The New People was part of a brief and very odd experiment with television programs that ran just 45 minutes INCLUDING commercials.
These shows were always paired with a sister program that also ran 45 minutes total, thus the two back- to- back programs filled a total 90 minute block. In the case of The New People that sister show was The Music Scene.
The New People was sort of like “Lord of the Flies Meets the 60s Counterculture”.
An airplane crashes on a desert island in the Pacific. Only one adult (Richard Kiley) survives the crash but even they eventually pass away. The other survivors were all 60s teenagers as only middle-aged television executives could picture them. These made-for- tv hippies then struggled to start their own society on the island.
The program provided a nice arena for weighing what network executives thought the counterculture wanted against the practical necessities of having a functioning society. Only 17 episodes were made before the show was axed. Rod Serling wrote the pilot episode and Aaron Spelling was the executive producer.
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That is interesting. I wonder, can I find that somewhere on YT?
Hello! Here is a link to the pilot episode, complete with the commercials that filled the 45 minute slot. The commercials are more fun than the show.
Thank you very much! Will explore it later! Have a nice day! 🙂
No problem! You too.
Anything Rod Serling did was gold!
That is true!
I remember this show from my childhood. I found it really freaky!
I can understand that!
The 60s were such a weird time.
I agree.
Unfortunately, this was Serling’s 2nd straight series that bombed (The Loner was the other). He wouldn’t land another hit until Night Gallery the next year.
Poor Rod! Flawed as this was, it had potential.
This sounds like Lost almost.
I see.
This sounds like a dumb show.
I see.
Kiley would appear in anything.
It seems that way sometimes.