Insight (American TV series)

Insight is an American religious-themed weekly anthology series that aired in syndication from October 1960 to 1983.[1] Insight holds a unique place in the history of public service television programming.[2] Produced by Paulist Productions in Los Angeles, it was an anthology series, using an eclectic set of storytelling forms including comedy, melodrama, and fantasy to explore moral dilemmas.

For the Australian current affairs program, see Insight (Australian TV program).
Insight
Insight logo early 1960s to early 1970s
GenreAnthology
Created byFr. Ellwood Kieser CSP
Written byVarious, including:
Directed byVarious
Presented byFr. Ellwood Kieser CSP
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons23
No. of episodes250
Production
EditorPeter H. Rosen “Music Spotting” @ Newjack Sound Recorders
Camera setupmultiple-camera
Running time22-24 mins.
Production companyPaulist Productions
Release
Original networkSyndication
Original releaseOctober 2, 1960 (1960-10-02) –
January 21, 1985 (1985-01-21)

The series was created by Catholic priest Ellwood E. "Bud" Kieser, the founder of Paulist Productions. A member of the Paulist Fathers, an evangelistic Catholic order of priests, he worked in the entertainment community in Hollywood as a priest-producer and occasional host, using television as a vehicle of spiritual enrichment. Many of the episodes of the series were videotaped at Television City Studios and then Metromedia Square.

It was the longest-running syndicated weekly show until Soul Train took over in 1996, and ran until 2008 (only Entertainment Tonight, Wheel Of Fortune, Jeopardy! & Extra are longer). It is also the longest-running religious drama program ever.

Overview
Paulist Productions, Pacific Palisades

Early episodes were produced at CBS Television City. They were largely videos of Kieser speaking, similar to Fulton J. Sheen's East Coast program. By the second season Kieser switched to dramatizing stories; the approach was more humanist, than strictly Catholic. Actor Patrick McGeehan narrated several episodes. Actress Lola Lane sold the Paulists a property on Pacific Coast Highway that had previously belonged to her late husband, director Roland West.[3]

Typically shown on Sunday mornings or late night, the program aired nationally for well over two decades. Often stations aired Insight in order to meet the Federal Communications Commission's public interest standard for broadcast television. In its heyday Insight was played in syndication on over 195 stations. Occasionally it was even broadcast at prime-time in major markets as "holiday specials".[4]

Contributing artists

The anthology format and the religious nature of the program attracted a wide variety of actors, directors and writers to work on the series, drawn by the show’s reputation for consistently stretching the creative boundaries of television.[2] In many cases they donated their talents and time.

Actors

Directors

Writers

Awards and nominations

Offbeat and experimental by design, the series won numerous Emmy Awards and received critical praise for addressing social issues.[2] Insight was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Religious Programming in 1972 and 1973, and won the category every year from 1981 to 1984.

In 2003, UCLA Film and Television Archive became custodian of Paulist Productions’ physical inventory of Insight videos and films. "'Insight' represents something that doesn’t exist anymore: faith-based, scripted, quality TV programming, delivered free to television stations for broadcast,” said Father Frank Desiderio, Kieser's successor at Paulist Productions.[3] Episodes are available for purchase from the Paulist Press.

References
  1. "Insight", Paulist Productions
  2. "Insight", UCLA Film and Television Archive
  3. Quigley, Mark. "Between Sign-Off Films and Test Patterns: Insight at UCLA." The Moving Image, vol. 9 no. 1, 2009, p. 224-229. Project MUSE doi:10.1353/mov.0.0039
  4. “‘Insight’ Series Achieves Primetime Status on May 3”, Hollywood Reporter, April 30, 1965
  5. Villano, Mark (2022). Insight, the Series - A Hollywood Priest’s Groundbreaking Contribution to Television History. Orlando, FL: BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-62933-902-3.
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