The George Burns Show February 1959 sweeps, the format was changed to a live sketch-comedy/variety show in the style of "The Jack Benny Program", in an attempt to improve the ratings. The ratings didn't improve, however, so they reverted to the sitcom format. The series ended after 25 episodes. <nowiki>*</nowiki> Unknown The George Burns Show The George Burns Show is a short-lived comedy television program that aired on NBC for one season (1958–59). The program was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive. "The George Burns Show" immediately followed the eight-season run of "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", which had aired on CBS, and shared continuity
Variety show of new variety shows with rural appeal: "The Johnny Cash Show" (1969-1971), "The Jim Nabors Hour" (1969-1971), "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" (1969-1972) and "Hee Haw" (1969-1992). Entertainers with less successful variety shows in the 1960s include Judy Garland and Sammy Davis Jr. In 1970 and 1971, the American TV networks, CBS especially, conducted the so-called "rural purge", in which shows that appealed to more rural and older audiences were cancelled as part of a greater focus on appealing to wealthier demographics. Many variety shows, including long-running ones, were cancelled as part of this "purge," with a few shows (such