(L to R) Rod Serling, Anne Serling, Marc Scott Zicree, Jodi Serling
Growing Up with Rod Serling
Original Airdates: Feb. 28-Mar. 3, 2025
TVC 680.5: Ed welcomes Anne Serling and Jodi Serling, the daughters of Rod Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree, creator/producer of Space Command and the author of The Twilight Zone Companion, for a celebration of both the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rod Serling and the 65th anniversary of the premiere of The Twilight Zone on CBS television. Anne’s book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, is an intimate portrait of the Emmy Award-winning writer/producer that is also a moving testament to the love between fathers and daughters, while The Twilight Zone Companion (now in its third edition) not only has influenced such TV show runners and filmmakers as J.J. Abrams, Vince Gilligan, Brannon Braga, Matthew Weiner, and Ron Moore, but created the genre of books that capture the history of popular television series. Topics this segment include how Serling never let his tremendous notoriety go to his head because he kept himself grounded (and his family kept him grounded).
Rod Serling: The Leonardo da Vinci of Television
Original Airdates: Feb. 28-Mar. 3, 2025
TVC 680.6: Anne Serling and Jodi Serling, the daughters of Rod Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion, talk to Ed about how Rod Serling was not only the first modern-day show runner, in that he was a writer who also served as his 
own producer, but also the “Leonardo da Vinci of television,” because he represented the pinnacle of what the medium of TV can do. Other topics this segment include thoughts on such notable Twilight Zone episodes as “Eye of the Beholder,” “Walking Distance,” and “On Thursday We Leave for Home.” Both The Twilight Zone Companion and Anne’s book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, are available wherever books are sold.
(L to R) Rod Serling (as pictured on the cover of Anne Serling’s book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling), Anne Serling, Jodi Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree
The Humanity of Rod Serling
Original Airdates: Mar. 7-10, 2025
TVC 681.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Anne Serling and Jodi Serling, the daughters of Rod Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree, longtime television writer/producer and the author of The Twilight Zone Companion. Dec. 25, 2024 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rod Serling, while the 2024-2025 television season marks the 65th anniversary of the premiere of The Twilight Zone on CBS. In this segment, Anne and Jodi share a few examples of the “many moments of helpless hilarity” that they often experienced while growing up with their dad; Marc talks about how Serling, like many good writers, “listened more than he talked”; while Anne and Jodi both discuss Serling’s experience as a teacher at Ithaca College in New York, and how he often learned more from his students that they did from him. Both The Twilight Zone Companion and Anne’s book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, are available wherever books are sold.
The Legacy of Rod Serling
Original Airdates: Mar. 7-10, 2025
TVC 681.5: Anne Serling and Jodi Serling, the daughters of Rod Serling, and Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion, share some final thoughts with Ed about the legacy of Rod Serling, including how Serling never “saw the signpost up ahead” with regard to the tremendous impact that his writing continues to have. Both The Twilight Zone Companion and Anne’s book, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, are available wherever books are sold.
