The co-creator ofMASH’sfailed sequelAfterMASHonce hilariously summarized why it bombed so completely. DespiteMASHhaving run for 11 seasons, it was still a ratings hit for CBS when it ended. This led the network to greenlight someill-advisedMASHspinoffs, withAfterMASHbeing the first. This saw returning characters like Potter (Harry Morgan), Klinger (Jamie Farr), and Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) working together in a Veteran’s hospital after the war ended; the resulting series was a total disaster, as was the second failed spinoff,WALTE*R.
It’s easy to forget that goodwill fromMASH’sgroundbreaking finalesaw the sequel show earn solid ratings for its first season. Still,AfterMASH’sratings tanked so badly that its final episode wasn’t even aired, and it’s now considered one of the worst TV series ideas ever. A major issue was that it lacked a major star like Alan Alda to frontt, with none of the three leads - including audience favorite Klinger - being charismatic enough to keep audiences interested week after week.
MASH’s Timeline Became So Broken That The Final Seven Seasons Took Place In Less Than A Year
MASH ended up running much longer than anybody could have anticipated, meaning that less than a year passed in its final seven seasons.
AfterMASH’s Creator Blamed The Spinoff’s Basic Premise On Its Failure
Ken Levine is a TV writer who has worked on everything fromMASHtoThe SimpsonsandCheers. Levine attached himself toAfterMASHbecause he wanted to work alongside Larry Gelbart, the showrunner forMASH’sfirst four seasons. Gelbart also developed the concept for the sequel series and was very involved during the first season, with Levine and Gelbart being credited asAfterMASH’sco-creators. On his blogBy Ken Levine,the writer confessed the show was the worst thing he’d ever been part of and quickly summed upwhythe concept didn’t click.
Take the three weakest characters of MASH, put them in the hilarious confines of a Veteran’s Hospital and you have a recipe for classic comedy. I thought at least I’d make a fortune in merchandising on those AfterMASH Action Figures.
While Potter, Father Mulcahy, and Klinger are great characters, they work best as part of an ensemble.AfterMASHmade the error of promoting the trio to leading roles, and they just weren’t interesting enough for that to work. If the show had landed a character like B.J. (Mike Farrell) as the protagonist, it might have worked, but focusing on those three was a fatal mistake. The Veteran’s hospital setting didn’t do much to set up laughs either andLevine believedAfterMASHnever would have been produced if it wasn’t for the franchise labeling(viaBy Ken Levine).
A period comedy set in a Veteran’s Hospital with no real star, and a patient population made up exclusively of elderly men? Not a chance in hell. Chuck Lorre couldn’t sell that series.
AfterMASH Should Have Been A Straight Drama Instead
Larry Gelbart feels AfterMASH trying to act as a sitcom was another problem
AfterMASHhas seeds of being a better show, but as a comedy, it’s a misfire. Why anybody involved thought a half-hour comedy set inside a Veteran’s hospital was going to work is a good question - and one that Gelbart later reckoned with himself. Speaking withFoundationINTERVIEWS, the showrunner said he fell in love with the premise but also stated he went about the project all wrong.Gelbart believes in hindsight thatAfterMASHshould have been a straight drama, and ran for a full hour per episode.
Gelbart even believes it was “a bad idea to people it with people from MASH.” The creator felt there was a powerful show to be made from that premise, but making it a sitcom with supporting players fromMASHwas a fatal choice. As Levine stated above, probably the only reason the show got a greenlight wasbecauseof itsMASHconnections, with CBS wanting to ride that gravy train for as long as possible.
Contributing toAfterMASH’scancelation was the bizarre decision to compete againstThe A-Teamin the ratings, with the latter show emerging the clear winner.
The Spinoff’s Failure Was Secretly A Great Thing For MASH
AfterMASH allowed the franchise to rest in peace
MASHshould have finished with the 1983 finale “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,“which was a perfect sendoff for all the characters. One good thing aboutAfterMASHandWALTE*R(which didn’t make it past its pilot episode) failing is that it convinced CBS that the property was well and truly over.After the sequel was canned, the network made no further attempts to create newMASHspinoffsor offshoots. Thankfully, there have been no efforts to reboot or remakeMASHeither.
1972-1983
1983-1985
WALTE*R
1984
MASHwas a groundbreaking series that had a big impact on many shows that followed. That’s a key reason that a 50-year-old sitcom remains so beloved, whileAfterMASHhas been largely forgotten and has never been made available on home media or streaming. It was only natural that the network would experiment with ways to keep the show alive, but it was doomed to failure without most of the main cast returning.
As a sitcom populated by a cast of MASH supporting players, its final destination was always going to be early cancellation.
Going back to Levine’s summary,AfterMASHtook entirely the wrong take with a promising concept. Had it been a straightforward medical drama that looked into a major issue, it might have worked. As a sitcom populated by a cast ofMASHsupporting players, its final destination was always going to be early cancellation.
MAS*H
Cast
MAS*H is a drama-comedy series set during the Korean War, centering on the lives of the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they navigate the challenges of wartime medical service with humor and resilience.
AfterMASH
AfterMASH is a spin-off of the television series MAS*H, featuring Colonel Potter, Klinger, and Father Mulcahy as they adjust to civilian life following the Korean War, working together at a stateside veterans' hospital.
