List of Petticoat Junction episodes

This is a complete list of all 222 episodes of the 1963 to 1970 television sitcom Petticoat Junction. All seven seasons are here, with all original airdates along with there Nielsen ratings and seasonal timeslots at the beginning of the article.

Nielsen ratings/TV schedule
During its first four years, Petticoat Junction was a major ratings success. However, with the departure of Kate, the show's ratings declined continously. Another reason was the show's new timeslot, which was Saturday nights at 9:30 P.M., an extremely weak airing time.

Season One (1963–1964)

 * This season consists of 38 episodes.
 * All season one episodes are in black-and-white.
 * The episode "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik" marks the only episode that Linda Kaye Henning (who played Betty Jo) doesn't appear in.
 * The first four episodes make up a story arc, a rarity for a sitcom of the era.

Season Two (1964–1965)

 * This season consists of 36 episodes.
 * All season two episodes are in black-and-white.
 * The season finale "There's No Business with Show Business" sees the departure of Jeannine Riley as Billie Jo and Pat Woodell as Bobbie Jo.
 * The season premiere "Betty's Jo's Dog" introduces the character "Dog".

Season Three (1965–1966)

 * This season consists of 34 episodes.
 * Season three is the first season in color.
 * Season three's premiere "Dear Minerva" introduces Gunilla Hutton as the second Billie Jo and Lori Saunders as the second Bobbie Jo. It also sees Dog joining the girls in the water tank during the opening credits.
 * The season finale "Betty Jo's Bike" sees the departure of Gunilla Hutton as Billie Jo.

Season Four (1966–1967)

 * This season consists of 32 episodes.
 * Meredith MacRae debuts as the third and final Billie Jo in the season premiere: "Young Love".
 * Mike Minor enters as Steve Elliott the love interest to Billie Jo (later Betty Jo) in the second episode: "Birdman of Shady Rest".
 * In this season the slapstick comedy begins to take a backseat and more musical numbers for the cast is added to the episodes.

Season Five (1967–1968)

 * This season consists of 30 episodes.
 * Betty Jo and Steve get married in "With This Gown I Thee Wed".
 * Sickness kept Bea Benaderet away for nearly the last half of the season. She missed episode #159 and #160, came back for episode #161 and then missed eight more (ep. #162–#169). Storylines had her away on a trip: she comes back for the season finale (ep. #170).

Season Six (1968–1969)

 * This season consists of 26 episodes.
 * Bea Benaderet returns for only three episodes (ep. #171–#173) before she becomes ill once more.
 * Only Kate's voice is heard in episode #174, when Betty Jo gives birth to Kathy Jo. Her voice is heard when Betty Jo and Steve read her letter and when she's heard on the other end of the phone at "Drucker's Store", talking to Wendell Gribbs. Benaderet's stand-in, Enda Laird, plays Kate "full back" for this brief sequence.1
 * Needing a motherly figure for the three girls after Kate's passing, June Lockhart enters the show in the episode "The Lady Doctor" as Dr. Janet Craig, a doctor who moves into the hotel and is like a mother to the girls.
 * A temporary opening credits sequence without Benadaret was used for the first few episodes after #174, crediting only Edgar Buchanan and with a unique verse heard only in this version of the theme. After the introduction of June Lockhart, the credits and theme song were adjusted yet again.
 * Episode #175, "Granny, the Baby Expert", marked the series' first crossover with The Beverly Hillbillies. This episode in fact not only establishes that the two shows take place in the same fictional universe, but that Kate is a cousin of Pearl Bodine, mother of Jethro, making the Bradleys blood relatives of the Clampetts.
 * The episode "Tune in Next Year" was originally the series finale. CBS considered cancelling Petticoat Junction in the spring of 1969 (due to declining ratings), but at last minute, renewed the series for another year. Therefore, one more episode was added to the sixth year ("By the Book").

Season Seven (1969–1970)

 * This season consists of 26 episodes.
 * The series finale is episode #222 entitled "Betty Jo's Business". This episode has more of a regular episode feel than the previous season episode "Tune in Next Year", in which Dr. Janet was going to take another job elsewhere. Season seven's finale leaves viewers to believe that Petticoat Junction was coming back for another season.