Why We’re Still Watching ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ After 65 Years

What do entertainers as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Rod Serling have in common? Each one adored The Andy Griffith Show. Serling, the brain behind The Twilight Zone, another enduring television classic, even described Andy Griffith as “one of the few genuinely funny comedies in the medium” in a 1963 TV Guide Magazine article that reported he often visited the nearby set. “What hits me is that the people are characters,” he added, “not caricatures.”

That’s certainly been key to The Andy Griffith Show‘s longevity. The actor’s canny sheriff, Andy Taylor, and the other mildly eccentric and eminently lovable residents of the small Southern town of Mayberry have entertained generations for 65 years — even ones who weren’t yet born when the sitcom premiered on CBS on October 3, 1960. Viewers still laugh, cry, and empathize, which is why, each May, MeTV rolls out its annual “Month of Mayberry” celebration by airing special programming from what we like to call the Mayberry Television Universe.

This year the nostalgia channel’s lineup, running May 4–30, includes for the first time the hourlong 1993 Andy Griffith Show Reunion (May 4, 5/4c and May 30, 8/7c), featuring Griffith, Don Knotts (Deputy Barney Fife), Ron Howard (Opie), Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle), George Lindsey (Goober Pyle) and Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague) reminiscing about the good old days. It’s preceded by Sheriff Andy’s very first TV appearance — on an episode of The Danny Thomas Show (4/3c) — and the inaugural episode of Andy Griffith (4:30/3:30c).

TV Guide Magazine

Mondays through Fridays, the show continues to air in its regular timeslot (8/7c and 8:30/7:30c), but each week the schedule has a different theme: classic Andy episodes (the week of May 5); the best of Barney (May 12); memorable installments highlighting Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) and the rest of the gang (May 19); and notable guest stars such as Barbara Eden, Bill Bixby, and Gavin MacLeod (May 26).

Gol-ly! As Gomer might say, that’s a lot of homespun charm. Yet in a TV landscape with a maddening amount of shows and movies to choose from, The Andy Griffith Show remains the ultimate in comfort TV. Originally airing on CBS Mondays from 1960 to 1968, it produced 249 episodes in its eight-season run and was a Top 10 hit from the start, never finishing lower than No. 7.

Today, fast-talking comedy characters and mockumentary sitcoms move at a frenetic pace, which makes the leisurely gait of Andy Griffith — and its character-rich comedy — a balm to the weary soul. Series cocreator Sheldon Leonard pointed out to TV Guide Magazine in 1961 that “ideas for shows are plentiful, but personalities are rare.” He was referring to Griffith, but he could have been talking about anyone in the cast, especially Knotts, whose comic antics as the often inept deputy earned him five Emmy Awards and were a highlight of his scenes with Griffith. Surprisingly, Knotts and Bavier, who won an Emmy in 1967, were the only two cast members honored by the Television Academy. The show lost all three times it was nominated, and Griffith never received a single nomination for his performance. Perhaps he just made acting look too easy.

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Sheriff Andy, a widower whose loss could have made him bitter, was instead a strong but sensitive man who saw to the ministrations of precocious son Opie, and would court and eventually marry schoolteacher Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut).

He was also darn good at his job, relating to both neighbor and stranger, and refusing to carry a gun. Andy’s weapons were simple: common sense, patience, and respect. So we continue to turn to Andy Griffith as a place that has the warmth and humor of home. Just don’t ask us to taste Aunt Bee’s pickles.

The Andy Griffith Show, Monday–Friday, 8/7c & 8:30/7:30c, MeTV