The Baxters
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The Baxters was a television sitcom, which debuted in 1977 on a local Boston, Massachusetts ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV. The program entered national syndication in 1979 after producer Norman Lear picked up the national rights. The national version ran for two years, from 1979 to 1981.
The Baxters was about a common American family, dealing with various important and, in some cases, controversial, issues of the day.
Unlike most other sitcoms, each episode was open-ended, giving a live studio audience and guests a chance to talk about the topic being presented. Stations carrying the show could choose between producing their own discussion segments locally, or presenting a national version of the segment, which was produced either in Los Angeles or in Toronto (see below).
The first nationwide season of The Baxters was produced in Hollywood. For the second season, production shifted to Toronto, Ontario. When the show made the move, the family was not only recast, but the characters changed to a different Baxter family. While the initial cast was comprised largely of local Boston actors (during the WCVB-produced seasons), after Lear picked up the show, nationally known actors were used, including Larry Keith and Anita Gillette; Megan Follows (who would later play Anne of Green Gables) was also among the later cast members.
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