The Pet Set (found Betty White talk show; 1971-1972)

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Petset.jpg

Betty White with guest star James Brolin and his Great Dane Buck.

Status: Found

The Pet Set is a television talk show that was hosted and produced by Betty White and her husband Allen Ludden and aired on multiple networks across the United States. The show was born from Betty White's longtime passion for animals, to which her husband challenged her to make and sell a show regarding it.[1] After bringing the idea forward to the Carnation Company, her show was sponsored and began syndication in 1971.

Many high-profile celebrities took part in the show including Jimmy Stewart, Mary Tyler Moore, Doris Day, James Brolin, Vincent Price, and many more. According to Betty White in her autobiography, the show aired a total of thirty-nine episodes before having to be cancelled when Carnation Company decided to put their advertising budget exclusively to commercials rather than having an amount aside for programming. This statement lines up with newspapers as the show overall received positive reviews and ratings, and didn't show any signs of possible cancellation.[2][3]

While the show did air in 1971, many sources and some individuals such as Bob Barker state that the show started airing in the late 1960's. However, this can be disproved as newspaper articles from late 1970 were anticipating the new show.[4] On top of this, some believe that the series was cancelled due to Betty White taking the role of Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, though this is disproved in her autobiography where she explicitly states that is was due to Carnation Company's advertising budget allocation.

Plot Synopsis

The series was generally separated into four different segments. In the first segment, Betty White would bring the guest star on stage and have them showcase their pets, which were more often than not dogs. After discussing pet-related topics with the celebrity guest, the show would transition to an informative segment on a select species. In the third segment, Betty White and her guest stars would talk with an animal expert. This expert would more often than not be from the now defunct Africa U.S.A. tourist attraction in California. The final segment of the show would feature Betty White, and sometimes her guest stars, outside in-person with a wild animal. Notable incidents involve a 500 pound Bengal Tiger, an active Black Bear, and an Asian Elephant.[5]

Availability

Initially, the only episode available online was an episode on YouTube that was sourced from a DVD that focused on Doris Day, in which Betty White conducted an interview with her. While the video was taken down on copyright grounds, the series was released in it's entirety on Amazon Prime and DVD in February of 2021 with the first season being available for free viewing on Tubi.


References