Lorimar Productions

Lorimar was founded in 1969 by executive Lee Rich along with Merv Adelson and Irwin Molasky, based on the idea that quality and popularity could coexist. The company launched with *The Waltons*, a Depression-era family drama that defied expectations and became a long-running success, helping establish Lorimar as a producer attuned to the American audience.

Lorimar's most significant success came with *Dallas*, a prime-time soap opera centered on the scheming oil baron J.R. Ewing. The 1980 cliffhanger episode asking who had shot him became a major cultural event, drawing a massive audience and influencing television for years. Around *Dallas*, Lorimar developed a slate of serialized dramas including *Knots Landing* and *Falcon Crest*, while also producing family comedies and later hits such as *Perfect Strangers* and *Full House*.

As the television industry consolidated, Lorimar sought to expand its reach. In the mid-1980s, it merged with syndication company Telepictures to form Lorimar-Telepictures and briefly ventured into Hollywood by acquiring parts of the former MGM studio lot in Culver City.

The company's expansion proved financially unsustainable, and in 1989, Warner Communications acquired Lorimar, absorbing its library and studio facilities. Lorimar Television continued as a semi-independent production label for a few years, but in 1993, it was fully integrated into Warner Bros. Television. The Lorimar name, once synonymous with prime-time drama, was absorbed into the larger studio, with its shows and facilities continuing under a new identity.