ABC Afterschool Special

ABC Afterschool Special
Title card, 1973.
Genre	Anthology
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	25
No. of episodes	154
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Color
Original release	October 14, 1972 (1972-10-14) – July 1, 1997 (1997-07-01)

The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from October 14, 1972 to July 1, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were either in animated form or presented as documentaries. Topics included illiteracy, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy. The series won 51 Daytime Emmy Awards during its 25-year run.

In 2004 and 2005, BCI Eclipse and Sunset Home Visual Entertainment issued six DVD collections of episodes from the series that had been produced by Martin Tahse, each collection containing four episodes. A boxed set, in the shape of a school bus, was also released containing all of the DVD releases, with a detailed information booklet of all the specials on the set and including an extra DVD of two specials that had previously not been released on DVD. The DVDs are currently out of print.

In 1993, TV Guide named the series the best kids' show of the 1980s.