Bewitched vs. I Dream of Jeannie: What’s the difference?
These two 1960s fantasy sitcoms look so much alike—so what sets them apart?
Bonus points when we talk about classic pop rock legends that guest starred on both shows!
Looking back at classic TV from the 1960s, we see the start of a number of shows playing around with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy ideas. This led to a number of examples: From anthologies like The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) and The Outer Limits (1963-1965). To spy-fi series The Avengers (1961-1969) and ghostly detective show Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969-1970). To vampire-led soap opera Dark Shadows (1966-1971) and time-travel adventure show Doctor Who (which started in 1963).
And then there were several sitcoms of the 1960s that embraced these kinds of genres, too. This included monster family shows The Addams Family (1964-1966) and The Munsters (1964-1966). The spy-fi comedy Get Smart (1965-1970) and superhero comedy Batman (1966-1968). Sci-fi hijinks from My Favorite Martian (1963-1966) and My Living Doll (1964-1965). There was also the, um, clothing-related fantasy series The Flying Nun (1967-1970). As well as, er, non-talking-things-that-talked shows like Mister Ed (1961-1966) and My Mother the Car (1965-1966).
As a personal choice, I’m also going to include The Monkees show (1966-1968). Watch below for fun crossover details that tie together The Monkees with I Dream of Jeannie AND Bewitched AND The Flying Nun!
In this article:
Looking at Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie (including what inspired each show)
[Video] Bewitched vs. I Dream of Jeannie: How Are They Different?
What About That Crossover? (Well, kind of.)
Find Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie online
Related links
Looking at Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie
Including what inspired each show
Two of the more successful sitcoms of the 1960s embraced magic—and how it interferes with normal life.
Bewitched (1964-1972) starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, a human-looking member of some other life form. Her “magic” powers are, in fact, energized by some genetic trait—whereas an actual witch uses spells and like a book and herbs and candles and stuff. (Which makes Samantha is more of an alien than an actual witch. Just saying.) This woman—who can wish things into existence—married an ordinary mortal man, with the intentions of being a regular suburban housewife.
Earlier storytelling that may have inspired the Bewitched TV show include the 1942 movie I Married a Witch, the 1958 movie Bell, Book and Candle, and the 1962 movie with the titles Burn, Witch, Burn!(very cool) AKA Night of the Eagle (what the hell). All three examples were adaptations: I Married a Witch came from the not-yet-finished novel by Thorne Smith, The Passionate Witch; the movie Bell, Book and Candle was based on the Broadway play written by John Van Druten; and Burn, Witch, Burn! adapted the 1943 horror novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber.
(Interesting side note: Leiber—an author who wrote horror, fantasy, and science fiction—also created the genre name “Sword & Sorcery.” While the category itself was invented by Robert E. Howard, Leiber himself wrote a number of Sword & Sorcery stories with his characters Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. He was the one who asked, “Hey, what if we called these kinds of stories this?” Just saying.)
I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970) starred Barbara Eden as Jeannie, a human-looking 2,000-year-old genie AKA djinn. This woman—who can wish things into existence—was rescued from the bottle by an ordinary mortal man. And she moves in with him in the suburbs.
It’s been said that I Dream of Jeannie was actually inspired by the success of, well, Bewitched. (Which, granted, had great ratings for most of its run.) Another inspiration was probably the 1964 movie The Brass Bottle. The movie was based on a 1900 novel written by Thomas Anstey Guthrie—which had already been adapted twice as silent movies, in 1914 and 1923. A fun side note is that while The Brass Bottle was about the antics of a male genie, one of the stars in that movie was Barbara Eden.
By the way, both shows I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched were produced by Screen Gems. (A fact that leads to an interesting story down below.)
To be clear, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie both involved:
a magic blonde
who can imagine things into existence
and lives with a befuddled mortal man
in the suburbs
where hijinks ensue.
But what sets these shows apart from each other?
In the video below, join the folks at Classic TV Rewind Clips as they “compare the nose twitches, head nods, and genie blinks of two of TV's most iconic leading ladies.”
Bewitched vs. I Dream of Jeannie: How Are They Different? | Classic TV Rewind
What About That Crossover?
These guys are the Boyce and Hart band.
How the songwriters for The Monkees showed up on I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched… plus The Flying Nun
Growing up, I watched a lot of these classic sitcom reruns on the local TV station. As such, one of my favorite bands growing up was The Monkees—who had their own 1960s sitcom. (Well, they’re still one of my favorite bands.)
During the history of The Monkees, several of their big hits were written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Recently, I discovered that Boyce and Hart actually appeared—and performed their own songs—as guests on episodes of I Dream of Jeannie (episode 3.6) AND Bewitched (episode 6.22) AND The Flying Nun (episode 3.24). Turns out that all three shows were produced by Screen Gems.
Bonus point #1: That Jeannie episode also includes an instrumental vewrsion of The Monkees’ hit “Last Train to Clarksville.”
Bonus point #2: That same episode of I Dream of Jeannie—in which Boyce and Hart go by their actual names—claims to show the origin story of how Boyce and Hart even got started in music.
Seriously, I keep watching this episode over and over.
Unfortunately, their guest appearances on the other two shows did not continue that story. I wish so-so-so much that all three appearances were part of the same arc. (How cool would that have been?)
Here’s a clip from when Boyce and Hart were guests on I Dream of Jeannie…
Find Bewitched online
Find I Dream of Jeannie online
Monster Complex® sometimes uses affiliate links. (At no additional charge to you. Relax.)
Related links
Best Fantasy TV Sitcoms of the 1960s: 'Bewitched' and More (Woman’s World)
53 Years Later, 1 of the Greatest Classic Sitcoms in TV History Has a New Reboot in the Works (CBR)
Paranormal Sitcoms That Will Make You Laugh (Remarkist Mag)
Sixties Fantasy Sitcoms and the Rise of Cozy Fantasy (Reactor)
Forgotten Television: Finding Magic and Fantasy in Sitcoms (Comic Watch)
20 Best Fantasy Comedy TV Series of All Time (MovieWeb)
More from Monster Complex
How robot Julie Newmar EXCITED viewers in overlooked 60s sitcom before she was Catwoman
Hold the Ring: Fighting Hellboy, The Hulk, The Munsters, more
New comic book coming from Thundarr the Barbarian: When Conan meets Star Wars!
Celebrating the classic TV show ‘The Munsters’ (with lots of links)
Talking about ‘Real Ghostbusters’—including the show’s history and impact
Monsters Vs. ‘Murder, She Wrote’: Vampire, Witches, Ghosts, and the Headless Horseman
When ‘Outer Limits’ did that comedy episode with a time travel / murder mystery / love story
The Mummy: 13 TV versions from Buffy, Doctor Who, Jonny Quest, more
Frank Gorshin—those episodes with Star Trek, The Munsters, and (of course) Batman
14 Monster Families from The Munsters, Hotel Transylvania, and more
Want books that mix urban fantasy and crime fiction? Including the Dead Jack Series by James Aquilone, plus books from Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, X-Files, Supernatural—and more.