Norman Lear on The Early Genesis of African-American Sitcoms Listen Download Embed Share Share this on Facebook (Opens in a new window) Share this on Twitter (Opens in a new window) Share this via Email Publicity photo of American actors Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley and Mike Evans promoting the upcoming January 18, 1975 premiere of the television series The Jeffersons. ( CBS Television Network / Wikimedia Commons ) Produced by Dana Roberson Produced by PRI and WNYC