This Was Television On June 27
1966: Dark Shadows premieres
During its five-year run, the cult soap aired over 1,200 episodes. Thought it relied on a gothic aesthetic from the start, it didn’t adopt the supernatural elements for which it’s best known until several months later. And the show’s most iconic character, brooding vampire Barnabas Collins, did not first appear until nearly a year after its debut.
Dark Shadows enjoyed something of a pop culture reawakening in 2012, with a comic film adaptation by Tim Burton and Johnny Depp hitting theaters—coincidentally, on the same weekend as an episode of Mad Men’s fifth season which briefly alluded to the series and shared its title. The multimedia trifecta was completed when Carly Rae Jepsen released her smash-hit tribute to Barnabas, “Call Me, Capey.” -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: J.J. Abrams, numerologist (46); Julia Duffy, maid in Vermont (61); Christian Kane, attorney-at-evil-law (38); Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo (d. 2004); Ed Westwick, large-mouthed Bass (25).
This Was Television 
One Response to “This Was Television On June 27”
No love for the ’91 mini-series? That was my gateway.