M*A*S*H (1972-83) holds a special place in television history. A spin-off of the 1970 film of the same name, it followed a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in South Korea during the Korean War. It’s among the highest-rated shows to ever air on TV and, 40 years after the finale aired, FOX is hosting a two-hour special, which will feature interviews with the cast and never-before-seen footage from the set.
Over the course of its 11-year run, M*A*S*H remained a top-rated series, providing a comedic and sobering view of the Korean War at a time when the United States was fighting in Vietnam. Its principal cast was made up of related characters doing their duty overseas, with many viewers able to relate to their experiences, given their own military service during the conflict decades prior.
Titled M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, the special will be a star-studded affair, with interviews from Alan Alda (Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Loretta Swift (Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan), Gary Burghoff (Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), William Christopher (John “Father” Mulcahy), Wayne Rogers (John “Trapper” McIntyre), Mike Farrell (B.J. Hunnicutt) and Jamie Farr (Maxwell “Max” Klinger).
Executive producers Burt Metcalfe and Gene Reynolds will also be participating.
Along with featuring cast interviews, the special will provide fans a look at both the development and progression of the series via behind-the-scenes photos and footage. To pay tribute to the cast and crew who have passed since the finale aired in 1983 – David Ogden Stiers, Larry Linville, McLean Stevenson, Harry Morgan and Larry Gelbart – archive footage will also be shown.
“M*A*S*H is not only a great television series, it is a cultural phenomenon,” director John Scheinfeld said in a statement. “It has made multiple generations of viewers laugh, cry and think, often in the same episode. We are excited to team with FOX to create this unprecedented window into an innovative television classic.”
Dan Harrison, executive vice president of program planning & content strategy at Fox Entertainment, added, “M*A*S*H is among the most iconic sitcoms in the annals of television history. It’s a timeless show that comedically captures the 4077th medical corps and how they managed to maintain their sanity while saving lives on the front lines of the Korean War.”
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M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television will air at 8:00 PM EST on January 1, 2024.