Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name and was hugely popular during its first few seasons. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although fictional, it was based heavily on the actual Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. Most interior scenes were filmed in Hollywood, California. In Seasons 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 the show filmed several exterior scenes on location in New York City.

The popularity of the series, particularly in the UK, led to several hit records and live concert tours by the cast. Despite its success, very few of the actors maintained high-profile careers after the series was cancelled. A number of the cast members were seen again briefly in a reunion programme made for UK television in 2008.

Details

The show was produced by MGM Television and was first broadcast on the NBC television network in the US on January 7 1982, producers William Blinn and Mel Swope. The last new episode was broadcast in the US on May 18, 1987. Some seasons of the show were produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom and Channel 7 in Australia where later seasons of the show were more popular than in the domestic market and in order to continue production they financed the later seasons.