The Beverly Hillbillies

Jed Clampett's swamp is loaded with oil. When a wildcatter discovers the huge pool, Jed sells his land to the O.K. Oil Company and at the urging of cousin Pearl, moves his family to a 35-room mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971) is a American classic network sitcom created by Paul Henning for CBS. Widowed mountain man Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen) becomes a millionaire overnight after a wildcatter strikes oil on his land, and at the urging of his scheming cousin Pearl he moves his family into a thirty-five-room mansion in Beverly Hills. The engine of the show is the collision between the Clampetts' homespun habits and the glossy sophistication of their new neighbors. Granny (Irene Ryan) cooks squirrel in a mansion kitchen, daughter Elly May (Donna Douglas) befriends the local wildlife, and nephew Jethro (Max Baer Jr.) chases glamour with boundless enthusiasm. Each episode is built from a small social misunderstanding, a money scheme or a bank-side scramble, usually steered by the pompous banker Milburn Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) and his sharp secretary Jane Hathaway (Nancy Kulp), who want the family's fortune kept in their hands. Across nine seasons and 274 episodes it stays a single-camera-free, multi-camera gag machine, a long-running episodic comedy with a broad, gentle, cozy register. Its warmth, sincerity and slapstick have made it a staple of classic American family television, and fans of Green Acres, Petticoat Junction and The Nanny will find the same culture-clash comedy here.

Audiences rate The Beverly Hillbillies positively, enjoying its broad fish-out-of-water comedy and its warm, sunny family humor despite uneven season-to-season ratings.

• Green Acres (1965)shared fish out of water rural family comedy with wealthy city setting, broad campy sitcom tone
• Petticoat Junctionshared rural family comedy built on culture clash and bright gentle slapstick
• The Nannyshared wealthy-versus-plain-folk comic premise and warm family sitcom register

Created by

Paul Henning

Release Date

1962-09-26

Episode runtime

25 min

Rating

7.3 / 10 (140)

What is The Beverly Hillbillies about?

A backwoods family strikes oil and trades its Ozark hollow for a Beverly Hills mansion, where their plainspoken ways puzzle the local elite.

What is The Beverly Hillbillies like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Beverly Hillbillies as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.

Is The Beverly Hillbillies violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Beverly Hillbillies.

What did critics think of The Beverly Hillbillies?

Audiences rate The Beverly Hillbillies positively, enjoying its broad fish-out-of-water comedy and its warm, sunny family humor despite uneven season-to-season ratings.

Which shows are like The Beverly Hillbillies?

Shows with a similar feel include Green Acres (1965), Petticoat Junction, and The Nanny.

How long is The Beverly Hillbillies?

The Beverly Hillbillies: 9 seasons, 274 episodes.

Is The Beverly Hillbillies still running?

No, The Beverly Hillbillies has ended.

Where can I watch The Beverly Hillbillies?

In United States, The Beverly Hillbillies streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, JustWatch TV Plus, Peacock Premium, Philo, Pure Flix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus, Best tv ever Amazon Channel, Dove Amazon Channel, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel, Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel.