After experiencing a downturn in the late 1960s, sitcoms began a comeback in both ratings and quality in the 1970s. So it was inevitable that some of the decade’s sitcoms went head-to-head in various timeslots. Sometimes the results were close. Other times, it was a one-sided battle.

The Partridge Family vs. Headmaster

CBS lured Andy Griffith back to the network to star in a fall of 1970 series, Headmaster. Griffith had only been missing from the network for two seasons, ending The Andy Griffith Show while it was number one in the ratings. Even its spinoff/continuation, Mayberry R.F.D., remained popular, finishing 4^th in the ratings each of its first two seasons. However, Griffith would now be heading up a much different show. Attempting to evolve from the escapist shows of the previous decade, CBS started programming so-called “relevant” series. Headmaster resembled ABC’s Room 222, dealing with contemporary youth problems. One-time Andy Griffith guest star Jerry Van Dyke would play his sidekick. Today, it would likely be called a dramedy.

ABC quietly debuted a new family comedy, The Partridge Family, opposite Griffith’s highly publicized new series. The series about a family band starred Academy Award winner Shirley Jones and her stepson, David Cassidy. Getting a one-week’s head start on The Partridge Family, Headmaster finished a solid 20^th place in the first Nielsen ratings of the season—hardly Griffith-like numbers, but not a bad start.

It soon became apparent that Headmaster’s good premiere number was mainly due to curiosity. The series dropped to 38^th place in its second week and continued to decline as the weeks passed, as viewers struggled to accept Griffith in an atypical role. Led-in by Nanny and the Professor, which only garnered mediocre ratings, The Partridge Family got off to a slow start. By early November, Headmaster had a .6 rating advantage over The Partridge Family for the season to date.

However, Headmaster was on the decline, and The Partridge Family was starting to attract more viewers, averaging the magical 30 share that shows of that period generally needed to remain on the schedule. Low-rated ABC was happy with the ratings. CBS, on the other hand, thought Griffith had the potential to gain a larger audience. In mid-November, CBS announced that Headmaster would disappear at the end of December and Griffith would return in a new series in the same timeslot.

The New Andy Griffith Show debuted in 12^th place in early January. In a show much closer to the later years of The Andy Griffith Show, Griffith played a small-town mayor. Oddly, Mayberry R.F.D. regulars Jack Dodson, George Lindsey, and Paul Hartman showed up in the pilot as their characters from that show, even though Griffith was no longer playing Andy Taylor. Don Knotts even made a cameo.

Once again, curiosity played a considerable part in the debut’s numbers. The show sank quickly and lasted just 10 episodes. Even if the series had been more successful, it’s unlikely CBS would have renewed it, as the network dropped Mayberry R.F.D. at season’s end, even though it ranked 15^th in the Nielsen ratings. It was one of several series that CBS dropped due to their appeal to older and rural demographics.

The increasing success of The Partridge Family also contributed to the demise of The New Andy Griffith Show. Helped by magazine covers, lunch boxes, bubble gum cards, and especially hit records, David Cassidy became a teen sensation, and the show’s ratings started to reflect his and the show’s status. The ratings were high enough in the second half of the season to lift The Partridge Family to 25^th for the season, making it the most popular show on Friday night, and the second most popular new sitcom of the season, just three places behind The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

While The Partridge Family is, of course, well-remembered today, Headmaster and The New Andy Griffith Show remain little more than footnotes in Andy Griffith’s incredible career.

Winner: The Partridge Family