The Jacksons (TV series)

{{Short description|American variety show featuring the Jackson siblings}}

{{about|the 1976 live action series|their 1971 animated series|Jackson 5ive (TV series)|the 2009 reality show|The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Jacksonstvshow.jpg

| caption = 1977 CBS photo, top row, from left: Jackie, Michael, Tito, and Marlon Jackson. Middle row: Randy, La Toya, and Rebbie Jackson. Bottom: Janet Jackson.

| genre = Variety

| writer = Thomas C. Chapman
Ray Jessel
Wayne Kline
Arnie Kogen
Biff Manard
Winston Moss
Jim Mulligan
David Smilow
Jim Tisdale

| director = Bill Davis

| starring = Rebbie Jackson
Jackie Jackson
Tito Jackson
La Toya Jackson
Marlon Jackson
Michael Jackson
Randy Jackson
Janet Jackson

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 12

| executive_producer = Richard Arons
Bill Davis
Joe Jackson

| producer = Ray Jessel
Arnie Kogen

| editor = Jimmy B. Frazier

| camera = Multi-camera

| runtime = 22–24 minutes

| company = Carefree Video Company
Jackson Television Productions

| channel = CBS

| first_aired = {{Start date|1976|06|16}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1977|03|09}}

}}

File:The Jacksons and Joey Bishop 1976.JPG, Michael and Tito (1976)]]

The Jacksons is an American variety show featuring the Jackson siblings.

History

The show featured all of the Jackson siblings except for Jermaine, who was signed to Motown while the Jackson group was signed to the Epic/CBS record label. It was the first variety show where the entire cast were siblings or an African-American family.{{cite book |last=Easlea |first=Daryl |date= October 15, 2016 |title=Michael Jackson: Rewind: The Life and Legacy of Pop Music's King |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMU4DQAAQBAJ&q=sonny+bono&pg=PA145 |location= New York |publisher= Race Point Publishing |page=145 |isbn=978-1631062537 }} The thirty-minute Wednesday evening show began airing on CBS as a summer 1976 show and it continued into the 1976–1977 season, finishing on March 9, 1977 after running for 12 episodes.{{cite book |last1=Fearn-Banks |first1= Kathleen |last2=Burford-Johnson |first2= Anne |date=2014 |edition=2 |title= Historical Dictionary of African American Television |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wxa7BAAAQBAJ&q=The+Jacksons+TV+Show+-+CBS+1976%2F1977&pg=PA236 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |page=236 |isbn= 978-0810879164}}

As with the Jackson 5 regular performances, Michael Jackson was the lead performer in musical and dance performances. Despite the public acclaim following the early episodes, he was not enthusiastic with the overall project, later calling it "a dumb move" and adding he "hated every minute of it".