Hazel

Hazel centers on a sharp, no-nonsense live-in maid named Hazel Burke who runs the Baxter household with confidence and a lot of common sense. She handles the everyday chaos that comes from raising Harold, keeping his parents in line, and smoothing over the small crises that crop up in middle class suburban life. The comedy comes from Hazel's practical solutions and gentle bossiness, which often clash with the Baxters' more buttoned-up sensibilities. Across five seasons the show keeps things light and family-focused, leaning on situational humor and Hazel's personality instead of big plot twists, so episodes work well on their own while building familiar rhythms.

Created by Ted Key and produced by Screen Gems, Hazel adapted the Saturday Evening Post comic strip for television. It premiered on September 28, 1961, ran through April 11, 1966, aired on NBC before moving to CBS for its final season, and switched from mostly black and white in season one to color afterward.

Shirley Booth earned significant award recognition for her performance as Hazel, winning multiple Emmy Awards for lead actress and drawing further nominations that acknowledged the series during its run. Her wins helped define the show in the eyes of TV audiences and industry observers.

Hazel left a mark on 1960s television by turning a comic strip maid into a household name, and Booth became closely identified with the role. The program helped normalize a sitcom focus on household staff as central characters, and its gentle domestic humor influenced later family comedies that mixed class and domestic dynamics with sitcom setups.

Critical and audience reaction tended to view Hazel as a dependable, warmly funny sitcom rather than edgy or risk-taking, reflected in a modest vote average of 6.8 out of 10 from viewers. Major themes include household authority, generational differences, and the ways practical intelligence and personality can shape a family, all delivered in short, self-contained episodes.