Classic country variety show to anchor network’s Sunday night programming

NASHVILLE, TN – August 12, 2008 – One of the most popular and longest running variety shows in the history of television, HEE HAW returns to a regular weekly TV slot for the first time in over ten years when it premieres on RFD-TV Sunday, September 7. The vintage HEE HAW episodes will anchor RFD-TV’s new Sunday night line-up at 8pm EST, 7pm CST, 6pm MST, and 5pm PST and repeat Monday mornings. RFD-TV plans to air the HEE HAW episodes in the same order they originally aired.

“HEE HAW should be of particular interest to RFD-TV viewers, as this classic show, by far, has been the #1 request to be added to our program line-up for the last three years,” said Patrick Gottsch, RFD-TV founder & president. “RFD-TV is proud to announce the addition of HEE HAW to anchor our Sunday evening family-oriented programming line-up. HEE HAW and RFD-TV is a match made in heaven.”

During its more than 20 years on the air in its original run, HEE HAW did more than just make people laugh; it made an indelible mark on country music and became, says show co-host Roy Clark, “an American institution.” The show began as a summer replacement for CBS’ Smothers Brothers Show on June 15, 1969, moved to first run syndication after 51 episodes, and became appointment Saturday evening television for fans tuned in across the country. At its height, HEE HAW was the nation’s No.1-rated, non-network show with the residents of Kornfield Kounty reaching 90 percent of U.S. households on 220 television stations. Ultimately, the program became one of the longest first-run syndicated TV shows in history, producing 585 one-hour shows.

HEE HAW was unlike anything else on television – a variety show that embraced the rural lifestyle of the South with skits, curvaceous country girls and the corniest jokes around. The undeniable highlight of HEE HAW was the musical performances that filled each episode, not only by co-hosts Buck Owens and Clark, but an array of country music superstars and singers on the rise performing music that ranged from classic country to contemporary, and gospel to bluegrass.

Among the countless country superstars who dropped in on the cast for musical numbers as well as the occasional joke were George Jones, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, and Hank Williams Jr. Evidence of HEE HAW’s popularity beyond its Southern base are guest appearances by a wide range of celebrities from film, TV, sports, and even Broadway, including Terry Bradshaw, Sammy Davis Jr., and Regis Philbin.

Since RFD-TV plans to air HEE HAW episodes in the order they originally aired, viewers will see the cavalcade of guests in the order in which they appeared, beginning with Country Music Hall of Famers Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride, who perform “Your Squaw is on the Warpath” and “Kaw-Liga” respectively in the premiere episode.