The Farmer's Daughter is an American sitcom, loosely based on the 1947 film, that was produced by Screen Gems Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963, to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark Cigarettes and Clairol, for whom the two leading stars often appeared at the show's end, promoting the products; the commercials were also filmed. The Farmer's Daughter also enjoyed a brief run in syndication when it aired on CBN Cable in the 1980s.

Overview

The series stars Inger Stevens as Katy Holstrum, a young Swedish woman who becomes the housekeeper for widowed congressman Glen Morley. He has two sons, Steve (age 14) and Danny (8) at the time of the premiere. The congressman's mother is Agatha Morley. The first and second seasons of the series were filmed in black-and-white, and two episodes of the third season were also filmed in black-and-white; the remaining 28 episodes of the third season were filmed in color. The last episode of the second season featured the two lead characters becoming engaged. On the November 5, 1965, episode (just in time for sweeps), Katy Holstrum and Glen Morley were married in a wedding ceremony attended by 300 guests. Network censors objected to the original script of the honeymoon episode that had Glen bringing his new bride to a hotel room with twin beds and then saying, "But I asked for a double bed!" Forbidding use of the word "bed," the censors allowed it to be replaced with "accommodations," along with a glance at the bed. After the wedding episode, the show's ratings, which were already declining, fell, and ABC canceled The Farmer's Daughter. In the penultimate episode, "Is He or Isn't He?", Katy adopts Glen's sons, providing the series closure as well as a happy ending. After the final April 22, 1966 episode, reruns of the show continued until September 2, 1966. The reruns began with a repeat of the wedding episode. Unlike the 1947 film, Katy never ran for (nor was elected to) Congress in the series.

Cast

Episodes

Season 1 (1963–64)

All episodes in black-and-white

Season 2 (1964–65)

All episodes in black-and-white

Season 3 (1965–66)

The third and fourth episodes in black-and-white, the remainder in color

Production

While the first two seasons were black & white, the third season brought some changes to the format, as the series began filming episodes in color. However, the third and fourth episodes had been shot in black-and-white.

Reception

In its first season (filmed in black-and-white), The Farmer's Daughter competed against The Twilight Zone on CBS and the short-lived Larry Blyden series Harry's Girls on NBC. The series never reached the top 30 in ratings, but during its first two years it earned respectable ratings and proved to be moderately successful.

Awards and nominations