M*A*S*H reunites for landmark special, but it's not on CBS
Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, and Jamie Farr are amongst the stars of the classic sitcom returning for a 2-hour special on Fox
Consider this the least anticipated start to the New Year that you could have imagined: the surviving cast members of iconic sitcom M*A*S*H are ringing in 2024 by reuniting for an all-new two-hour television special looking back at the original series and its impact — but it won’t be airing on CBS, the network that was home to the show for its entire 11-year run.
Instead, M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television will be airing on Fox on January 1, featuring new interviews from Alan Alda, Gary Burghoff, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, and Loretta Swit, as well as executive producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe. Other cast members, including Larry Linville, Harry Morgan, David Ogden Stiers, and McLean Stevenson, as well as writer/produer Larry Gelbert, will appear via clips from the show and “rarely-seen archival interviews,” according to the network.
In a statement about the special, Fox’s executive vice president of program planning & content strategy Dan Harrison said, “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.” Despite Fox not having aired the show during its 1972-1983 run — to be fair, Fox didn’t even exist as a network at the time — Harrison said that the network “is proud to celebrate the landmark achievements of one of the best comedies ever created.”
In addition to interviews with the surviving cast members, the two-hour special will also include “never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage, photos, and stories,” the network promises.
M*A*S*H was a cultural phenomenon during its time, becoming one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. TV history; in fact its final episode, 1983’s “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” was the most-watched episode of television until 2010 — it was displaced by that year’s Super Bowl — and remains the most-watched series finale of all time.
M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television will air January 1, 2024 on Fox.
Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out our guides to upcoming movies, upcoming TV shows, upcoming comics, and upcoming comic conventions. If you're looking for specific franchises or genres, we have all the upcoming MCU, upcoming Star Wars, upcoming Star Trek, and upcoming DC movies & TV for you. If you're a fan of superheroes and not specific to just Marvel or DC, we have overall guides to all the upcoming superhero movies and upcoming superhero TV shows (and new seasons) as well.
