Tandem Productions

Background[]

Tandem Productions (then known as "Tandem Enterprises, Inc." only in 1967) was formed in 1958 by former writers Alan David "Bud" Yorkin and Norman Lear. They first produced unsold pilots for Paramount Pictures Television. Since then, they produced movies with United Artists, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures. In 1965, Tandem produced an unsold TV pilot, Barnaby (not to be confused with QM's Barnaby Jones). A year later, they've produced the CBS TV special, An Evening with Carol Channing. In 1968, they've decided to focus on producing sitcoms starting with Justice for All and a year later, Those Were the Days; both were pilot shots for the ABC Television Network, but the network said they were "Too hot to handle", and both pilots were rejected. After a third go at the same concept, it was finally picked up by CBS in 1970, and premiered in January 1971 under the title All in the Family. The duo would also create an in-name-only company called "Norbud Productions, Inc." and would only copyright early seasons of Sanford and Son that debuted in 1972; however, Yorkin ended his partnership with Lear in 1975 to form "Bud Yorkin Productions" with Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, both writers who wrote most episodes of Sanford and Son from 1974-1977. Yorkin however, remained with Tandem as executive vice president. On January 6, 1982, Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio acquired Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation from Avco Financial and merged it with T.A.T. Communications Company to become "Embassy Communications, Inc." and renamed T.A.T.'s production division to "Embassy Television" and ran Tandem Productions. In 1985, Tandem Productions and Embassy Television including the rest of the Embassy empire were sold to Coca-Cola for $485 million and Tandem became an in-name-only division of Embassy Television when Diff'rent Strokes was moved to ABC after NBC canceled the show. Tandem Productions later became an in-name only division of Embassy and was renamed to "Tandem Licensing Corporation". When ABC canceled Diff'rent Strokes in 1986, Tandem Productions was abandoned, and all television divisions were merged into Embassy Communications in mid-1986, as EC became a full television studio rather than a holding company while Tandem still remained in-name-only. However, this company remains currently as an in-name-only unit of Sony Pictures Television under the name of "Tandem Licensing Corporation" (TLC). The "Tandem" name was curiously used because when Yorkin and Lear formed the company and they were handling it during that time, they were feeling as if they were riding uphill on a "tandem" bicycle.

(1977-1984?)[]

On a white background, the black text "TANDEM" on a costume Yagi Typeface font is at top, and the texts "PRODUCTIONS, INC." is at bottom. It’s possibly unknown if they have an on-screen logo.

Technique[]

Probably scanimation.

Music/Sounds[]

Unknown.

Availability[]

Seen on CBS daytime reruns of the short-lived Sanford and Diff'rent Strokes. It’s unknown if it has an on-screen logo since it’s lost media.

Scare Factor[]

Unknown. It’s a third division of the PITS and T.A.T. logos.