This show was without a doubt one of the first prime time soap operas in the history of television. The series upon its original broadcast was the first to aired twice a week during its entire five-year run. Every 514 telecasts were original episodes in which 182 episodes of its first two seasons were telecast in black and white from September 15,1964 until September 7,1966. 332 episodes for Seasons 3 thru 6 were in color from September 12,1966 until June 2,1969. The series aired on Monday and Wednesday nights in prime- time for ABC-TV from September 15, 1964 until the final episode on June 2, 1969. The executive producers were Paul Monash, along with Ben Brady and Irma Phillips along with Everett Chambers and Richard Goldstone for Twentieth Century-Fox Television. William Self was in charge of production. The show's sponsors throughout it's run was the Chrysler Corporation, The R.J. Reynolds Corporation and General Foods Company.
This show was a must see because for one you'll never what is about to occur or happened the next and it was always left viewers in a cliffhanger until either tomorrow or next week for the continuation of the story. When the show aired on ABC-TV on September 15, 1964,viewers got the chance to recognized some of the characters who were in fact behind the drama and scandal that was in fact Peyton Place,but in other words,the series picked up where the first two installments of the movie versions,"Peyton Place"(1957),and its sequel,"Return To Peyton Place" (1961)left off. In the TV series though,it was in two parts where one part would play on one night,and the next night it would have the conclusion and so forth. On November 5,1965 the series expanded its format to three times a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights)a run that would continue until the end of Season 2.
A selected who's who of top-list Hollywood's best got top billing within this series which included Dorothy Malone, Leslie Nielsen, Ryan O' Neal, Gena Rowlands,and an unknown actress named Mia Farrow who got her start on this series. Mia Farrow was with the series during it's first two seasons(1964-1966)and after her stint went on to become a huge Hollywood star. As the series went along more guest stars would make weekly appearances. This was a series that tackled some the issues of the day and had viewers coming back for more.
During its entire run only actors Ed Nelson, Barbara Parkins, and Christopher Connelly along with Tim O'Connor were with the series throughout its entire run. All of that change when the show made the transition to color for Season 3 on September 12,1966. In the fall of 1968(Season 4), African-American actors and writers were hired for the series and for the first time the show would have its first black family moving into Peyton Place which were played by Percy Rodriguez and Ruby Dee and their college bound son played by a youthful Glynn Truman. The show had it all....blackmail,murder,jealously,envy,and prejudices all within a half hour which went to airing twice a week for Seasons 2 thru 4 but during its final season was cut back to a once a week format due to its ratings that were beginning to declined until the show's final episode and the last episode in the series on June 2, 1969 after more than five seasons and 514 episodes. The series that eventually replaced "Peyton Place" original prime-time run was another prime-time soap that ABC would bring in steady ratings was also based on a 1964 theatrical picture titled " Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers" that lasted 15 episodes when it premiered in the "Peyton Place" time slot on September 22, 1969 until January 12, 1970. *This commentary was revised on August 15, 2014 to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary.
