Palmerstown, U.S.A. (later Palmerstown) was a CBS drama starring Beeson Carroll and Michael J. Fox (two and a half years prior to his breakout role as Alex P. Keaton on NBC's Family Ties), and developed by Norman Lear (a rare drama series production for him, and whose own life was the basis for the episode plots) and Alex Hardy. The series is about two nine-year-old boys living in the rural South during the Great Depression, despite the fact that one of them (Carroll) is black, and the other (Fox) is white. It debuted on March 20, 1980, and was eventually renewed for a second season (and even won an unnamed award, according to one promo), but low ratings eventually lead to its cancellation after the June 9, 1981 episode. Although reruns had aired on the Disney Channel at some point, only promos and the opening credits for both seasons had shown up until a getTV marathon in 2017.
Advertisement