Long before user-generated video clips dominated social media, they were a source of laughs and cash prizes America's Funniest Home Videoslaunched 35 years ago.
Series creator Vin Di Bona was fascinated by Japanese comedy shows featuring home movies, leading him to adapt one to the 1980s celebrity game show Animal crisishosted by Alan Thicke. In 1989 Di Bona discovered Japanese variety Fun with Ken and Kato Chanwith two hosts joking about the videos sent by viewers. He compiled an eight-minute video using Japanese clips and enlisted Animal crisis writer Todd Thicke (Alan's younger brother) for the pilot. Thicke tested the video on friends and recalls that actress Jane Seymour loved it but also expressed concern for anyone who spilled it.
“It was a really positive note,” says Thicke, an executive producer until 2015. “We called it 'healing,' and we always wanted to show that no one was really hurt.”
Before it even aired, the show ran ads in magazines soliciting submissions of clips. On November 26, 1989, ABC debuted AFV as a primetime special before launching a full season in January, starring Bob Saget – already a network date with Sold out – as a guest. Saget departed in 1997, but the evergreen series remained strong with Tom Bergeron as the lead for 15 seasons.
Season 35 launched last month, with host Alfonso Ribeiro returning for his 10th year. Quote with pride AFV as the ancestor of platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. “AFV it's the grandfather of all social media channels and it created an entire generation that is used to watching things on TV this way,” says Ribeiro. “My goal is to come back here when [we’re celebrating] the forty-fifth season.
This story appears in the Oct. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to sign up.