The Jacksons (TV series)

The Jacksons is an American variety show featuring 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.[1] 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.[2]

The Jacksons
1976 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
Written by	Thomas C. Chapman Ray Jessel Wayne Kline Arnie Kogen Biff Manard Winston Moss Jim Mulligan David Smilow Jim Tisdale
Directed by	Bill Davis
Starring	Rebbie Jackson Jackie Jackson Tito Jackson La Toya Jackson Marlon Jackson Michael Jackson Randy Jackson Janet Jackson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12
Production
Executive producers	Richard Arons Bill Davis Joe Jackson
Producers	Ray Jessel Arnie Kogen
Editor	Jimmy B. Frazier
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Carefree Video Company Jackson Television Productions
Release
Original network	CBS
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	June 16, 1976 (1976-06-16) – March 9, 1977 (1977-03-09)

Randy, Marlon, Jackie, Joey Bishop, Michael and Tito (1976)

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".[1]