"Julia" (1968) TV series 1968-1971

Creator:

Hal Kanter

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

17 September 1968 (USA)

Plot:

Julia Baker is a young African-American woman working as a nurse. She is also a widow (her husband died in Vietnam) trying to raise a young son alone.

Plot Keywords:

African American | Nurse | Single Mother | Sitcom | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Diahann Carroll	...	Julia Baker (86 episodes, 1968-1971)
Lloyd Nolan	...	Dr. Morton Chegley (86 episodes, 1968-1971)
Marc Copage	...	Corey Baker (86 episodes, 1968-1971)
Michael Link	...	Earl J. Waggedorn / ... (58 episodes, 1968-1971)
Richard S. Steele	...	Richard (35 episodes, 1969-1971)

Also Known As:

Mama's Man (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

This show was controversial because it was the subject of constant criticism that it did not realistically portray the lives of blacks in America. Diahann Carroll continuously defended it in interviews, saying that it was a "fantasy" and that very little on TV showed life as it really was. The show may have been ahead of its time, and when "The Cosby Show" (1984) premiered and became a mega-hit, the American public showed that it finally was ready for a show of its type.

Quotes:

Corey: Gee, you're big. Are you a football player?
Jordan Hayes: No, I'm an actor.
Corey: That's too bad.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin/Van Morrison (#4.4)" (1978)

Epochal

Just for the record, no one seems to have commented on the social importance of this show. It was the first television series to star a black woman. (And one of the few of its time to star any black actor or actress.) It was also important in that it did not play to stereotypes of of the role of black women, let alone single black mothers. Julia was a successful single parent with a career as a nurse at a major hospital where she was respected.

As I recall, while her race was not ignored, it was not the crux of the program.

The content of the show was not terribly exciting, but the matter-of-fact way in which Julia's middle-class life was portrayed was a major step forward for television. In a sense, the somewhat bland quality of many of the episodes was a de facto recognition of the fact that the day-to-day lives and concerns of most people (even fictional TV people) don't really differ based on external factors like race.