Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series)


Alfred Hitchcock Presents, sometimes called The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, is an American television anthology series that originally aired on NBC for one season from September 29, 1985, to May 4, 1986, and on the USA Network for three more seasons, from January 24, 1987, to July 22, 1989, with a total of four seasons consisting of 76 episodes. The series is an updated version of the 1955 series of the same name.

Background

In 1985, NBC aired a new made-for-television film based upon the series, combining newly filmed stories with colorized footage of Alfred Hitchcock from the original series introducing each segment. The segments were "Incident in a Small Jail," adapted and directed by Joel Oliansky, "Man from the South," adapted and directed by Steve De Jarnatt, "Bang! You're Dead!," adapted by Harold Swanton and Christopher Crowe and directed by Randa Haines, and "An Unlocked Window," adapted and directed by Fred Walton. The film was a ratings success.

Format

A new Alfred Hitchcock Presents series debuted on September 29, 1985 and retained the same format as the film – newly filmed stories with colorized introductions by Hitchcock. The new series lasted only one season before NBC cancelled it, but it was then produced for three more seasons by USA Network, and shifted production from Los Angeles to Toronto, where the show's new Canadian producing partner Paragon Motion Pictures was based, along with several budget cuts to the series. Directors who helmed episodes included Tim Burton, David Chase, Burt Reynolds, Atom Egoyan, Joan Tewkesbury, and Thomas Carter.

Production

Despite garnering good reviews, NBC cancelled Alfred Hitchcock Presents as according to then NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff the series didn't pair well with Amazing Stories on Sunday nights as parents looking for an "electronic babysitter" for their children were taken aback by the colorful whimsy filled fantasies presented in Amazing Stories that would then segue into stories of murder on Alfred Hitchcock Presents with parents opting to put on ABC's Wonderful World of Disney which started before Alfred Hitchcock Presents for uninterrupted family viewing meaning that Amazing Stories target audience was being siphoned off. The series was saved from cancellation by USA Network who had been running the original Alfred Hitchcock Presents and ordered a 13 episode second season.

Notable guest stars

Series pilot

Other episodes