Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows
Genre	Soap opera Gothic Horror
Created by	Dan Curtis
Developed by	Art Wallace
Written by	Gordon Russell Sam Hall Ron Sproat Violet Welles Malcolm Marmorstein Art Wallace Joe Caldwell Francis Swann Ralph Ellis
Starring	Joan Bennett Louis Edmonds Nancy Barrett Denise Nickerson Mitchell Ryan Alexandra Moltke Grayson Hall Kate Jackson Jonathan Frid Kathryn Leigh Scott David Selby Clarice Blackburn Lara Parker Thayer David John Karlen
Composer	Robert Cobert
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	1,225 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Robert Costello
Running time	20-22 minutes
Production company	Dan Curtis Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	June 27, 1966 (1966-06-27) – April 2, 1971 (1971-04-02)
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Dark Shadows is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinsport, Maine, where a number of supernatural occurrences take place.

The series became popular when vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) was introduced ten months into its run. It would also feature ghosts, werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. The show was distinguished by its melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, numerous dramatic plot twists, broad cosmos of characters, and heroic adventures. Unusual among the soap operas of its time, which were aimed primarily at adults, Dark Shadows developed a large teenage audience and a dedicated cult following. By 1969, it had become ABC's highest-rated daytime series.

The original network run of the show amassed 1,225 episodes. The success of the series spawned a media franchise that has included two feature films (House of Dark Shadows in 1970 and Night of Dark Shadows in 1971), a 1991 TV remake, an unsprouted 2004 remake pilot, a 2012 film reboot directed by Tim Burton, and numerous spin-off novels and comics. Since 2006, the series has continued as a range of audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions, featuring members of the original cast including David Selby, Lara Parker, and Kathryn Leigh Scott.^[1]

TV Guide's list of all-time Top Cult Shows ranked the series #19 in 2004,^[2] and #23 in 2007.^[3]