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The United States of Television: America in Primetime

Alan Yentob

Judd Apatow

Danny DeVito

Garry Shandling

Jason Alexander

Larry David

Tim Kirby

Janet Lee

The United States of Television: America in Primetime: Episode 2: The Misfit

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

The Misfit

Episode 2

Episode 2: The Misfit

BBC Two - The United States of Television: America in Primetime, The Misfit

Alan Yentob looks at some of the most high-risk characters in primetime TV, the misfits.

Alan Yentob documents the history of US primetime television. This looks at how TV's misfits, some of the most high-risk characters in the primetime crowd, are born.

Alan Yentob presents the second film in a star-studded series that explores the social history of America through the prism of primetime television. When America sits down to watch primetime television it expects to see more than stereotypes and stock characters going through the motions. Primetime viewers want to see the United States of Television - in all its individuality, diversity, eccentricity and quirkiness. 

That's how some of the most high-risk characters in the primetime crowd are born. These are the awkward squad - the ones who can't, or won't, or aren't allowed to fit in: nerds, geeks, freaks, rebels, outsiders and misfits. Characters like Gomez Addams in The Addams Family, Louie DePalma in Taxi, George Costanza in Seinfeld and practically the whole cast of Glee. But though they may march to a different drummer, in primetime they become 'one of us' - and we, whether we like it not, become one of them. 

Featuring interviews with stars, creators, writers and producers including Judd Apatow (Freaks and Geeks), Danny DeVito (Taxi), Garry Shandling (The Larry Sanders Show), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and the crown-prince of misfits, Larry David.

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Alan Yentob presents a series documenting the history of primetime television in America.

Alan Yentob presents a series documenting the history of primetime television in America, from the age of mass television in the 1950s to the present.

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The United States of Television: America in Primetime

Episode 2: The Misfit

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