The first episode of M*A*S*H premiered in 1972, broadcasting on September 17 of that year. The episode, titled “Pilot,” introduced viewers to the doctors, nurses, and support staff of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War.
Larry Gelbart wrote the pilot and Gene Reynolds directed it. The television series was adapted from the 1970 film MASH, which had itself been based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. Alan Alda starred as Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, with Wayne Rogers as Trapper John McIntyre and McLean Stevenson as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake.
Although the show eventually became one of television's most acclaimed comedies, its first season initially faced cancellation pressure. Its audience grew substantially during the second season after CBS moved it to a stronger time slot. M*A*S*H ultimately ran for 11 seasons, ending in 1983 with “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” a feature-length finale that became a landmark television broadcast.