The late great George Carlin once said that there are basically two types of comedy, 1) where the comedy is derived from being a victim of society (i.e. Charlie Chaplin). Or, 2) where the comedy comes from victimizing society (i.e. The Marx Brothers). And both George Carlin and The Beverly Hillbillies fall into the later of those two dynamics.
Like the Marx Brothers at the Opera, or at the Casablanca, or at an elitists University, the dirt poor Hillbillies turned multi-millionaires overnight invade Beverly Hills armed with only their shotguns and their down home simple ways. But, it's their simple ways that prove to be far more disruptive to the snobbish generational wealthy elites of Beverly Hills than their shotguns. Cause' "The Beverly Hillbillies" can't adapt to the cultural norms of Beverly Hills so it's the Beverly Hills folk that has to adapt to their mountain ways. And, Granny ain't going to give an inch either, or she'll shoot yuh'(seriously she will).
A comedic genius of a show (in the Marx Brothers sense of genius comedy) that truly broke the mold in its time of westerns and nuclear family shows that dominated the airways back then. The Beverly Hillbillies combined both the serious westerns and the fake nuclear family programming and turned them over on their collective heads.
As a result, episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies are still among the highest rated shows in TV history. And, "The Jackrabbit" episode of Season-2 is still the highest rated 30-minute sitcom ever televised, as of the year 2020. Sixty percent of the American population with television sets tuned in to watch that episode, and the following episode was the 4th highest rated show of that decade. Look it up if you don't believe me.
However, beyond the ratings success of The Beverly Hillbillies, what it comes down to is that the show was laugh out loud funny. It was hilarious back in the sixties, and it's still hilarious today. There was never a show like it when it debut in 1963, and they'll probably never will be a show like it again.
Like the Marx Brothers at the Opera, or at the Casablanca, or at an elitists University, the dirt poor Hillbillies turned multi-millionaires overnight invade Beverly Hills armed with only their shotguns and their down home simple ways. But, it's their simple ways that prove to be far more disruptive to the snobbish generational wealthy elites of Beverly Hills than their shotguns. Cause' "The Beverly Hillbillies" can't adapt to the cultural norms of Beverly Hills so it's the Beverly Hills folk that has to adapt to their mountain ways. And, Granny ain't going to give an inch either, or she'll shoot yuh'(seriously she will).
A comedic genius of a show (in the Marx Brothers sense of genius comedy) that truly broke the mold in its time of westerns and nuclear family shows that dominated the airways back then. The Beverly Hillbillies combined both the serious westerns and the fake nuclear family programming and turned them over on their collective heads.
As a result, episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies are still among the highest rated shows in TV history. And, "The Jackrabbit" episode of Season-2 is still the highest rated 30-minute sitcom ever televised, as of the year 2020. Sixty percent of the American population with television sets tuned in to watch that episode, and the following episode was the 4th highest rated show of that decade. Look it up if you don't believe me.
However, beyond the ratings success of The Beverly Hillbillies, what it comes down to is that the show was laugh out loud funny. It was hilarious back in the sixties, and it's still hilarious today. There was never a show like it when it debut in 1963, and they'll probably never will be a show like it again.