Showed comedy could be serious art without losing laughs.
Why it matters
Episode guide
251 episodes across 11 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.
From the desk
Flash columns that open this package’s pilots, finales, or fandom heat:
- Golden Age Dispatch: Finales That Stopped America — Golden Age Dispatch
- Streaming Confidential: Pilot Sell, Finale Hold — How Openers and Endings Still Move the Chart — Streaming Confidential
At a glance
Surgeons and staff at a Korean War MASH unit fight bureaucracy, boredom, and blood with jokes that sometimes break into tears. Hawkeye’s irreverence meets the cost of endless war. Comedy earns its pathos without a laugh track safety net in later years.
Network & studio
- CBS — broadcast network
- 20th Century Fox Television — production studio
Why watch now
The gold standard of dramedy that can be funny and devastating in the same breath — plus a finale still used as ratings mythology.
Cultural impact
M*A*S*H showed network comedy could be serious art and still dominate living rooms. “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” remains the event finale every network envies.
Creators
Larry Gelbart
Key cast
- Alan Alda as Capt. Hawkeye Pierce
- Loretta Swit as Maj. Margaret Houlihan
- Jamie Farr as Cpl. Maxwell Klinger
- Harry Morgan as Col. Sherman Potter
- Gary Burghoff as Cpl. Radar O'Reilly
Flash facts
- CBS comedy-drama about a Korean War mobile army surgical hospital; aired September 17, 1972–February 28, 1983 (11 seasons, 256 episodes).
- Developed by Larry Gelbart from the 1970 film and Richard Hooker’s novel; mixed humor with antiwar themes.
- Series finale 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen' set long-standing U.S. viewership records for a scripted episode.
FAQ
Who starred as Hawkeye Pierce?
Alan Alda played Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce.
How long did M*A*S*H run?
Eleven seasons on CBS from 1972 to 1983.
Is it set in Vietnam?
No—the series is set during the Korean War, though many viewers associated it with the Vietnam era.
Cultural eras
Official & further reading
- 20th Century Studios TV
- Hulu — M*A*S*H
- CBS network
- Wikipedia
- IMDb search
- TMDB search
- YouTube — trailers & clips
External sites for further reading — TV Flash is not affiliated with these networks or studios.
Back to the decade
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