Tandem Productions
| Active in-name-only unit of Sony Pictures Television | |
| Industry | Television Production |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Founder |
Norman Lear Bud Yorkin |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Owner | Sony |
| Parent | Independent (1958-1982) Embassy Communications, Inc. (1982-1985) The Coca-Cola Company (1985-1987) Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (1987-1991) Sony Pictures Entertainment (1991-present) |
Tandem Productions, Inc. (a.k.a. Tandem Enterprises, Inc.) was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by television director Bud Yorkin and television writer/producer Norman Lear.
In the early years, Yorkin and Lear initially established Tandem specifically for television production. The name was chosen because when launching their company, Yorkin and Lear were said to feel like two men riding uphill on a tandem bicycle. The company produced several variety and dramatic television specials such as the Fred Astaire specials, Henry Fonda and the Family, An Evening with Carol Channing and The Scene '66, to name a few. Tandem was also at hand for various unsold pilots throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Henry T., Meet Me at Danny's and Barnaby (not to be confused with Barnaby Jones). The company also financed the production of theatrical films, some of which were released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and United Artists.
Lear and Yorkin later turned their focus on situation comedy. The first success in that genre was All in the Family, which was based on the British sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. Before the series made its debut on January 12, 1971, Yorkin and Lear shot two unsold pilots for the series: one in 1968 called Justice For All and the other in 1969 titled Those Were the Days. Production for the series began in late 1970, following the third pilot episode which was picked up by CBS. More successful shows were also produced by Tandem; they were Maude (1972–1978), Good Times (1974–1979), and finally Sanford and Son (1972–1977). In 1977, Viacom Enterprises secured domestic and international television syndication rights for All in the Family which hit off-network reruns in Fall 1979. Columbia Pictures Television took over distribution for the series by 1991.
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