{"product_id":"i-spy-a-history-and-episode-guide-to-the-groundbreaking-television-series-9780786427505","title":"I Spy: A History and Episode Guide to the Groundbreaking Television Series","description":"\u003cp\u003e One of the most popular and award-winning television series of the sixties, \u003ci\u003eI Spy\u003c\/i\u003e was the first weekly broadcast to star both a white and a black actor. In 1964, though, producer Sheldon Leonard had, with heavy risk, financed the show himself, and his idea for a racially incorporated cast had earned his show the moniker \"Sheldon's Folley.\" Pairing established white actor Robert Culp with Bill Cosby, a black comedian with barely an acting credit to his name, certainly turned some heads at NBC, and many wondered whether affiliates in the South would ever air the show. Only two years later, Cosby accepted the Emmy for leading actor--and \u003ci\u003eI Spy\u003c\/i\u003e cemented its role in history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This is a complete history of \u003ci\u003eI Spy\u003c\/i\u003e and the profound change it evoked in broadcasting, social ideals and racial equality. Rich with interviews and photographs, it discusses \u003ci\u003eI Spy\u003c\/i\u003e's unique approach to race, co-starring interracial actors as equals. It also describes how the show became the template for popular \"buddy genre\" shows and films that followed, covers the show's significance as the first series to shoot episodes around the world, and puts \u003ci\u003eI Spy\u003c\/i\u003e in context with other works within the spy genre at a time when spy books, shows and films exploded in popularity. A complete episode guide includes writers, directors, cast, crew, plot synopsis and commentary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarc Cushman\u003c\/b\u003e is a Los Angeles based writer of television and films with TV credits including \u003ci\u003eDiagnosis: Murder, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eStar Trek: The Next Generation.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eLinda J. LaRosa\u003c\/b\u003e divides her time between New York and California. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eWinter of the Heart\u003c\/i\u003e which was filmed as an award winning mini-series in Italy and France.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50328219615506,"sku":"9780786427505","price":43.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4d8f29f5-50c6-4bf7-a4f8-cf35ed6f5dcf.jpg?v=1727731715","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/i-spy-a-history-and-episode-guide-to-the-groundbreaking-television-series-9780786427505","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}