ABSTRACT
Bewitched was a successful American supernatural-themed comedy show that was originally broadcast for eight seasons and whose protagonist, a witch named Samantha Stevens, is married to a mortal man, Darrin and their daughter, Tabitha, who inherits her mother's magical powers. This chapter considers the success of the series through key scenes that illustrate its potential appeal to family audiences in its combined rendition of magic, childhood, and 1960s America. It examines the implications for 1960s children in its subtext and how the program not only accesses child viewers directly but also indirectly reinforces/subverts ideological notions of that time. In contrasting with usual interpretations of Bewitched, the chapter suggests that its scenes of magic inherently privilege otherness and that Tabitha's acceptance of difference, as well as the autonomy afforded by her witching skills, in a sense, embodies the spirit of the 1960s and the subsequent youth movements that called for radical political change and equal rights.
