page_title: The Andy Griffith Show
section_title: Reruns, spinoffs, and reunions
hierarchical_section_title: The Andy Griffith Show / Reruns, spinoffs, and reunions
caption_attribution_description: Publicity photo from the television program Mayberry R.F.D. Pictured are Ken Berry (Sam Jones), Buddy Foster (Mike Jones), and Andy Griffith (Sheriff Andy Taylor).
context_page_description: The Andy Griffith Show is an American situation comedy television series, that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series originated partly from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show.
  The show starred Andy Griffith in the role of Andy Taylor, the widowed sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, a fictional community of 2,000 people. Other major characters include Andy's well-meaning cousin and deputy, Barney Fife; Andy's aunt and housekeeper, Bee Taylor; and Andy's young son, Opie. Eccentric townspeople and temperamental girlfriends complete the cast.
  Regarding the tone of the show, Griffith said that despite a contemporary setting, the show evoked nostalgia, saying, in a Today Show interview, "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was, when we were doing it, of a time gone by."
  The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings, ending its final season at number one. The only other shows to end their runs at the top of the ratings are I Love Lucy and Seinfeld.
context_section_description: In 1964, daytime reruns began airing during the fall season and has been in syndication for 56 years. The show was retitled Andy of Mayberry to distinguish the repeat episodes from the new episodes airing in prime time.
  At the end of season four (May 1964), the backdoor pilot "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." aired, and the following September, the spinoff series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. debuted with Jim Nabors in the role of Gomer and Frank Sutton as drill instructor Sergeant Vince Carter.
  In the last episodes of the eighth season, as Andy Griffith was preparing to leave, the character Sam Jones, played by Ken Berry, was introduced as the new star, and the series was retitled Mayberry R.F.D.. Most of the cast members continued their original roles, with Bavier becoming Sam's housekeeper. To create a smooth transition, Andy and Helen were married in the first episode with the new title and remained for a few additional episodes before leaving with a move to Raleigh, effectively ending their appearances. After RFD's cancellation in 1971, George Lindsey played Goober for many years on the popular country-variety show Hee Haw.
  Goober, Barney and Emmett all made appearances in the series premiere of The New Andy Griffith Show, which starred Griffith as a similar but canonically different character, Mayor Andy Sawyer. All three characters treated Sawyer as if he were Andy Taylor. The series as a whole only lasted ten episodes.
  In 1986, the reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry was broadcast with several cast members reprising their original roles. Absent, however, was Frances Bavier. She was living in Siler City, North Carolina, in ill health, and declined to participate. In the TV movie, Aunt Bee is portrayed as deceased (and in fact, Bavier did die three years later), with Andy visiting her grave. Also absent were Howard McNear, Paul Hartman, Jack Burns, and the cast members who were featured only in the Mayberry RFD seasons.
  Griffith and Howard reprised their roles a final time for a Funny or Die skit supporting the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.
  In 1993, The Andy Griffith Show had a Reunion Special which featured Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Jim Nabors, George Lindsey, and Jack Dodson. In 2003, four surviving cast members (Griffith, Howard, Knotts, and Nabors) came together for a reunion special that featured the actors reminiscing about George Lindsey's time on 
  show. The production was interspersed with archival footage and short filmed interviews with some of the other surviving cast members.  This special was called The Andy Griffith Show: Back to Mayberry.
caption: Sam Jones (Ken Berry) and his son Mike (Buddy Foster) were recurring characters in the final season of The Andy Griffith Show, setting up the sequel series Mayberry R.F.D..
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