E! True Hollywood Story: Andy of Mayberry

E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes are usually updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, stars Andy Griffith, who portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and a precocious young son, Opie (Ron Howard). Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Regarding the time-period of the show, Griffith said in a Today Show interview: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the 1960s, it had a feeling of the 1930s. It was, when we were doing it, of a time gone by."[1]

The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best and 13th-best show in American television history.[2][3] Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The series spawned its own spin-off, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964), a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986). The black and white reruns currently[when?] air on TV Land and Me-TV, while the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons also are now available by streaming video services such as Netflix. An annual festival celebrating the show, Mayberry Days, is held each year in Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.[4] The show's enduring popularity also has generated significant show-related merchandise.