Remembering "79 Park Avenue" (1977)

The 1970s and '80s was the Golden Age of the TV mini-series, as I recently blogged about. In many ways, it started specifically in 1977 with the historic mini-series Roots, a powerful saga about the history of slavery in America. Later on there would be other big historical TV epics like North & South, AD, The Winds of War, and others.

Then there was stuff like 79 Park Avenue.

Debuting the same year as Roots, 79 Park Avenue does not get the same kind of cultural respect. It's about a young woman trying to "make it" in NYC and decides to do so by becoming a Madam. It's a trashy story based on a trashy book. SEX! REAL ESTATE! NYC! SOFT-FOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY! 

All the feels. 

What's actually interesting about the series is that it was produced in the '70s but based on a novel published in the '50s about a story set in the '30s. It's a nostalgic-look at a nostalgic-look about a nostalgic-look of NYC.

It also stars the character actress Lesley Ann Warren and even Raymond Burr in a non-Perry Mason role. 

What's also fascinating to realize is that, even though this series is totally forgotten today, it scored an audience of between 16-20 million people on the nights in October, 1977 is was broadcast. Today a show that gets half that many viewers is considered a huge success -- so, by today's standard, this would be a blockbuster.