Series synopsis
The Andy Griffith Show is an American comedy family television series that premiered on CBS on October 3, 1960. It ended on April 1, 1968. It was created by Sheldon Leonard, Danny Thomas. It stars Howard McNear, Hope Summers, Andy Griffith and Ron Howard.
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show ...
Premise
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by."
The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.
Premise: Nip it in the bud!
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Howard McNear as Floyd Lawson
- Hope Summers as Clara Edwards
- Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor
- Ron Howard as Opie Taylor
- Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee Taylor
- Don Knotts as Barney Fife
- Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump
- Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle
Guest cast
- Jack Dodson as Howard Sprague
- James Best as Jim Lindsey
- Jason Johnson as Councilman
- Arlene Golonka as Millie Hutchins
- Ruth McDevitt as Mrs. Pendleton
- Parley Baer as Mayor Roy Stoner
- Larry Hovis as Gilly Walker
- Argentina Brunetti as La Farona
- Keith Andes as Roger Bryant
- Charles Dierkop as Larry
- Robert Easton as Pete Johnson
- Dennis Holmes as Tommy
Episodes
This series spans 9 seasons with 257 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 8 | February 15, 1960 | December 25, 2015 |
| Season 1 | 32 | October 3, 1960 | May 22, 1961 |
| Season 2 | 31 | October 2, 1961 | May 7, 1962 |
| Season 3 | 32 | October 1, 1962 | May 6, 1963 |
| Season 4 | 32 | September 30, 1963 | May 18, 1964 |
| Season 5 | 32 | September 21, 1964 | May 3, 1965 |
| Season 6 | 30 | September 13, 1965 | April 11, 1966 |
| Season 7 | 30 | September 12, 1966 | April 10, 1967 |
| Season 8 | 30 | September 11, 1967 | April 1, 1968 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Danny Meets Andy Griffith The "unofficial" pilot, first broadcast in season 7, episode 20 of "Make Room for Daddy". Danny runs a stop sign at a "future crossroad" traveling through the small town of Mayberry. Danny being a big star, Andy sees this as an opportunity to raise extra money to build the crossroad. Danny is furious and would rather go to jail. |
February 15, 1960 |
| 2 |
Return to Mayberry After being away for awhile, Andy Taylor returns home to Mayberry to visit Opie, now an expectant father. While there he ends up helping Barney Fife mount a campaign for sheriff. |
April 13, 1986 |
| 3 |
A Mayberry Reunion TBS celebrates The Andy Griffith Show's thirtieth anniversary with a reunion show featuring stories and anecdotes from the cast and crew. |
November 19, 1990 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The New Housekeeper Sheriff Andy Taylor and his young son Opie are in need of a new housekeeper. Andy's Aunt Bee looks like the perfect candidate and moves in, but her presence causes friction with Opie. |
October 3, 1960 |
| 2 |
The Manhunt Andy and his bumbling deputy, Barney Fife, offer to help track down an escaped convict, but the captain of the state police scoffs at the small-town sheriff's help. |
October 10, 1960 |
| 3 |
The Guitar Player A gifted guitar player (James Best) who has self-doubts about his musical talent gets a chance at stardom -- with a little push from Andy. |
October 17, 1960 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Opie and the Bully Sheriff Andy Taylor must decide whether to intervene or let the problem work itself out when a bully harasses his son Opie at school. |
October 2, 1961 |
| 2 |
Barney's Replacement When a rookie policeman is sent to Mayberry for training, Barney mistakenly believes the man is his replacement and quits the police force to become a vacuum-cleaner salesman. |
October 9, 1961 |
| 3 |
Andy and the Woman Speeder Andy arrests an attractive speeder, who promptly uses flattery and charm to turn the various prosecution witnesses -- Opie, Barney and Floyd the barber -- against a hapless Andy and his case. |
October 16, 1961 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mr. McBeevee Opie tells Andy about his new friend Mr. McBeevee, who Andy believes to be a figment of Opie's imagination. But when Andy begins to suspect Opie is using his new-found friend as an excuse to lie, he decides to set the record straight and prove Mr. McBeevee doesn't really exist. Or does he? |
October 1, 1962 |
| 2 |
Andy's Rich Girlfriend Andy discovers Peggy comes from a wealthy family and starts to feel like he is unable to provide the kind of sophisticated company she is used to. He decides to stop seeing her and abruptly breaks it off, but without getting Peggy's Side of the story. |
October 8, 1962 |
| 3 |
Andy and the New Mayor There is a new mayor in town who is immediately put off by Andy's laid back management style. When Andy lets a prisoner out of jail for a few days so he can harvest crops, he finds his job is suddenly on the line, especially when the prisoner doesn't return. |
October 15, 1962 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Opie the Birdman Opie decides to raise a nest of baby birds after accidentally killing their mother with his new slingshot and ends up learning one of the hardest lessons of motherhood in the process. |
September 30, 1963 |
| 2 |
The Haunted House Barney is sent into a reputed "haunted" house to retrieve Opie's baseball and sees things that make even the skeptical Andy wonder if there really are ghosts, until Andy discovers who's really doing the haunting. |
October 7, 1963 |
| 3 |
Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army When Ernest T. Bass is denied from joining the army, he blames Andy and threatens to break every window in Mayberry. When Andy learns the real reason for Ernest's denial, he finds a solution that benefits everyone...except Barney. |
October 14, 1963 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Opie Loves Helen Opie develops a crush on his teacher, Ms. Crump, and Andy sees that the only way to get Opie to forget about it is to admit to him that he and Helen are an "item." |
September 21, 1964 |
| 2 |
Barney's Physical New height and weight requirements go into effect for all law enforcement officers, which threatens to put Barney out of a job unless Andy can figure out a way to throw around some much-needed weight. |
September 28, 1964 |
| 3 |
Family Visit Aunt Bee's sister Nora and her family come to visit and drive everybody crazy. When Nora's husband starts going around town acting like a police officer, Andy decides to give him a taste of the life of a real lawman. |
October 5, 1964 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Opie's Job Opie and another boy compete for a job at the Grocery store. |
September 13, 1965 |
| 2 |
Andy's Rival Frank, a teacher from Raleigh comes to Mayberry for a visit. He and Helen get along fine, and Andy suspects something is going on between them. |
September 20, 1965 |
| 3 |
Malcolm at the Crossroads To get his mind off throwing rocks through windows, Ernest T. Bass is given the job of being a traffic cop. However, when Ernest T. begins throwing bricks through car windows, Malcom Merriweather is assigned Ernest T.'s task, causing Ernest T. to vow for revenge. |
September 27, 1965 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Opie's Girlfriend Helen's niece comes for a visit and proves to be both very pretty and very talented in athletics. Trouble is that she beats Opie in almost every sport there is. She actually really likes Opie as a BOY and needs her Aunt Helen to help her to get Opie to like her. |
September 12, 1966 |
| 2 |
The Lodge Andy invites Howard to join ""The Regal Order of the Door to Good Fellowship"" lodge. Howard's mother doesn't like the idea of Howard being around the other men, so she concocts a scheme whereby Howard will be denied membership. It's all a big misunderstanding, and Howard eventually is allowed to join the lodge. |
September 19, 1966 |
| 3 |
The Barbershop Quartet The Barbershop Quartet is missing one singer when Howard develops a sore throat. Andy, much to his dismay,must bring along a chicken thief who is a great singer. Andy has deep misgivings about this fellow and whether he will actually sing or try to break free. |
September 26, 1966 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Opie's First Love Opie has a really big crush on classmate Mary Alice Carter, but she has her eyes on hunk Fred Simpson. When Opie asks her to the dance, she says yes, not thinking Fred will ask her. When Fred asks her, she immediately says yes and has to think of a way to tell Opie she can't go with him. At the dance, Mary Alice realizes that she really wants to be with Opie and they end up together. |
September 11, 1967 |
| 2 |
Howard the Bowler Howard is on a bowling hot streak. When the lights go out during the final frame of the championship game, he gets the jitters but must still finish the game. |
September 18, 1967 |
| 3 |
A Trip to Mexico Aunt Bea and her friends go to Mexico. While there, their friendships gets strained. |
September 25, 1967 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | CBS |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 3, 1960 |
| Last aired | April 1, 1968 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Monday at 21:30:00 |