MPI Media Group today is releasing the first two seasons of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet – comprising 78 episodes, a time when TV seasons were a lot longer! – where fans can purchase the show on two four-DVD sets. While episodes have been seen on Nick at Nite and in other formats over the decades, these episodes have been restored from the original picture and sound elements in association with the UCLA Film & Television Archive as well as the Nelson family themselves. The first season premiered nearly 70 years ago and the episodes have never looked better.
Below, you can find the press release about the sets with more details about what we can expect. Purchase the sets from Amazon.com and you can support KSiteTV, as well!
One of the most popular series in television history will return fully restored to entertain old fans and new viewers when THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET: SEASONS 1 AND 2 arrive on four-DVD sets from MPI Media Group on June 21, 2022. The two sets contain 39 episodes each, representing the complete first two seasons (78 episodes) of the long-running sitcom ranked number 6 on Vulture’s list of “The 50 Most Definitive Family TV Shows.” The entire library of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet has been restored by MPI Media Group from the original 35mm picture and sound elements in association with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, which preserves the elements on behalf of the Nelson family.
For a record-breaking 14 seasons and 435 episodes, THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET aired on ABC-TV from 1952 through 1966, becoming one of the most cherished cultural touchstones of the 20th century. The positive, wholesome series epitomized an idyllic American 1950s lifestyle, its gentle humor brought to the screen by the real-life Nelson family: Ozzie and wife Harriet with their sons, David and Rick, all portraying themselves in a trend-setting blend of fact-meets-fiction comedy decades before Seinfeld and other semi-reality-based shows.
The series humorously chronicled the daily lives of the Nelsons as David and Ricky grew up before millions of weekly viewers. While Ozzie Nelson had been a real-life bandleader and Harriet Nelson a singer, the series would help launch the musical career of their younger son, Ricky, who would become a teen idol with such enduring hits as “Travelin’ Man” and “Hello Mary Lou.”
THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET was the longest running live-action sitcom in U.S. television history until It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia surpassed it on December 1, 2021, when that series debuted its 15th season. But OZZIE AND HARRIET still holds the record for most episodes produced: 435. Among its Emmy nominations and many other accolades, TV Guide placed Ozzie Nelson at number 21 on its list of “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.”
And now, for the very first time, in association with the Nelson family, the entire series has been digitally restored for its 70th Anniversary with complete episodes from the original film negatives for superior picture quality.
The OFFICIAL COMPLETE SEASON ONE contains all 39 full, fun-filled episodes on four DVDs, starting with the premiere show and other rare adventures not seen on television in decades. Don DeFore (Hazel) appears as Ozzie’s neighbor pal Thorny along with guest stars from classic television and films, including Hal Smith (The Andy Griffith Show), Ellen Corby (The Waltons), Janet Waldo (The Jetsons), Joseph Kearns (Dennis the Menace), Frank Nelson (I Love Lucy) and other familiar faces. The OFFICIAL COMPLETE SEASON TWO also contains 39 episodes – with more lost moments appearing for the first time since originally broadcast – on four discs and features such guest stars as Frank Cady (Petticoat Junction), John Carradine (The Munsters) and Lurene Tuttle (Psycho).
