On the Rocks (American TV series)

On the Rocks was an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 16, 1975, to January 25, 1976. Created by Reinhold Weege and produced by John Rich, the series starred Dean Martin Jr. (credited as Dean Paul Martin) as Stanley Schwartzkopf, Jose Perez as Cleo, and Rick Podell as "Doc." The show revolved around the lives of inmates at the fictional Alamesa Minimum Security Prison in California.

The premise of On the Rocks was considered controversial at the time due to its comedic portrayal of prison life. Despite attempts to downplay the prison setting and focus on the characters' camaraderie, the show faced criticism for trivializing crime and imprisonment.

The series also featured Hal Smith as Mr. Hanson, the prison warden, and Bobby Sandler as Orchard. The humor often stemmed from the inmates' attempts to exploit the lax security of the minimum-security facility and their interactions with the somewhat inept warden.

On the Rocks was cancelled after only one season due to low ratings and the aforementioned negative reception. It is often cited as an example of a television series with a promising concept that failed to connect with audiences. Episodes of On the Rocks have rarely been re-aired since its original broadcast.