Insight (TV series)

Insight is an American religious-themed weekly anthology series that aired in syndication from October 1960 to 1983. Produced by Paulist Productions in Los Angeles, the series presented half-hour dramas illuminating the contemporary search for meaning, freedom, and love. Insight was an anthology series, using an eclectic set of story telling forms including comedy, melodrama, and fantasy to explore moral dilemmas.

The series was created by Roman Catholic priest Ellwood E. "Bud" Kieser, the founder of Paulist Productions. A member of the Paulist Fathers, an evangelistic Catholic order of priests, he worked in the entertainment community in Hollywood as a priest-producer and occasional host, using television as a vehicle of spiritual enrichment. Many of the episodes of the series were videotaped at CBS Television City and then Metromedia Square.

Overview

The anthology format and the religious nature of the program attracted a wide variety of actors (including Jeff Hunter, Ed Asner, Jack Albertson, Beau Bridges, Carol Burnett, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Patty Duke, Ann Jillian, Wesley Eure, Bob Hastings, Cicely Tyson, James Doohan, Ricky Kelman, Jack Klugman, Robert Lansing, Randolph Mantooth, Walter Matthau, Roger Mobley, Deborah Winters, Bob Newhart, Bill Bixby, John Ritter, Bill Mumy, Mark Hamill, Flip Wilson, Keenan Wynn, Marty Feldman, Michael Shea, and Martin Sheen), directors (such as Marc Daniels, Arthur Hiller, Norman Lloyd, Delbert Mann, Ted Post, Jay Sandrich, and Jack Shea), and writers (Rod Serling, John T. Dugan, Lan O'Kun, and Michael Crichton) to work on the series.

In the United States the series was typically shown on Sunday mornings or late night. Often stations aired Insight in order to meet the Federal Communications Commission's public interest standard for broadcast television. Several episodes are available for purchase from the Paulist Press.

Awards and nominations

Insight was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Religious Programming in 1972 and 1973, and won the category every year from 1981 to 1984.

External links

• Insight at the Internet Movie Database
• Paulist Productions
• "William Shatner wrestles with his soul at 4 AM, and this priest has it on videotape" (Chicago Reader, November 6, 2014)
• Insight at CVTA with episode list