On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted on season or less. Today I am looking at 1960s flop Honey West!
HONEY WEST
Programming Details:
September 17, 1965 - April 8, 1966
30 episodes
ABC
Starring: Anne Francis, John Ericson, Irene Hervey
Developed by Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov
Based on: "Honey West" novels by Skip and Gloria Fickling
Plot: Honey West (Francis) is a private eye working cases with the help of her "Man-Friday," Sam Bolt (Ericson). She uses her allure and sex appeal to help her on cases and communicates with Bolt via secret radios.
A spinoff of Burke's Law, Honey West is a very slick 60s-era private eye show. It's groundbreaking in some ways given that it has a female at the center of it in an era where pretty much any crime drama was fronted by men. On the other hand, it also has some real sexist tropes especially with the way Honey attempts to solve the case. But I think it deserves credit for trying to do something different. Anne Francis is strong in the title role and has a good rapport with John Ericson. She makes Honey more than just a sex symbol, she makes her a more fleshed out character who has brains and strength at her disposal.
It might almost seem like a parody now but it was interesting to see a completely earnest private eye show using all the private eye tropes from the jazzy score and background music to the glamorous outfits and settings. The episode also started with a different type of scene to let us know who Honey was and that she was capable of handling things that up to that point had seemed like they were work for men.
Honey West was probably ahead of its time in many ways. Of course private eye shows were all the rage then but having a female as the lead was something completely different and probably some of the audience, sadly, was not ready for that. The series was a spinoff of sorts from Burke's Law, a show not remembered much today. Anne Francis first appeared as Honey West on an episode of Burke's, which is what encouraged ABC to pursue this series. Francis won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy but it was not enough to save the show after one season.
There were two reported reasons for the cancellation after just one season. First was serious competition from Gomer Pyle USMC, then the #2 show on TV. Competition mattered a whole lot back in the day when delayed viewing and even VCRs were not a thing so airing against a top rated TV show was close to a death sentence. ABC also decided it could make more money but just importing and rerunning The Avengers in the same slot, which they sort of did (it aired the same night but a half hour later the next fall). Francis worked steadily for many years after Honey West, but she never had another breakout opportunity like this one. Honey West has mostly faded from memory but can still pop up from time to time as it has slipped into the pile of cheap classic shows on start-up or low-level streaming services.
Tomorrow: A look at the third season of Rhoda!
Next Wednesday: A look at 1970s flop Delta House!
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