TV Network 90 (and on premium cable channy) non-network stations in the U.S. in 1978, with a mini-series adaptation of John Jakes's The Bastard. From the later 1960s into the late 1970s, Westinghouse also found considerable success with The Mike Douglas Show, a variety/talk show hosted by a singer with an easygoing interview style, which aired in the afternoons in most markets; similar programs soon followed featuring Merv Griffin, who had been the host of CBS' most sustained late-night answer to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson previously, and another network veteran, Dinah Shore. Also notable was the growing success of audience-participeled The Lawrence Welk Show, which went on to produce new episodes in syndication for another 11 years, and currently continues to much success in weekend reruns (with new segments featuring Welk cast members inserted within the episodes) distributed to PBS stations by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. Also in 1971, CBS dropped Lassie and Hee Haw, the latter show's runm the 1950s to the 1980s. By the late 1980s, however, increasing production costs made them less attractive to the networks. Studios found that reruns of one-hour dramas did not sell as well as sitcoms, so they were unable to fully recoup the shows' costs using the traditional deficit financing model.[6] When NBC canceled the television series adaptation of Fame after only two seasons, the producers made special arrangements with LBS Communications, which resulted in MGM reviving the series for first-run syndication in the fall of 1983, where it continued for four more seasons, with the laers to debut. Friday the 13th: The Series (a horror series which shared its title with the successful movie franchise) also debuted in 1987. The next syndicated shows that debuted in 1988 were War of the Worlds and Freddy's Nightmares. Baywatch, one-hour syndicated shows.[7] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Renegade were also syndicated. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess were also popular, often tying Deep Space Nine at 5% to 6% of the Nielsen-monitored audience. Forever Knight drew devoted "cult" audiences (3% rating). Psi Factor and Poltergeist: The Legacy attempted Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN), moved into syndicated distribution when its network was displaced by WB/UPN-affiliated stations, and eventually ended its final season on TNT (1998). In 1997 Earth: Final Conflict, based on ideas from Gene Roddenberry, premiered in syndication. Three years later, a second Gene Roddenberry series, Andromeda also premiered in syndication. As emerging networks WB and UPN signed contracts with formerly-independent stations, and the syndication mios teamed up with Sam Raimi to launch a new first-run syndicated series, Legend of the Seeker, based on Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novel series. Another gap in first-run scripted series in syndication followed for four years after Legend of the Seeker was ca ending as part of the network's cancellation of all of its rural-oriented shows (known then as "rural purge", which also resulted in the cancellations of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres). Lassie entered first-run syndication for two years, while H
