief television runs did not stop them from leaving behind some unusually distinctive characters and settings.
