CBS' groundbreaking The White Shadow premiered 40 years ago today

New York Post

The White Shadow, about a white former professional basketball player who becomes the coach of an inner-city high school basketball team, is notable for being the first ensemble drama to feature a mostly African-American cast. The New York Post caught up with the stars of the show that ran for three seasons, from Nov. 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981. "The shock waves were immediate and undeniable," writes Peter Botte. "Not only for a diverse cast that recalls with pride the sensitive subject matter the show’s producer, Bruce Paltrow, tackled practically every week, but for a loyal and almost cult-like fan base — from the inner cities to suburban Long Island to outposts as remote as Turkey — that positively reveres the show to this day. Long before a recent generation of sports fans enjoyed and devoured Friday Night Lights, viewers were introduced each week to Coach Reeves and Ms. Buchanan, Coolidge and Salami, Thorpe and Hayward, Go-Go and Goldstein, and the myriad problems they and their families encountered with drugs and teen pregnancy and domestic violence and countless other issues involving their personal lives in inner-city LA."