COZI TV Celebrates Emergency! 50th Anniversary with Documentary; Kaley Cuoco Heads to Peacock for Comedic Thriller Series

Tuesday, August 09, 2022

COZI TV Celebrates Emergency! 50th Anniversary with Documentary; Kaley Cuoco Heads to Peacock for Comedic Thriller Series

Emergency! 50! The Show That Saved Your Life

Celebrating the lasting impact of one of television’s most iconic action dramas, COZI TV will premiere a special anniversary celebration documentary, Emergency! 50! The Show That Saved Your Life, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Emergency! The 60-minute special will air on Saturday, August 13 and re-air on Saturday, August 20 and Monday, September 5 (check local listings). The original COZI TV documentary will explore the long-term impact of the show and the many lives it influenced – including those inspired to enter service as a first responder.

The special will include interviews with cast members, Randy Mantooth (Johnny Gage) and Kevin Tighe (Roy DeSoto). It will also provide an insider’s look at the Los Angeles County Fire Museum, where the show’s original emergency response equipment is housed and will include interviews with from museum representatives Capt. Paul Schneider, Capt. Ernie Ramirez, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, Capt. Paul Oyler. Other guests who will share their personal Emergency! stories will be, Gary Davis, one of LA’s original paramedics; Greg Enslen, author of Emergency! A Binge Guide to the Series; Paul Bergman, UCLA Law Professor; Tim Perkins, EMT and writer; Rev. Tim Polley, a superfan and collector; Eric Wright, firefighter paramedic and collector; Elena Miranda, writer and superfan and more.

Emergency! broke new ground in both the entertainment industry and in fire and emergency services. Often referred to as the first reality-based television show, Emergency! introduced the American public, and the world, to the then-revolutionary concept of using specially trained firefighters in the field to provide advanced life-saving services. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Museum, when Emergency! debuted on January 15, 1972, only twelve paramedic squads were in service in the entire country, with eight of them located in Los Angeles County. By the end of the show’s seven-year run, paramedic services grew substantially with over half of the U.S. population located within four-to-seven minutes of advanced lifesaving care. COZI TV, the national multicast network is today's television home of Emergency!, airing weekdays at noon and Saturdays at 6:00 PM (check local listings). NBC4 was the program's original television home, which aired Saturday nights in Los Angeles and across the country from 1972 through 1977.

Kaley Cuoco

Peacock announced that two-time Emmy Award-nominee Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant, The Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules) will star in the leading role of the highly-anticipated dark comedic thriller Based on a True Story, from Emmy Award-nominated Craig Rosenberg (The Boys, LOST, Preacher). Cuoco will play a married woman named Ava Bartlett. All other details are being kept under wraps. A dark comedic thriller inspired by a bizarre true event, Based on a True Story is about a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide, exposing America's obsession with true crime, murder and the slow close toilet seat.

Rosenberg will serve as writer, showrunner and executive producer. Jason Bateman (Ozark, The Outsider) will executive produce alongside Michael Costigan for Aggregate Films. Roxie Rodriguez serves as co-executive producer for Aggregate Films. The series will be produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. Cuoco was nominated for an Emmy award again this year (for the second year in a row) for her performance in The Flight Attendant in the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She is currently shooting the action-thriller Role Play.