In the United States, television is known as a capitalist industry, like most if not all industries. Television, however, has a special way that it is able to “sell” consumers on these different products. TV is a delivery device for companies to show off their products to consumers, even if they are unaware that they are being exposed to these products.

One of the most influential writers for television in its early years was Rod Serling. Serling was a World War II veteran who would write stories to help with the traumas that he was left with after the war. He would get his big break into tv with the script for the show “Patterns”, which was an overnight success for him. This opened the door for him to be hired on for another script, for a show called “Requiem for a Heavyweight”. This was a huge success for him, with the show winning a total of 5 Emmy’s. Serling wanted to be able to write about topics that were considered controversial for the time. He had to change the scripts for many of his works to please the network sponsors, which upset him. To get around changing his scripts, Serling would write about controversial topics in a science fiction way. This launched his very successful series on CBS, “The Twilight Zone”. “The Twilight Zone” was a way for Serling to be able to show the horrors and fears of man without coming out and explicitly saying what he was talking about. It lasted for five seasons before being cancelled in 1964. After the cancellation, Serling would try to write scripts that would be able to do the same thing for him, allow him to write as therapy and show the flaws of man at the same time. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to do this successfully due to network sponsors. Rod Serling died on June 28th, 1975 at 50 years old after suffering a heart attack.

In the 1970’s, television began to take shape with programs that aimed to show the real life of families with shows like “All In the Family” and the multiple spin offs that would come from it. Shows like these would lead to the U.S. Government trying to censor the programs that networks could put out during a specific time slot. This led to networks and actors protesting these “family hours”, claiming that it was a violation of their first Amendment rights, which was backed up by the court system.