The New Land (TV series)


The New Land is a 1974 American dramatic television series about a Swedish immigrant family to the United States trying to establish a life in rural Minnesota in 1858, loosely based from the Academy Award-nominated Swedish film The Emigrants and its sequel. It stars Scott Thomas, Bonnie Bedelia, and Kurt Russell. It aired from September 14 to October 19, 1974.

Cast

Christian and Anna Larsen immigrate from Sweden to the United States with their children, nine-year-old Tuliff and eight-year-old Annaliese, in 1858 and settle in the wilderness outside Solna, Minnesota, where they set about establishing a new life for themselves and their family. Also there is Christians brother Bo. Reverend Lundstrom and his wife Molly live in the area, and Murdock is the proprietor of the local general store.

Production

was the executive producer of The New Land. Philip Leacock produced the show and directed at least one of its episodes. Blinn wrote for the show, as did Gerry Day, Ray Goldrup, Bethel Leslie, Larry Brody, Michael Michaelian, and Katharyn Powers.
Loosely based on two Swedish movies, 1971s The Emigrants and 1972s The New Land, the show was filmed on location in California and central Oregon, near Sunriver.
Popular singer John Denver sang the theme song for The New Land.

Critical reception

The New Land received almost universal acclaim from critics, many of whom compared it favorably with the hit series The Waltons. In the Los Angeles Times, reviewer Cecil Smith wrote that The New Land "seems to catch the rich, grainy earthiness of pioneer life, of clawing a living out of the hard land with the same effectiveness The Waltons mirror the Depression."

Broadcast history

The New Land premiered on ABC on September 14, 1974. Facing tough competition in its time slot from CBSs All in the Family and NBCs Emergency!, it drew low ratings despite its critical acclaim and was cancelled after the broadcast of its sixth episode on October 19, 1974. Seven additional episodes never aired.
The New Land aired Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT throughout its brief run.

Episodes

Sources
TitleOriginal air date